Policy Analysis

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  • Policy Analysis
    QatarEnergy and Economics

    The GCC’s Future Is in the Balance after Its 38th Summit Meeting

    Dec 7, 2017Imad K. Harb

    The GCC should be preserved despite the failure of its 38th summit meeting in Kuwait and the establishment of a Saudi Arabian-Emirati new political and militar…

  • Policy Analysis
    JordanInternational Law

    Trump’s Jerusalem Announcement: Big Gambit, Little Gain

    Dec 6, 2017Tamara Kharroub

    This is indeed a shameful day for the United States, where accrediting military force, violating international law, and supporting apartheid in Jerusalem mark …

  • Policy Analysis
    EgyptReligion and Politics

    Egypt Still Banking on Libya’s Haftar While Reaching Out to Other Leaders

    Dec 4, 2017Gregory Aftandilian

    Economic and primarily security interests drive Egypt’s Sisi to support General Khalifa Haftar, strongman in eastern Libya, against Islamist movements while al…

  • Policy Analysis
    LevantUS Foreign Policy

    Missing Considerations of the Counterterrorism Alliance

    Nov 29, 2017Imad K. Harb

    The first meeting of the Islamic Military Counterterrorism Coalition, which took place in Riyadh, may have provided recognition of MbS’s leadership of the Musl…

  • Policy Analysis
    LevantUS Foreign Policy

    US Military Planning in the Middle East: Increasing Challenges, Vague Strategies

    Nov 28, 2017Charles W. Dunne

    Uncertainties about US military policy, intentions, and ambitions in the Middle East together with many political challenges and developments increase the conf…

  • Policy Analysis
    LevantIdentity Politics and Sectarianization

    Future Possibilities for the Kurds in Post-IS Syria

    Nov 28, 2017Mustafa Gurbuz

    With the defeat of the Islamic State in Syria, Kurdish activities and aspirations are yet again exposed to the calculations and machinations of all the parties…

  • Policy Analysis
    LevantConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Arab Normalization with Israel Frames Trump Peace Plan

    Nov 22, 2017Yousef Munayyer

    President Trump’s peace plan in the Middle East embraces the “outside-in” approach for peace between Palestinians and Israelis with a risky Arab-Israeli normal…

  • Policy Analysis
    Saudi ArabiaConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Trump Embraces the Saudi Vision of the Yemen Conflict

    Nov 22, 2017Gregory Aftandilian

    President Trump has adopted the Saudi leadership’s position that the Yemen conflict is a case of Iranian and proxy adventurism that needs to be rolled back and…

  • Policy Analysis
    LevantConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    The Closure of the PLO Office in Washington: The “Ultimate Deal” Exposed

    Nov 21, 2017Imad K. Harb Khalil E. Jahshan

    Now that the Palestinians are potentially losing their diplomatic foothold in Washington, they may finally decide that the United States is withdrawing from ne…

  • Policy Analysis
    North AfricaDemocracy and Governance

    Challenges to Tunisia’s Transition to Democracy

    Nov 21, 2017Mohammed Cherkaoui

    Recent moves by the Tunisian executive suggest that the Jasmine Revolution is not unfolding as smoothly as expected and that the country may not be the excepti…

  • Policy Analysis
    EgyptDemocracy and Governance

    Is Egypt’s Population Growth a Blessing or a Curse?

    Nov 20, 2017Sahar Khamis

    At 98 million, Egypt’s rapid population growth is a threat to the national economy and an obstacle to the country’s prospects for development and prosperity.

  • Policy Analysis
    Saudi ArabiaDemocracy and Governance

    Is Power Trumping Legitimacy in Saudi Arabia?

    Nov 16, 2017Imad K. Harb

    Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s Machiavellianism endangers at least three pillars of legitimate rule in Saudi Arabia: royal family consensual decision-making, con…