Policy Analysis

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  • Policy Analysis
    EgyptRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    Geopolitics of Small Islands: The Stalemate of Tiran and Sanafir’s Transfer Impacts Egypt-Saudi Relations

    Mar 29, 2023Khalil Al-Anani

    In June 2017, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi consented to ceding sovereignty over the islands of Tiran and Sanafir to Saudi Arabia. However, nearly si…

  • Policy Analysis
    IranSecurity and Defense

    Iran’s Nuclear Program Poses Challenges for China and the United States

    Mar 29, 2023Daniel Brumberg

    Now that China has brokered a renewal of relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia, it must translate that achievement into real tangible benefits. After all, fo…

  • Policy Analysis
    LibyaRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    Impacting Elusive Transitions: Egypt’s Policy Toward Sudan and Libya

    Mar 1, 2023Khalil Al-Anani

    The recent political developments in Sudan and Libya have generated some optimism for a potential resolution to the protracted political crises that have plagu…

  • Policy Analysis
    SyriaSecurity and Defense

    Syrian Kurds Are Hoping for, but Not Banking On, Continued US Partnership

    Feb 24, 2023Gregory Aftandilian

    The massive earthquake that struck southern Turkey and northwestern Syria has given the Syrian Kurds a reprieve from a possible Turkish military invasion of ar…

  • Policy Analysis
    The Arab WorldUS Foreign Policy

    Washington Doubles Down on Middle East Ties

    Feb 15, 2023Charles W. Dunne

    Reducing US commitments in the Middle East and pivoting to Asia has been a hot topic among foreign policy analysts and Middle East experts since the idea was p…

  • Policy Analysis
    IranSecurity and Defense

    Iran-Israel Drone Competition and the Changing Nature of Warfare in the Middle East

    Oct 13, 2022Bishara A. Bahbah

    Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), commonly known as drones, have been widely used in recent armed conflicts, particularly in the Middle East. Their low cost and…

  • Policy Analysis
    TurkeySecurity and Defense

    Turkey’s Self-Fulfilling Prophecy in Iraq

    Sep 28, 2022Mustafa Gurbuz

    Head of Turkey's National Intelligence Organization Hakan Fidan’s recent visit to Baghdad was an attempt to heal wounds that were opened during a diplomatic ro…

  • 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
    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
    EgyptSecurity and Defense

    Insurgency in Sinai: Challenges and Prospects

    Jun 10, 2022Khalil Al-Anani

    In May 2022, at least 16 Egyptian troops were killed in two separate attacks in the Sinai Peninsula. The attacks were claimed by Wilayat Sinai or Sinai Provinc…

  • Policy Analysis
    The Horn of AfricaEnergy and Economics

    Horn of Africa’s Security Concerns and Economic Crises

    Apr 27, 2022Gregory Aftandilian

    The current Russia-Ukraine crisis has overshadowed another troubled region of the world, namely the Horn of Africa, which encompasses Sudan, Eritrea, Djibouti,…