Policy Analysis

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  • Policy Analysis
    LevantConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    A Dramatic American Change on Syria, but Will It Be Consequential?

    Apr 7, 2017Imad K. Harb

    As a limited attack on a Syrian military base, the American operation is not likely to rise to the status of being a game changer in Syria.

  • Policy Analysis
    LevantConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    The Outsider Diplomat: Tillerson Strives to Define his Role

    Apr 6, 2017Joe Macaron

    After two months in office, Tillerson is gradually coping in his new job; his success or failure will indeed have a significant impact on US foreign policy in …

  • Policy Analysis
    LevantConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    The Turkey-Russia Rift Heralds an Autonomous Kurdistan in Syria

    Apr 5, 2017Mustafa Gurbuz

    As the Syrian civil war grinds on into a seventh year, a Kurdish autonomous region controlled by the People’s Protection Units becomes more probable in norther…

  • Policy Analysis
    The Arabian Peninsula and The GulfSecurity and Defense

    The US Military Posture in the Gulf: Future Possibilities

    Apr 4, 2017Imad K. Harb

    Since former President Jimmy Carter announced the establishment of the Rapid Deployment Joint Task Force in the Middle East in 1980—which later became Central …

  • Policy Analysis
    IranConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Genocide in Mosul: The Repercussions of Targeting Civilians

    Apr 4, 2017Abdulwahab Al-Qassab

    There have been widespread allegations that the destruction of Mosul, the major Sunni Iraqi city after Baghdad, is the aim of the Iranian-backed Shiite militia…

  • Policy Analysis
    EgyptDemocracy and Governance

    Egypt’s Fragile Stability: Erosion of the Rule of Law and Institutions of Governance

    Mar 30, 2017Moataz El Fegiery

    This paper addresses the erosion of the rule of law and institutions of governance in Egypt by discussing the significant expansion of legal repression, the cl…

  • Policy Analysis
    LevantJustice, Equality, and Human Rights

    The US at the UN and the Apartheid Report on Palestine

    Mar 29, 2017Yousef Munayyer

    Earlier this month and for the first time in the history of the United Nations, the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA)—a UN institution—is…

  • Policy Analysis
    Conflicts and Conflict Resolution

    The Last of a Dying Breed: The 2016 Referendum on Clintonism

    Mar 29, 2017Marcus Montgomery

    For many young voters, the Democratic Party’s nomination of Hillary Clinton for the US presidency in 2016 seemed surprising, considering she was a problematic …

  • Policy Analysis
    IraqReligion and Politics

    Why Is the Battle against ISIL not Going Well?

    Mar 28, 2017Radwan Ziadeh

    On March 22nd, the foreign ministers of the Global Coalition to defeat the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) concluded their meeting in Washington, D…

  • Policy Analysis
    IranDemocracy and Governance

    Syria Peace Talks in Geneva: A Road to Nowhere

    Mar 27, 2017Radwan Ziadeh

    On March 3, 2017, the United Nations’ Special Envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, concluded the last round of Syria peace negotiations in Geneva by saying tha…

  • Policy Analysis
    Energy and Economics

    The American-Russian Strategic Competition in the Arab Middle East

    Mar 23, 2017Abdulwahab Al-Qassab

    The Historical ContextThe presence of global powers in the Arab Middle East region is not new. American and Russian involvement goes back to the 18th and 19th …

  • Policy Analysis
    LevantJustice, Equality, and Human Rights

    The Difficult Tasks for the Arab League

    Mar 22, 2017Imad K. Harb

    As the Arab League limps through its eighth decade, its problems increase in number and intensity while the Arab state system continues to be burdened with pol…