- ViewpointPalestine/IsraelConflicts and Conflict Resolution
Haniyeh’s Assassination: Fallout from Israel’s Latest Killing Spree
Aug 2, 2024Yousef MunayyerThe assassination is the clearest message that Israel is not interested in an actual deal and is using ceasefire negotiations to extend the war while it kills …
- Policy AnalysisLebanonConflicts and Conflict Resolution
An Unwinnable Battle of Narratives in Lebanon Regarding War with Israel
Jul 19, 2024Patricia KaramHezbollah’s decision on war against Israel has attracted both support and objection from different political factions in Lebanon and helped lead to escalating …
- Policy AnalysisJordanRegional Relations and Geopolitics
The Gaza War and Threats to Jordan’s Domestic and Regional Stability
Jul 9, 2024Curtis RyanJordanians of all walks of life have watched the relentless war in Gaza with deepening alarm. By latest count, at least 38,000 Palestinians have been killed, m…
- Policy AnalysisEgyptConflicts and Conflict Resolution
The Limits on Egypt’s Gaza “Containment Strategy”
Jul 1, 2024Daniel BrumbergEgypt has opted to follow a containment strategy in order to manage the fallout from the Israeli war on Gaza, such as the spillover of the conflict into the Si…
- Policy AnalysisSaudi ArabiaUS Foreign Policy
Difficulties Facing a US-Saudi Security Agreement
Jun 25, 2024Kristian Coates UlrichsenThe search for a US-brokered Saudi-Israeli deal to normalize relations has assumed outsized significance in the administration’s approach to the Middle East.
- Policy AnalysisUAERegional Relations and Geopolitics
UAE Restricts US Military Strikes from Its Territory
May 22, 2024Gregory AftandilianFearing an attack by Iran or its allied militias in the region, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has restricted US military aircraft from targeting these proxy g…
- Policy AnalysisSaudi ArabiaUS Foreign Policy
The Gaza Crisis Pushes Washington and Riyadh Closer
May 15, 2024Daniel BrumbergHamas’s May 6 acceptance of a hostage deal proposed by Egypt and Qatar was surely designed to induce the White House to pressure Israel to produce a counteroff…
- Policy AnalysisPalestine/IsraelConflicts and Conflict Resolution
Middle East Trajectories Emanating from the War on Gaza
May 2, 2024Nabeel A. KhouryIsrael’s still unfolding war on Gaza is finishing its seventh month with no let-up in sight. The Palestinian death toll from Israeli operations has surpassed 3…
- Policy AnalysisThe Arabian Peninsula and The GulfConflicts and Conflict Resolution
Gulf Arab States Avoid Iran-Israel Tensions
Apr 25, 2024Kristian Coates UlrichsenYears of shadow conflict between Israel and Iran, which included targeted assassinations as well as cyberattacks, gave way in April to direct confrontation and…
- ViewpointIranConflicts and Conflict Resolution
A Failed Iranian Performance and Its Repercussions
Apr 15, 2024Imad K. HarbRare are the occasions when a purportedly capable country’s determined military response to attack turns out to be a mere theatrical performance. Such was the …
- Policy AnalysisPalestine/IsraelConflicts and Conflict Resolution
Iran’s Resistance Strategy After Israel’s Damascus Attack
Apr 12, 2024Daniel BrumbergDaniel Brumberg discusses whether Iran and Israel are on their way to a direct confrontation after the latter’s attack on the Iranian consulate’s annex in Dama…
- Policy AnalysisLebanonConflicts and Conflict Resolution
Hezbollah-Israel War Is Becoming Inevitable, and the United States May Not Prevent It
Apr 10, 2024Patricia KaramPatricia Karam evaluates the possibility of a war between Hezbollah and Israel that would be a major escalation in the Middle East as the United States tries t…
- ViewpointJordanProtests and Activism
Path of Least Cost: Assuaging Public Protests in Jordan
Apr 1, 2024Imad K. HarbOnce again, events in Gaza are showing up in the form of indignant protests in Jordan that, if not properly handled, could lead to serious challenges for the J…
- ViewpointPalestine/IsraelRegional Relations and Geopolitics
Whither the Arab World from What is Happening in Gaza?
Mar 20, 2024Imad K. HarbIsrael’s war on Gaza has recently entered its sixth straight month with no respite or apparent possibility of a permanent ceasefire that could spare the lives …
- Policy AnalysisSaudi ArabiaRegional Relations and Geopolitics
Saudi Arabia May Be Taking Center Stage in Post-Gaza Peace
Feb 28, 2024Kristian Coates UlrichsenWith Israel’s war on Gaza in its fifth month amid ongoing international pressure for a ceasefire, Saudi Arabia has become the focus of much attention over what…
- Policy AnalysisYemenUS Foreign Policy
Instead of Houthi Designation, the United States Should Embrace a Comprehensive Approach
Feb 28, 2024Afrah NasserOn January 17, the United States designated the Houthis in Yemen, also known as Ansar Allah, as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) in response to t…
- Policy AnalysisLevantUS Foreign Policy
US Troops to Stay in Syria and Iraq but Perhaps Not for Long
Feb 22, 2024Gregory AftandilianIn recent weeks, there have been meetings in Washington and in Baghdad about the presence in Iraq and Syria of US troops, whose official mandate is to aid loca…
- Policy AnalysisPalestine/IsraelConflicts and Conflict Resolution
Arab States Have Supported and Shunned Hamas in the Gaza War
Feb 21, 2024Rami G. KhouriFour months of warfare between Israel and Hamas have generated regional and global dynamics that will shape the Middle East for decades. But the war in Gaza ha…
- Policy AnalysisJordanRegional Relations and Geopolitics
From Gaza to the Syrian Border, Jordan Is Increasingly in the Line of Fire
Feb 9, 2024Curtis RyanSince Israel launched its current war on Gaza last October, Jordanians have been closely watching the enclave, and the rising tensions in the region, with deep…
- Policy AnalysisEgyptConflicts and Conflict Resolution
Egypt, the Gaza War, and Fears of Another Nakba
Feb 7, 2024Charles W. DunneLike most Arab countries, Egypt was stunned by the conflagration ignited by last October’s Hamas attack inside southern Israel and subsequent Israeli onslaught…
- Policy AnalysisYemenUS Foreign Policy
From Gaza to Yemen and Back: The Biden Administration’s Confused Strategy
Feb 1, 2024Nabeel A. KhouryOn January 17, the Biden administration announced it was adding Yemen’s Houthis (also called Ansar Allah) to the US terrorist list. The move returned the rebel…
- ViewpointLebanonConflicts and Conflict Resolution
Continuing Skirmishes but No Hezbollah-Israel War
Jan 25, 2024Imad K. HarbDaily and intense skirmishes between Israeli forces and Hezbollah and its allies across the Blue Line—in reference to the border drawn by the United Nations fo…
- Policy AnalysisIranConflicts and Conflict Resolution
Iran Between Managing Allies and Modulating Its Deterrence
Jan 25, 2024Daniel BrumbergThis is a bad time for Iran to become embroiled in an expanding regional war that pits the Islamic Republic and its allies in Iraq, Lebanon, and Yemen against …
- Policy AnalysisYemenUS Foreign Policy
The Biden Administration Is Strong in the Red Sea but Weak in Gaza
Jan 24, 2024Gregory AftandilianAfter enduring weeks of regional tension, including Houthi rebel attacks on shipping in the Red Sea and on American commercial vessels, the Biden administratio…
- Policy AnalysisRegional Implications and Geopolitics
Turkey’s “Guarantor System” for Ending the Gaza War Has Limitations
Jan 17, 2024Ali BakirIn mid-October, following the UN Security Council’s failure to pass a Russian resolution calling for an immediate humanitarian truce in Gaza, Turkey proposed a…
- Policy AnalysisPalestine/IsraelRegional Relations and Geopolitics
Normalization Survives Despite the Gaza War
Jan 11, 2024Imad K. HarbThe current Israeli war on Gaza, now well into its fourth deadly month, has cast a calamitous shadow over the lives of Palestinians and Israelis, as well as ov…
- Policy AnalysisRegional Relations and Geopolitics
The Far East Pivots to the Middle East
Jan 3, 2024Nabeel A. KhouryThe phrase “Pivot to the East,” popularized during the Obama administration, signified a realization of the rising importance of China and of growing US intere…
- ViewpointPalestine/IsraelConflicts and Conflict Resolution
Arouri’s Assassination Will Achieve Nothing
Jan 3, 2024Imad K. HarbIn its pursuit of Hamas leaders, an Israeli drone has assassinated Saleh al-Arouri, the Deputy Chairman of Hamas’s Political Bureau, a senior official in the o…
- Policy AnalysisPalestine/IsraelRegional Relations and Geopolitics
Russia and China on Gaza: Sidelined, Lurking—or Winning?
Dec 22, 2023Charles W. DunneIt wasn’t that long ago that Russia and China seemed to dominate the Middle East, and the United States was on the brink of relegation to the sidelines.Russia …
- Policy AnalysisLebanonConflicts and Conflict Resolution
Lebanon’s Political Forces Oppose a War with Israel
Dec 20, 2023Patricia KaramWith a heightened risk of the Gaza war spilling over into Lebanon, currently mired in acute political, economic, and social crises, the country’s politicians v…
- ViewpointPalestine/IsraelConflicts and Conflict Resolution
Expand the Arab Peace Initiative to Increase Its Chances of Success
Dec 7, 2023Rami G. KhouriSome in the Arab region and the international community seem to expect that after the Israeli war on Gaza and the destruction of most life systems in the Strip…
- Policy AnalysisEgyptConflicts and Conflict Resolution
Egypt Muddles Through the Crisis in Gaza
Dec 6, 2023Imad K. HarbEgypt has considered the Gaza Strip to be a soft underbelly since it ruled it prior to 1967, but also after it regained control of the Sinai Peninsula from Isr…
- Policy AnalysisYemenConflicts and Conflict Resolution
Assessing Yemen as a Second Front in the Gaza War
Nov 30, 2023Nabeel A. KhouryOn November 19, Yemen’s Houthis hijacked a cargo ship indirectly linked to Israel as it was traveling in the Red Sea. Much like their firing of missiles toward…
- Policy AnalysisIranRegional Relations and Geopolitics
Hamas’s “Al-Aqsa Flood” Challenges Iran’s Axis of Resistance
Nov 27, 2023Daniel BrumbergWhile the Biden administration, with Qatar’s support, has succeeded in securing a deal with Israel and Hamas for a combat “pause,” it remains to be seen if thi…
- Policy AnalysisThe Arabian Peninsula and The GulfRegional Relations and Geopolitics
GCC States and the War on Gaza: Positions, Perceptions, and Interests
Nov 22, 2023Kristian Coates UlrichsenThe war on Gaza has for all intents and purposes reinstated the centrality of the Palestinian issue to the regional and international politics of the Middle Ea…
- ViewpointLebanonConflicts and Conflict Resolution
Hezbollah Reluctantly Awaits Israel’s Decision on War
Nov 17, 2023Imad K. HarbThe frontline on the Lebanese-Israeli border continues to witness the real skirmishes of an undeclared war between Israel and Hezbollah. Reciprocal attacks bet…
- Policy AnalysisPalestine/IsraelUS Foreign Policy
Gaza, the Ruin of US Policy, and a Transformed Middle East
Nov 16, 2023Charles W. DunneThe Biden administration must act quickly and offer specific plans and timelines to shape post-conflict expectations and establish its priorities with the part…
- From our AffiliatesJordanConflicts and Conflict Resolution
The Jordanian Response to the War on Gaza
Nov 15, 2023Arab Center for Research and Policy StudiesJordan deals with the Palestinian issue according to complex political, military, security, economic and demographic calculations. The official position is det…
- Policy AnalysisLevantUS Foreign Policy
US Military Presence in the Middle East: Deterrence and Retaliation
Nov 14, 2023Gregory AftandilianThe United States has recently bolstered its military presence in the Middle East as the Israeli war on Gaza escalated. Bolstering this presence is meant to de…
- From our AffiliatesEgyptConflicts and Conflict Resolution
Egypt and the War on Gaza: Two Discourses, One Policy
Nov 9, 2023Arab Center for Research and Policy StudiesSince the beginning of the Israeli war on Gaza on October 7, 2023, Egypt’s response has received more attention than that of other Arab states due to its regio…