Policy Analysis

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  • Policy Analysis
    Saudi ArabiaConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    The Mecca Summits: Spinning the Wheels on Iran

    Jun 11, 2019Imad K. Harb

    By devoting its three Mecca summit meetings to vilifying and criticizing Iran, Saudi Arabia missed a good opportunity to address the many problems facing the G…

  • Policy Analysis
    IranThe GCC

    Arab Leaders Trying to Decipher US Iran Policy

    May 30, 2019Daniel Brumberg

    The Trump Administration’s contradictory statements and signals about its approach to Iran are increasing the confusion for GCC states and Iraq as tensions mou…

  • Policy Analysis
    IranThe GCC

    “Maximum Pressure” on Iran Stresses US-Iraq Ties

    May 29, 2019Charles W. Dunne

    The US policy of "maximum pressure" on Iran intensifies pressure on the US-Iraq relationship, too. Baghdad is eager to step out of the fray, and Washington nee…

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

    No American Traction on Resolving the GCC Crisis

    Dec 27, 2018Charles W. Dunne

    To maintain or reassert its leadership role in the Gulf region, the United States must effectively and forcefully address the reasons behind the start of the G…

  • Policy Analysis
    QatarConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    The GCC Is Meeting Again: What to Expect?

    Dec 3, 2018Kristian Coates Ulrichsen

    Regardless of what happens at the GCC summit on December 9, the likelihood is that the council as it functioned up until 2017 is not coming back anytime soon, …

  • Policy Analysis
    Saudi ArabiaDemocracy and Governance

    Has Saudi Arabia Become a Monarchy of Fear?

    Oct 24, 2018Daniel Brumberg

    With increasing authoritarian tendencies in the current Arab political order, the Khashoggi killing may point to Saudi Arabia as approaching being a monarchy o…

  • Policy Analysis
    Saudi ArabiaThe GCC

    The Khashoggi Affair: Can Congress Force the President’s Hand?

    Oct 18, 2018Marcus Montgomery

    Khashoggi’s murder prompted many in Congress to speak out forcefully; but for Republicans, a political battle with the president over relations with Riyadh may…

  • Policy Analysis
    Saudi ArabiaThe GCC

    The Khashoggi Affair and the Future of Saudi Arabia

    Oct 12, 2018Imad K. Harb

    Jamal Khashoggi’s disappearance has taken on the importance of a serious international incident whose repercussions are likely to remain with the kingdom for a…

  • Policy Analysis
    Saudi ArabiaJustice, Equality, and Human Rights

    Saudi Arabia’s Extrajudicial Arrests: Between Reforms, Modernization, and Human Rights Violations

    Aug 31, 2018Tamara Kharroub

    The White House deals another blow to Palestinians, cutting millions of dollars in aid; Trump Administration officials pan Washington to talk Syria, Yemen, Ira…

  • Policy Analysis
    BahrainRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    The Exclusionary Turn in GCC Politics

    Aug 21, 2018Kristian Coates Ulrichsen

    The emergence of a hyper-hawkish geopolitical axis running from Riyadh to Abu Dhabi has widened existing fractures within the GCC and inflicted potentially lon…

  • Policy Analysis
    QatarThe GCC

    Can a GCC Reconciliation Summit at Camp David Succeed?

    Aug 14, 2018Gregory Aftandilian

    President Trump is planning to host a GCC reconciliation summit in September to shore up Arab support for his Iran policies; but to succeed, he will need to re…

  • Policy Analysis
    Saudi ArabiaDemocracy and Governance

    Mapping Saudi Arabia’s New Ruling Bargain

    Jul 3, 2018Daniel Brumberg

    “There is nothing more difficult to carry out, nor more doubtful of success, nor more dangerous to handle, than to initiate a new order of things.” Machiavelli…