Policy Analysis

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  • Policy Analysis
    YemenUS Foreign Policy

    The Biden Administration Is Strong in the Red Sea but Weak in Gaza

    Jan 24, 2024Gregory Aftandilian

    After enduring weeks of regional tension, including Houthi rebel attacks on shipping in the Red Sea and on American commercial vessels, the Biden administratio…

  • Policy Analysis
    Palestine/IsraelRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    Normalization Survives Despite the Gaza War

    Jan 11, 2024Imad K. Harb

    The current Israeli war on Gaza, now well into its fourth deadly month, has cast a calamitous shadow over the lives of Palestinians and Israelis, as well as ov…

  • Policy Analysis
    The Arab WorldRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    Important Considerations for the Middle East in 2024

    Jan 10, 2024Yara M. Asi Daniel Brumberg Imad K. Harb Khalil E. Jahshan Tamara Kharroub Laurie King Dana El Kurd Yousef Munayyer

    The October 7 Hamas attack on Israel and Israel’s subsequent invasion of the Gaza Strip will play a major role in shaping what unfolds in the Middle East in 20…

  • Policy Analysis
    OmanRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    Oman, Gaza, and Relations with the United States

    Jan 5, 2024Giorgio Cafiero

    The Sultanate of Oman traditionally has maintained a low profile on the international stage while conducting a friends-of-all foreign policy based on moderatio…

  • Policy Analysis
    YemenConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Assessing Yemen as a Second Front in the Gaza War

    Nov 30, 2023Nabeel A. Khoury

    On November 19, Yemen’s Houthis hijacked a cargo ship indirectly linked to Israel as it was traveling in the Red Sea. Much like their firing of missiles toward…

  • Policy Analysis
    IranRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    Hamas’s “Al-Aqsa Flood” Challenges Iran’s Axis of Resistance

    Nov 27, 2023Daniel Brumberg

    While the Biden administration, with Qatar’s support, has succeeded in securing a deal with Israel and Hamas for a combat “pause,” it remains to be seen if thi…

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

    GCC States and the War on Gaza: Positions, Perceptions, and Interests

    Nov 22, 2023Kristian Coates Ulrichsen

    The war on Gaza has for all intents and purposes reinstated the centrality of the Palestinian issue to the regional and international politics of the Middle Ea…

  • Policy Analysis
    LevantUS Foreign Policy

    US Military Presence in the Middle East: Deterrence and Retaliation

    Nov 14, 2023Gregory Aftandilian

    The United States has recently bolstered its military presence in the Middle East as the Israeli war on Gaza escalated. Bolstering this presence is meant to de…

  • Policy Analysis
    IraqDemocracy and Governance

    A Year of Mixed Results for Iraq’s Sudani

    Nov 8, 2023Rend Al-Rahim

    Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shi`a al-Sudani completed his first year in office on October 27 with a mixed record of successes and failures owing to objective…

  • Policy Analysis
    IraqRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    Iraq, Sudani, and the War on Gaza

    Oct 25, 2023Rend Al-Rahim

    In the space of just over two weeks, Israel’s war on Gaza has upended Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shai` al-Sudani’s year-long careful balancing of Iraq’s for…

  • Policy Analysis
    LevantConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Will Saudi Arabia Renew the “Arab Peace Initiative” as the Middle East Seethes?

    Oct 23, 2023Daniel Brumberg

    Whether Hamas’s October 7 assault has ended whatever prospects existed for forging diplomatic relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia remains to be seen. The…

  • Policy Analysis
    IranRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    On the Limits of Iran’s Policy of “Maximum Tactical Flexibility”

    Oct 13, 2023Daniel Brumberg

    At some point, the tactical balls Tehran has been juggling could fall to the ground with unpredictable or dangerous strategic results.