Policy Analysis

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  • Policy Analysis
    IranIdentity Politics and Sectarianization

    Rafsanjani’s Death and Its Impact on Iran’s Political Bazaar

    Jan 9, 2017Imad K. Harb

    The death of former Iranian President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani comes at a critical time in the Islamic Republic’s political history. As one of the founders…

  • Policy Analysis
    LebanonDemocracy and Governance

    The Misplaced Hope of Lebanon’s Presidential Election

    Dec 1, 2016Imad K. Harb

    Developments in Lebanon during November 2016 made it increasingly evident that the election as president of Michel Aoun, former general and leader of the Refor…

  • Policy Analysis
    LebanonDemocracy and Governance

    End of Stalemate: A Loose Power-Sharing Agreement in Lebanon

    Oct 28, 2016Joe Macaron

    After a 30-month impasse that paralyzed the country’s governing institutions and questioned the legitimacy of the confessional system, the Lebanese Parliament …

  • Policy Analysis
    IranConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Hezbollah, Iran, and the Politics of Obstructionism

    Sep 23, 2016Imad K. Harb

    On September 7, Lebanon’s Parliament failed for the forty-third time to convene a session to elect a president. Since the expiration of former president Michel…

  • Policy Analysis
    LebanonDemocracy and Governance

    New Rules of Engagement for US-Hezbollah Arm Wrestling in Lebanon

    Jul 6, 2016Joe Macaron

    Lebanon is the only country in the Middle East where US policy is actively seeking to deter Iran’s regional influence. Washington is directly targeting Hezboll…

  • Policy Analysis
    LebanonDemocracy and Governance

    What Municipal Elections Mean for Lebanon

    May 17, 2016Joe Macaron

    Lebanon is holding this month municipal elections across the country, the first electoral test since the start of the Syrian war. The ruling traditional partie…

  • Policy Analysis
    IraqDemocracy and Governance

    Defeating ISIL is Not Enough to Save Iraq

    May 10, 2016Joe Macaron

    Two years into the fight against the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and amid the persistent downward trend of global oil prices, Iraq is obviously…

  • Policy Analysis
    LevantIdentity Politics and Sectarianization

    Freedom of religion as a foundation of Arab democracy: An Arab view of the 2016 report of US Commission on International Religious Freedom

    May 3, 2016Tamara Kharroub

    The onset of the so-called “Arab Spring” in 2011 gave hope to millions of people across the Arab world that change is possible and that freedoms, democratic tr…

  • Policy Analysis
    LebanonIdentity Politics and Sectarianization

    Saudi Arabia Goes on the Offensive against Hezbollah

    Mar 8, 2016Joe Macaron

    Saudi Arabia’s explicit identification of the Iranian-backed Hezbollah as a strategic threat is a tipping point in the underlying tensions between both sides. …

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