Policy Analysis

Submit site search
  • Policy Analysis
    QatarUS Foreign Policy

    Qatar’s New Designation as US Non-NATO Ally Serves Multiple Purposes

    Feb 4, 2022Imad K. Harb

    Less than five years after the eruption of the Gulf crisis of June 2017 that seriously threatened Qatar’s security, President Joe Biden designated the Gulf Ara…

  • Policy Analysis
    US Foreign Policy

    Biden’s Non-Doctrine in the Middle East: One Year On

    Jan 27, 2022Daniel Brumberg

    To understand the actual forces shaping US foreign policy, it is imperative to put aside the alluring but misleading notion that a “doctrine” provides a useful…

  • Policy Analysis
    Palestine/IsraelConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    The Abbas-Gantz Encounter: Much Ado about Nothing in the Middle East

    Jan 18, 2022Khalil E. Jahshan

    On December 28, 2021, a surprising development took place in the Middle East: Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas held a rare meeting in Israel,…

  • Policy Analysis
    IranRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    Ukraine’s Geostrategic Tremors Reach into the Middle East

    Jan 13, 2022Daniel Brumberg

    Daniel Brumberg disentangles the complications arising from the current tensions between Ukraine and Russia and their impact on US-Russian relations as well as…

  • Policy Analysis
    Palestine/IsraelUS Foreign Policy

    Biden and the Israeli Settlement Elephant in the Room

    Jan 5, 2022Yousef Munayyer

    One of Barack Obama’s first acts as president was to create the position of envoy for “Middle East peace.” George Mitchell, whom the president named for this p…

  • Policy Analysis
    Palestine/IsraelUS Foreign Policy

    US-Palestinian Economic Talks Serve Israeli Interests

    Dec 29, 2021Jonathan Kuttab

    The recent resumption of discussions about economic ties between the US government and the Palestinian Authority (PA) after a five-year hiatus must be understo…

  • Policy Analysis
    YemenUS Foreign Policy

    Houthi Intransigence Is Changing the US View of the Conflict in Yemen

    Dec 21, 2021Gregory Aftandilian

    A combination of offensive military actions by the Houthi rebels and stalled peace talks to try to end the civil war in Yemen have changed the way the United S…

  • Policy Analysis
    Democracy and Governance

    Biden’s Summit for Democracy Ignored the Middle East

    Dec 15, 2021Charles W. Dunne

    The Biden Administration’s recent Summit for Democracy should be regarded as a modest success, fulfilling a campaign promise by President Joe Biden and decisiv…

  • Policy Analysis
    IranUS Foreign Policy

    High Stakes at the Vienna Nuclear Talks with Iran

    Dec 8, 2021Daniel Brumberg

    The ongoing indirect US-Iran negotiations in Vienna on the future of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) have thus far made little progress. Already…

  • Policy Analysis
    Palestine/IsraelUS Foreign Policy

    Thomas-Greenfield’s Visit to Israel and Palestine: A Stark Asymmetry

    Dec 3, 2021Daoud Kuttab

    The Biden Administration’s ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, visited Israel, the city of Ramallah in the West Bank, and Jordan in mid-…

  • Policy Analysis
    EgyptUS Foreign Policy

    Agreements and Tensions in US-Egyptian Relations

    Dec 2, 2021Sahar Khamis

    The US-Egypt strategic dialogue was held in Washington, DC in early November between Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and his American counterpart, Secre…

  • Policy Analysis
    SudanUS Foreign Policy

    Biden’s Chameleon-like Policy in the MENA Region

    Nov 3, 2021Imad K. Harb

    Having invested time, effort, and treasure in helping to sustain the 2019 political agreement between the Sudanese military and the civilian Forces of Freedom …