Policy Analysis

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  • Policy Analysis
    Saudi ArabiaEnergy and Economics

    Vision 2030 and the Iran War: Saudi Arabia’s Resilience Under Strain

    May 28, 2026Kristian Coates Ulrichsen

    Three months after the United States and Israel attacked Iran on February 28, 2026, the conflict is at stalemate: The ceasefire that began on April 8, 2026, ha…

  • Policy Analysis
    IranEnergy and Economics

    Why Devastating Iran’s Economy Will Not Break the Regime

    May 28, 2026Hadi Kahalzadeh

    Since President Donald Trump launched the US-Israel assault on Iran in late February 2026, the Trump administration has offered several objectives for the war.…

  • Policy Analysis
    IranEnergy and Economics

    Hormuz as Deterrent: How Iran’s Leverage Could Reshape Gulf Infrastructure

    May 21, 2026Jim Krane

    Iran has managed to convert its proximity to the Strait of Hormuz into a strategic deterrent. By blocking maritime trade, Iran has demonstrated that it can imp…

  • Policy Analysis
    Saudi ArabiaConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Saudi Arabia’s Strategic Dilemma in the Iran War

    May 21, 2026The Unit for Political Studies

    Saudi Arabia finds itself in the center of a storm not of its choosing and its choices in confronting that storm are narrow and costly.

  • Policy Analysis
    The Arabian Peninsula and The GulfConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    War on Iran: The Dangers of Attacking Water Desalination Plants in the Gulf

    Apr 28, 2026Manal Shehabi

    International attention has focused on the energy and economic impact of Iran’s effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Yet for people living in the Gulf Co…

  • Policy Analysis
    The Arabian Peninsula and The GulfEnergy and Economics

    Protection or Vulnerability? Gulf Sovereign Wealth Funds and the Iran War

    Apr 14, 2026Rohan Advani

    In March 2026, a Gulf official told Reuters that three Gulf states were reviewing how to deploy their sovereign wealth fund (SWF) holdings to offset Iran war-r…

  • Policy Analysis
    The Arabian Peninsula and The GulfEnergy and Economics

    The Iran War and the End of the US-Gulf “Oil for Security” Deal

    Mar 27, 2026Jim Krane

    In early March 2026, Iran effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz in response to the war launched by the United States and Israel, making it impossible for oil…

  • Policy Analysis
    The Arabian Peninsula and The GulfConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Caught in the Crossfire: Gulf Security and Strategy in the US–Israel War on Iran

    Mar 19, 2026The Unit for Political Studies

    The US-Israel war on Iran, which initially appeared as a series of escalatory exchanges, has evolved into a broader war spanning multiple theaters, drawing in …

  • Policy Analysis
    LevantEnergy and Economics

    Running on Empty: The Deepening Financial Crisis of the Palestinian Authority  

    Feb 12, 2026Mohammed Samhouri

    The Palestinian Authority (PA) is nearly insolvent. A deep financial crisis is edging it closer to the brink of fiscal collapse. The PA’s main sources of reven…

  • Policy Analysis
    The Arabian Peninsula and The GulfEnergy and Economics

    A US Capture of Venezuelan Oil Could Come at OPEC’s Expense

    Jan 23, 2026Jim Krane

    The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has a checkered relationship with American oil companies. In the 1970s, OPEC member states pushed the …

  • Policy Analysis
    LebanonEnergy and Economics

    Financial Regulation as the Foundation of Sovereignty? A Path to Disarmament for Lebanon

    Dec 26, 2025Patricia Karam

    Since 2019, Lebanon has experienced cumulative economic and institutional breakdown, leaving the state hollowed out, public trust shattered, and large segments…

  • Policy Analysis
    The Horn of AfricaEnergy and Economics

    Bitcoin Mining on the Nile? Implications of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam for Egypt and Sudan

    Nov 12, 2025Lama Elhatow

    Ethiopia’s highly contested and controversial Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) was officially inaugurated on September 9, 2025, marking the completion of…

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