- Viewpoint
LebanonConflicts and Conflict ResolutionIsrael’s Violations of the Ceasefire with Hezbollah Threaten to Undo It
Dec 10, 2024Imad K. HarbThe ceasefire agreement reached between Israel and Lebanon on November 27 was a welcome development after 14 months of skirmishes between the Israeli Army and …
- Policy Analysis
Palestine/IsraelInternational LawGaza and Lebanon: No Distinction Between Civilian and Military Targets
Nov 22, 2024Jonathan KuttabOne of the consequences of the present Israeli war on Gaza has been the blatant erosion of respect for and belief in international legal principles and institu…
- Policy Analysis
The Arabian Peninsula and The GulfRegional Relations and GeopoliticsGCC States Seek Diplomacy During US Absence
Nov 12, 2024Kristian Coates UlrichsenThe expansion and partial regionalization of what is already the longest and deadliest conflict in the Israeli-Palestinian arena since 1948 presents the Gulf A…
- From our Affiliates
LebanonConflicts and Conflict ResolutionGCC Responses to Israeli Aggression on Lebanon: Strategic Concerns and Regional Implications
Oct 9, 2024The Unit for Political StudiesThe positions of the GCC countries toward Israel's war on Lebanon are appear divided. All share a deep concern about escalation and its potential impact on the…
- From our Affiliates
LebanonConflicts and Conflict ResolutionAfter Assassinating Nasrallah, Will Israel Escalate Further?
Sep 30, 2024The Unit for Political StudiesOn the evening of 27 September, Israel launched one of its biggest attacks on Lebanon since it stepped up operations on its northern front. The assault targete…
- Viewpoint
LebanonConflicts and Conflict ResolutionNasrallah’s Killing Prompts Serious Calculations
Sep 30, 2024Nabeel A. KhouryIsrael’s killing of Hezbollah’s Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah has shocked many in Lebanon and the region regardless of what they thought of the man and hi…
- Policy Analysis
LebanonConflicts and Conflict ResolutionThe War Israel Wants but Hezbollah Rejects
Sep 20, 2024Imad K. HarbThe Israeli war on Hezbollah has just entered another deadly phase characterized by the sophisticated, but criminally minded, use of cyber warfare to detonate …
- Policy Analysis
The Arabian Peninsula and The GulfRegional Implications and GeopoliticsAssessing GCC Perspectives on American-British Strikes Against Yemen’s Houthis
Sep 11, 2024Giorgio CafieroSince last November, Yemen’s Ansar Allah movement, commonly known as the Houthis, has been attacking commercial and merchant vessels in the Gulf of Aden and th…
- Policy Analysis
TurkeyRegional Relations and GeopoliticsTurkey Is Not an Actor in the Gaza Conflict
Aug 21, 2024Salim ÇevikPrior to the Hamas attack on October 7, Turkey was in the process of political reconciliation with Israel. Israeli President Isaac Herzog visited Turkey in 202…
- Viewpoint
LevantConflicts and Conflict ResolutionHaniyeh’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 Analysis
LebanonConflicts and Conflict ResolutionAn 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 Analysis
JordanRegional Relations and GeopoliticsThe 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 Analysis
EgyptConflicts and Conflict ResolutionThe 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 Analysis
Saudi ArabiaUS Foreign PolicyDifficulties 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 Analysis
UAERegional Relations and GeopoliticsUAE 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 Analysis
Saudi ArabiaUS Foreign PolicyThe 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 Analysis
Palestine/IsraelConflicts and Conflict ResolutionMiddle 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 Analysis
The Arabian Peninsula and The GulfConflicts and Conflict ResolutionGulf 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…
- Viewpoint
IranConflicts and Conflict ResolutionA 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 Analysis
LevantConflicts and Conflict ResolutionIran’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 Analysis
LebanonConflicts and Conflict ResolutionHezbollah-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…
- Viewpoint
JordanProtests and ActivismPath 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…
- ViewpointLevantConflicts and Conflict Resolution
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 Analysis
Saudi ArabiaRegional Relations and GeopoliticsSaudi 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 Analysis
LevantConflicts and Conflict ResolutionInstead 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 Analysis
LevantUS Foreign PolicyUS 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 Analysis
LevantConflicts and Conflict ResolutionArab 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 Analysis
JordanRegional Relations and GeopoliticsFrom 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 Analysis
EgyptConflicts and Conflict ResolutionEgypt, 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 Analysis
LevantConflicts and Conflict ResolutionFrom 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…
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LebanonConflicts and Conflict ResolutionContinuing 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 Analysis
IranConflicts and Conflict ResolutionIran 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 Analysis
LevantConflicts and Conflict ResolutionThe 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…
