Policy Analysis

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  • Policy Analysis
    EgyptRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    Geopolitics of Small Islands: The Stalemate of Tiran and Sanafir’s Transfer Impacts Egypt-Saudi Relations

    Mar 29, 2023Khalil Al-Anani

    In June 2017, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi consented to ceding sovereignty over the islands of Tiran and Sanafir to Saudi Arabia. However, nearly si…

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

    The GCC Is On Board with the Saudi-Iran Agreement

    Mar 27, 2023Kristian Coates Ulrichsen

    The signing of a joint trilateral statement by senior national security officials from Saudi Arabia and Iran in the presence of Chinese officials in Beijing on…

  • Policy Analysis
    The Arab WorldUS Foreign Policy

    US Middle East Policy: The Trump-Biden Doctrine in Action

    Mar 22, 2023Charles W. Dunne

    All US presidents, it seems, need their own foreign policy “doctrine.” President James Monroe famously started the trend in 1823, and many others—Truman, Eisen…

  • Policy Analysis
    YemenConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Yemen and the Saudi-Iran Rapprochement

    Mar 22, 2023Nabeel A. Khoury

    In the closing scene of the 1942 film Casablanca, Humphrey Bogart, walking off into the fog with his occasional nemesis as they plan their next move together, …

  • Policy Analysis
    LebanonRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    Lebanon and Syria and the Saudi-Iran Detente

    Mar 21, 2023Imad K. Harb

    The recent China-brokered agreement between Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Republic of Iran is expected to have a de-escalating effect on many issues in the Midd…

  • 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
    The Arab WorldThe War in Ukraine

    Arab and Israeli Positions on Ukraine War Continue to Frustrate the US

    Jan 18, 2023Charles W. Dunne

    The positions taken by many governments in the Middle East have proven a notable exception to the global groundswell of support for Kyiv.

  • Policy Analysis
    Saudi ArabiaUS Foreign Policy

    What Lies Ahead for Saudi Arabia in the 118th US Congress

    Dec 7, 2022Charles W. Dunne

    New challenges abound for President Joe Biden in 2023. The loss of a Democratic majority in the House of Representatives for the 118th Congress promises to lea…

  • Policy Analysis
    SyriaGlobal Health and Health Policy

    The Captagon Problem in Saudi Arabia and Other Gulf States

    Sep 22, 2022Gregory Aftandilian

    Over the past decade, the amphetamine fenethylline, widely known by the brand name Captagon, has increasingly become the drug of choice among the youth in Gulf…

  • Policy Analysis
    YemenConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Yemen’s Prospects for Unity Are Uncertain after Many Years of War

    Jul 28, 2022Afrah Nasser

    In 2018, the United Nations Security Council’s Panel of Experts on Yemen suggested that the Yemeni State had begun to fragment as a result of a conflict that i…

  • Policy Analysis
    Saudi ArabiaUS Foreign Policy

    Mohammed bin Salman’s Political Precarity Persists, Despite Perceived Successes

    Jul 26, 2022Kristian Coates Ulrichsen

    The paths of US President Joe Biden and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) crossed briefly on July 15 and 16 when Biden stopped in Jeddah, Saudi Arab…

  • Policy Analysis
    The Arabian Peninsula and The GulfUS Foreign Policy

    Biden’s Trip to the Middle East Failed to Serve US Interests

    Jul 22, 2022Jon Hoffman

    With President Joe Biden concluding his Middle East visit, many in the United States are left wondering what tangible benefits the American people gained as a …