Policy Analysis

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  • Policy Analysis
    The Arabian Peninsula and The GulfRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    China as Middle East Matchmaker

    Mar 16, 2023Daniel Brumberg

    While the central role that China recently played in renewing diplomatic relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia underscores the United States’ declining influ…

  • Policy Analysis
    SyriaMigrants, Refugees, and IDPs

    Politics, Displacement, and the Human Toll of the Recent Earthquake in Syria

    Mar 15, 2023Heba Gowayed

    On February 6, 2023, the earth shifted at the fault line that runs along the Turkey-Syria border, resulting in a 7.8 magnitude earthquake, which was followed j…

  • Intern Corner
    EgyptEnergy and Economics

    Egypt Has Broken Its Social Contract with Its Citizens

    Mar 14, 2023Salmah Arfouly

    In response to rising oil and food prices, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi recently insinuated that Egyptians should “eat tree leaves” in order to surv…

  • Policy Analysis
    YemenConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Oman’s Interests and Role in the Conflict in Yemen

    Mar 14, 2023Afrah Nasser

    In the course of the conflict in Yemen, Oman’s role has evolved substantially and in various ways. Currently, expectations are high that the sultanate will be …

  • Policy Analysis
    LebanonDemocracy and Governance

    A New Model for Presidential Elections in Lebanon

    Mar 9, 2023Patricia Karam

    It has been four months since former Lebanese President Michel Aoun left office in October 2022, after a presidential term marred by a series of catastrophic e…

  • Policy Analysis
    Palestine/IsraelViolent Extremism

    The Rapid and Predictable Rise of Israeli Settler Violence Against Palestinians

    Mar 8, 2023Yara M. Asi

    Huwwara is a small town outside of Nablus that, largely due to its location on a prominent route in the occupied West Bank, has been subject to a significant I…

  • Policy Analysis
    OmanRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    Walking a Tightrope: Oman and Normalization with Israel

    Mar 7, 2023Imad K. Harb

    As the mechanisms of normalization between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco, and Sudan continue to take shape, other Arab states are ponde…

  • Policy Analysis
    TunisiaDemocracy and Governance

    The Success of Tunisian President Kais Saied’s Neofascist Populism

    Mar 2, 2023Daniel Brumberg

    If there was any doubt that Tunisian President Kais Saied is building a new autocracy on the rubble of Tunisia’s imperfect and short-lived democracy, that doub…

  • Policy Analysis
    LibyaRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    Impacting Elusive Transitions: Egypt’s Policy Toward Sudan and Libya

    Mar 1, 2023Khalil Al-Anani

    The recent political developments in Sudan and Libya have generated some optimism for a potential resolution to the protracted political crises that have plagu…

  • Policy Analysis
    North AfricaClimate and Environment

    Green Power Politics in North African Countries: Continuity or Change?

    Mar 1, 2023Achref Chibani

    In 2023, environmental and climate issues will again be at the top of the policy agenda in the Middle East and North Africa. The upcoming COP28 climate confere…

  • Policy Analysis
    SyriaSecurity and Defense

    Syrian Kurds Are Hoping for, but Not Banking On, Continued US Partnership

    Feb 24, 2023Gregory Aftandilian

    The massive earthquake that struck southern Turkey and northwestern Syria has given the Syrian Kurds a reprieve from a possible Turkish military invasion of ar…

  • Policy Analysis
    IranProtests and Activism

    Iranian Protests and the Crisis of Free Speech

    Feb 23, 2023Kourosh Ziabari

    There is consensus among scholars and observers that the protests that erupted in Iran in September 2022 represent a defining moment in the contemporary histor…