Policy Analysis

Submit site search
  • Policy Analysis
    JordanSecurity and Defense

    Jordan’s King Abdallah in Washington: ISIL and Jerusalem

    Feb 1, 2017Joe Macaron

    In what was described as a working visit, Jordan’s King Abdullah II arrived on January 30, 2017, and became the first Arab leader to come to Washington since t…

  • Policy Analysis
    LevantIdentity Politics and Sectarianization

    A World Between bin Laden and Breivik: Supremacist Ideologies Shaping the 21st Century

    Jan 26, 2017Yousef Munayyer

    From Austria, Hungary, Poland, Switzerland, and elsewhere on the European continent, right-wing political parties are on the rise. Nationalism, protectionism, …

  • Policy Analysis
    IraqDemocracy and Governance

    Iraqi Kurdistan’s Bid for Independence: Challenges and Prospects

    Jan 26, 2017Mustafa Gurbuz

    Masoud Barzani, the leader of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in Iraqi Kurdistan, has expressed his expectation for “a big change” in US policy under P…

  • Policy Analysis
    IraqUS Foreign Policy

    Syria and Iraq in the Age of Trump: Challenges to American Interests

    Jan 25, 2017Imad K. Harb

    Now that the Trump Administration has taken over the reins of American diplomatic and military power, questions arise about how it intends to preserve America’…

  • Policy Analysis
    LebanonDemocracy and Governance

    Aoun in Riyadh: A Test for Lebanon’s Foreign Policy

    Jan 25, 2017Joe Macaron

    In November 2014, General Michel Aoun told the Lebanese daily newspaper, As-Safir, that the late Saudi foreign minister Saud al-Faisal was behind a veto to ele…

  • Policy Analysis
    OmanThe GCC

    Oman’s Needed Adjustment During the Trump Presidency

    Jan 18, 2017Imad K. Harb

    The Sultanate of Oman has arguably always been an outlier regarding unified Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) action since the organization’s establishment in 198…

  • Policy Analysis
    IraqIdentity Politics and Sectarianization

    Turkish-Iraqi Relations: Old Trends and Future Possibilities

    Jan 17, 2017Abdulwahab Al-Qassab

    Relations between Iraq and Turkey have been cordial and cautious since Iraq became independent of Ottoman suzerainty after WWI, when British forces invaded and…

  • Policy Analysis
    LevantUS Foreign Policy

    Washington Rebalancing Away from the Middle East? Realities and Difficulties

    Jan 9, 2017Imad K. Harb

    In a speech to the Australian parliament in November 2011, President Barack Obama declared that the Asia-Pacific region had become a “top priority” in US secur…

  • 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
    IranConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    After Aleppo: The Political and Regional Implications of the New Middle East “Troika”

    Dec 28, 2016Joe Macaron

    Since August 2016, new regional power dynamics have been emerging in the wars in Syria. The trend has manifested itself in the fall of Aleppo and the December …

  • Policy Analysis
    IranConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Sidelining Asad: Questioning the Future of Russian-Iranian-Turkish Convergence in Syria

    Dec 27, 2016Imad K. Harb

    The battle of Aleppo has finally been decided in favor of the Syrian regime and its Russian, Iranian, and militia cohorts. But for all intents and purposes, th…

  • Policy Analysis
    IranConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    The GCC at 35: Regional Concerns and Strategic Hedging

    Dec 15, 2016Imad K. Harb

    Last week, the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) concluded its 37th summit meeting in Manama, Bahrain, amid many hopeful pronouncements as well as atte…