- 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
Palestine/IsraelConflicts 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 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 AnalysisTurkeyRegional Relations and Geopolitics
Erdoğan, Gaza, and Turkey’s Regional Reconciliation
Nov 30, 2023Salim ÇevikTurkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's first statements following the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel and the subsequent Israeli war on the Gaza Strip were …
- 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…
- Policy AnalysisSyriaRegional Relations and Geopolitics
Does Syria Have a Role in the Israel-Hamas Conflict?
Nov 6, 2023Patricia KaramAs the war between Israel and Hamas rages, the Middle East is bracing for a wider, multi-front regional conflict that will have serious repercussions for the g…
- ViewpointPalestine/IsraelConflicts and Conflict Resolution
Nasrallah Steers Clear of War
Nov 3, 2023Imad K. HarbWhere is Hezbollah and its General Secretary Hassan Nasrallah? This was a natural refrain over almost the last four weeks, voiced by many observers and partisa…
- Policy AnalysisPalestine/IsraelConflicts and Conflict Resolution
Gaza and the Harbingers of Future Conflict
Oct 30, 2023Nabeel A. KhouryThe shock of civilian deaths in the latest Israel-Hamas conflagration is both a marker and a warning. It is a marker because for the first time Palestinians to…
- Policy AnalysisLevantRegional Relations and Geopolitics
Erdoǧan’s Calculations as the Israel-Gaza Conflict Escalates
Oct 25, 2023Mustafa GurbuzOn October 20, during Friday prayers at the historic Hagia Sophia Mosque in Istanbul, Ali Erbas, the head of Turkey's state-run religious affairs directorate, …
- Policy AnalysisLevantConflicts and Conflict Resolution
Will Saudi Arabia Renew the “Arab Peace Initiative” as the Middle East Seethes?
Oct 23, 2023Daniel BrumbergWhether Hamas’s October 7 assault has ended whatever prospects existed for forging diplomatic relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia remains to be seen. The…
- Policy AnalysisPalestine/IsraelUS Foreign Policy
The War on Gaza: Deterrence or Inching toward Direct US Involvement?
Oct 17, 2023Khalil E. JahshanThe official American position has passed through three phases in less than ten days. First, like Israel itself, Washington and its western allies suffered fro…
- Policy AnalysisIranRegional Relations and Geopolitics
On the Limits of Iran’s Policy of “Maximum Tactical Flexibility”
Oct 13, 2023Daniel BrumbergAt some point, the tactical balls Tehran has been juggling could fall to the ground with unpredictable or dangerous strategic results.
- ViewpointPalestine/IsraelConflicts and Conflict Resolution
The Unlikelihood of a Hezbollah-Israel War
Oct 13, 2023Imad K. HarbAs Israel turns to punish the Gaza Strip and its people for the Hamas attack on October 7, speculation arises as to whether the “Al-Aqsa Flood” operation will …
- Policy AnalysisPalestine/IsraelRegional Relations and Geopolitics
Saudi-Israeli Normalization and the Hamas Attack
Oct 11, 2023Kristian Coates UlrichsenWhen Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) sat down on September 20 with Brett Baier of Fox News for his first English-language television inter…
