• Policy Analysis
    LebanonDemocracy and Governance

    Out With the Old, In With the New: Is There a New Hope for Lebanon?

    Feb 6, 2025Patricia Karam

    Following a surprising appointment as Lebanon’s new prime minister, independent jurist, academic, and former diplomat Nawaf Salam, finds himself enmeshed in th…

  • Policy Analysis
    LebanonDemocracy and Governance

    Lebanon’s Post-Hezbollah “Day After”

    Jan 7, 2025Patricia Karam

    The surprising fall of the brutal regime of Bashar al-Assad in Syria on the heel of Hezbollah’s spectacular losses and, with it, the tremendous weakening of Ir…

  • Intern Corner
    SyriaDemocracy and Governance

    Rebuilding and Strengthening Syria’s State Institutions

    Dec 23, 2024Nour Taha

    Nour Taha discusses the need for reviving and strengthening state institutions in Syria after the collapse of the Assad regime, stating that they are necessary…

  • Policy Analysis
    SyriaDemocracy and Governance

    Implications of Assad’s Fall for Syria and the Region

    The fall of Damascus marked the end of the regime of Bashar al-Assad, who inherited the presidency from his father Hafez al-Assad in 2000.

  • Policy Analysis
    LebanonIdentity Politics and Sectarianization

    Hezbollah’s Likely Demise and Lebanon’s Uncertain Future

    Dec 4, 2024Patricia Karam

    Israel's approval of a US-brokered ceasefire with Hezbollah set the stage for an end to fourteen months of fighting between the two parties, ushering in the po…

  • Intern Corner
    AlgeriaDemocracy and Governance

    Algeria’s Tebboune, Le Pouvoir, and the Challenges of Legitimacy

    Oct 3, 2024Nour Taha

    On September 7, Algerians headed to the polls for an early presidential election that revealed deep apathy and a potential risk to stability in Africa’s territ…

  • Policy Analysis
    JordanDemocracy and Governance

    Jordanian Elections in the Shadow of Domestic and Regional Tensions

    Sep 29, 2024Curtis Ryan

    As the Middle East edges closer to a broader war, both regional tensions and domestic politics have put the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan increasingly on edge. W…

  • Policy Analysis
    TunisiaDemocracy and Governance

    Kais Saied’s Policies and Practices May Lead to an Explosion in Tunisia

    Sep 6, 2024Patricia Karam

    Tunisia has experienced a disquieting authoritarian regression over the last few years following promising beginnings as a young democracy after the January 20…

  • Policy Analysis
    IranDemocracy and Governance

    Iran’s New President and Foreign Minister Stand on the Edge of a Precipice

    Aug 30, 2024Daniel Brumberg

    Commenting on Hezbollah’s retaliation to Israel’s August 25 pre-emptive strike on its positions, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani asserted tha…

  • Policy Analysis
    Palestine/IsraelDemocracy and Governance

    No Good ‘Day After’ Under Current Palestinian Politics

    Aug 7, 2024Dana El Kurd

    Some 300 days into the Israeli war on Gaza, and following Israel’s shocking July 31 assassination of Hamas’s Ismail Haniyeh, a major figure in ceasefire negoti…

  • Policy Analysis
    IranDemocracy and Governance

    Iran’s New President Must Navigate Dangerous Waters

    Aug 1, 2024Daniel Brumberg

    For the third time in the young history of the Islamic Republic of Iran, a political leader identified with the “Reformist” camp has won the presidency. Masoud…

  • Policy Analysis
    KuwaitDemocracy and Governance

    The Supremacy of Executive Power in Kuwait

    Two decades of political turbulence in Kuwait came to a head on the evening of May 10 when Emir Mishal al-Ahmad Al-Sabah announced he was suspending the Nation…