Policy Analysis

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  • Policy Analysis
    IraqRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    Iraq’s Foreign Policy Balancing Act Is Likely to Continue

    Nov 29, 2022Gregory Aftandilian

    Despite the support that Iraq’s new prime minister, Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani, has received from pro-Iran factions in the Iraqi Parliament, he is likely to purs…

  • Policy Analysis
    TurkeyThe War in Ukraine

    Turkey-Brokered Grain Deal Bolsters Erdoğan-Putin Partnership

    Nov 22, 2022Mustafa Gurbuz

    Turkey’s role in negotiations around Russia’s war in Ukraine has provided Ankara with extraordinary visibility on the global stage. Turkish President Recep Tay…

  • Policy Analysis
    EgyptRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    Egypt-Turkey Relations: Challenges and Future Prospects

    Oct 18, 2022Khalil Al-Anani

    Over the past two years, several positive signs have emerged in the Egyptian-Turkish relationship that might result in the normalization of diplomatic relation…

  • Policy Analysis
    IranUS Foreign Policy

    No Plan B for the US as Geostrategic Shifts Threaten to Scuttle Iran Nuclear Deal

    Sep 20, 2022Daniel Brumberg

    What a difference a few days can make in the Middle East. On August 28 National Security Council Spokesperson John Kirby addressed the diplomatic maneuvering t…

  • Policy Analysis
    US Foreign Policy

    Biden Fails to Counter Russia and China in the Middle East

    Aug 17, 2022Charles W. Dunne

    Charles W. Dunne writes that President Biden’s July 2022 trip to the Middle East to reassert American supremacy in the region and among US allies ran into the …

  • Policy Analysis
    TurkeyRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    Erdoğan Bets on “Turkish Exceptionalism”

    Aug 17, 2022Mustafa Gurbuz

    Mustafa Gurbuz analyzes Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s calculations as he increases his cooperation with Russian President Vladimir Putin, despite Tu…

  • Policy Analysis
    Palestine/IsraelSecurity and Defense

    A Developing Authoritarian-Israeli Nexus in the Middle East

    Aug 3, 2022Imad K. Harb

    Authoritarianism in the Arab world has assumed many shapes and shades in the decades since the end of formal European colonialism in the mid-twentieth century.…

  • Policy Analysis
    IranUS Foreign Policy

    US Diplomacy with Iran Is Needed to Achieve Security in the Middle East

    Jul 28, 2022Daniel Brumberg

    Now that President Joe Biden has completed his trip to the Middle East, his administration will likely make one last bid to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, …

  • Policy Analysis
    Saudi ArabiaUS Foreign Policy

    Mohammed bin Salman’s Political Precarity Persists, Despite Perceived Successes

    Jul 26, 2022Kristian Coates Ulrichsen

    The paths of US President Joe Biden and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) crossed briefly on July 15 and 16 when Biden stopped in Jeddah, Saudi Arab…

  • Policy Analysis
    LevantRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    Iraq-Jordan-Egypt Entente Moves Ahead Despite the GCC’s Shadow

    Jul 19, 2022Gregory Aftandilian

    In recent years, Egypt, Iraq, and Jordan have come together to form a sort of alliance based on shared security, political, and economic interests. Since 2019,…

  • Policy Analysis
    Palestine/IsraelRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    Palestinian Perceptions of International Threats

    Jun 23, 2022Dana El Kurd

    Despite its small size, Palestine has always played an outsized role in international politics. Palestine and the Palestinians have been a recurring theme in U…

  • Policy Analysis
    SyriaThe War in Ukraine

    The Ukraine Crisis Further Complicates Foreign Intervention in Syria

    Jun 15, 2022Gregory Aftandilian

    Despite early assessments that Russia would begin drawing down its military forces in Syria due to its need for more troops in the Ukraine invasion, it appears…