Policy Analysis

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  • 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.

  • Policy Analysis
    Palestine/IsraelRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    Saudi-Israeli Normalization and the Hamas Attack

    Oct 11, 2023Kristian Coates Ulrichsen

    When Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) sat down on September 20 with Brett Baier of Fox News for his first English-language television inter…

  • Policy Analysis
    The Arabian Peninsula and The GulfEnergy and Economics

    The Geopolitics of the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor

    Oct 10, 2023Giorgio Cafiero

    At the G20 summit held in New Delhi in September 2023, the leaders of France, Germany, India, Italy, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, the United States,…

  • Policy Analysis
    TurkeyEnergy and Economics

    Turkey’s Ambitions in Iraq Play Out in Kirkuk

    Oct 3, 2023Mustafa Gurbuz

    In late August, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani stirred the pot of existing tensions when he ordered the evacuation of the Iraqi military’s Joint…

  • Policy Analysis
    YemenEnergy and Economics

    Yemen’s War Economy: A Key Factor in the Ongoing Conflict

    Sep 20, 2023Afrah Nasser

    As Houthi negotiators leave Saudi Arabia after five days of talks with Saudi officials regarding the contours of a compromise solution to Yemen’s ongoing confl…

  • Policy Analysis
    KuwaitDemocracy and Governance

    Challenges Facing Kuwait’s Parliamentary Democracy

    Sep 12, 2023Imad K. Harb

    Watching Kuwait’s seemingly dysfunctional political scene gives one the impression that the country is on a course toward endless instability and disorder. Las…

  • Policy Analysis
    Saudi ArabiaUS Foreign Policy

    The Saudi-Israeli Normalization Gambit: Deal or No Deal?

    Aug 30, 2023Khalil E. Jahshan

    After weeks of conflicting accounts from columnists and journalists about the outcome of the Biden administration’s intensive shuttle diplomacy aimed at convin…

  • Policy Analysis
    Saudi ArabiaThe War in Ukraine

    The Russia-Ukraine Jeddah Meeting: A Win for MBS in a Changing Global Order

    Aug 24, 2023Daniel Brumberg

    Over the first weekend of August 2023, Saudi Arabia convened an international summit on the war in Ukraine. Held in Jeddah and attended by representatives from…

  • Intern Corner
    Saudi ArabiaUS Foreign Policy

    The US Position on Saudi Arabia’s Civilian Nuclear Program

    Aug 16, 2023 Seerat Sohal

    In June 2023, Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud affirmed the kingdom’s intent to enrich uranium, part of its desire to develop a civi…

  • Policy Analysis
    IranRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    Russia, Iran, and the Territorial Dispute with the UAE

    Aug 16, 2023Kourosh Ziabari

    Under President Ebrahim Raisi, Iran has carved out an overseas agenda that is a patent departure from the country’s 1979 Revolution-era notion of “neither East…

  • Policy Analysis
    The Arabian Peninsula and The GulfUS Foreign Policy

    US Troop Buildup in the Gulf Reemphasizes Military Power

    Aug 15, 2023Gregory Aftandilian

    The US military has recently significantly increased its presence in the Arabian Gulf, a show of force aimed primarily at deterring Iran from attacking or hara…