Policy Analysis

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  • Policy Analysis
    LevantJustice, Equality, and Human Rights

    Comparing the Palestinian and Irish-Catholic Struggles

    Aug 18, 2022Daoud Kuttab

    Daoud Kuttab compares Irish and Palestinian experiences with occupation and settlement, building on a remark made by President Biden during his July 2022 trip …

  • Policy Analysis
    MauritaniaJustice, Equality, and Human Rights

    Slavery in Mauritania: The Long Road to Real Emancipation

    Aug 16, 2022Amal Ghazal

    Amal Ghazal discusses the history of slavery in Mauritania, which was officially abolished in 1981, but which regardless remains a political, economic, and soc…

  • Policy Analysis
    LevantJustice, Equality, and Human Rights

    Israel’s Ethnic Cleansing of Palestinians in the West Bank

    Aug 12, 2022Ben White

    Ben White discusses how Israel’s practice of denying building permits, demolishing homes, and attacking civil society organizations in Area C of the occupied W…

  • Policy Analysis
    Democracy and Governance

    Biden’s Embrace of Arab Autocrats Ends Hopes for Democracy in the Middle East

    Aug 10, 2022Khalil Al-Anani

    Khalil al-Anani writes that President Biden’s recent meetings with the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and the UAE sent a clear message to the world’s authorit…

  • Policy Analysis
    North AfricaDemocracy and Governance

    Tunisia’s Three Post-Referendum Political Scenarios

    Aug 8, 2022Daniel Brumberg

    Daniel Brumberg offers three potential political scenarios for Tunisia following the country's July 25 referendum on a new constitution that President Kais Sai…

  • Policy Analysis
    LevantConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    An Update on Israel’s Terrorist Designation for Palestinian Civil Society Organizations

    Aug 3, 2022Jonathan Kuttab

    In October 2021, Israel’s Defense Ministry issued an order designating six prominent Palestinian civil society groups and NGOs as terrorist organizations. This…

  • Policy Analysis
    LevantInternational Law

    Booklet #261: An Example of Israel’s Legal System in the West Bank

    Jun 13, 2022Jonathan Kuttab

    In May 2022, the Israeli commander in the West Bank issued the latest set of regulations for the occupied territories in the form of Booklet #261. The booklet …

  • Policy Analysis
    LevantConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Jerusalem’s Status Quo Agreement: History and Challenges to Its Viability

    Jun 7, 2022Mounir Marjieh

    In all initiatives and negotiations for a final and peaceful settlement between Israel and Palestine, Jerusalem has proved to be the toughest final-status issu…

  • Policy Analysis
    US Foreign Policy

    The Middle East’s Well-Documented Human Rights Abuses Have Little Impact on US Policy

    Jun 7, 2022Charles W. Dunne

    On April 12, the US Department of State released its annual country reports on human rights. The reports are a key resource for human rights scholars and gover…

  • Policy Analysis
    Democracy and Governance

    “Free Them All”: The Trampled Rights of Political Prisoners in the Arab World

    May 27, 2022Yara M. Asi

    In December 2021, Egyptian activist and blogger Alaa Abdel Fattah was sentenced to prison for five years after being convicted of “spreading false news.” Alaa …

  • Policy Analysis
    Justice, Equality, and Human Rights

    A Bleak Landscape for Democracy and Human Rights in the MENA Region in 2022

    Feb 2, 2022Charles W. Dunne

    Any survey of human rights in the Middle East and North Africa at the start of 2022 has to open with the bad news.Promising protest movements that began in 201…

  • Policy Analysis
    EgyptDemocracy and Governance

    Sisi’s Transnational Repression: Silencing Political Dissidents in Exile

    Jan 26, 2022Khalil Al-Anani

    On January 6, the FBI arrested Pierre Girgis, an Egyptian American, for spying on critics of Egypt’s president in the United States. According to the US Depart…