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  • Policy Analysis
    YemenConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Yemen and the Saudi-Iran Rapprochement

    Mar 22, 2023Nabeel A. Khoury

    In the closing scene of the 1942 film Casablanca, Humphrey Bogart, walking off into the fog with his occasional nemesis as they plan their next move together, …

  • Policy Analysis
    IraqDemocracy and Governance

    Unfinished Business: Nation-Building in Iraq Since 2003

    Mar 21, 2023Rend Al-Rahim

    Nothing so perfectly expresses the failure of nation-building in Iraq as the cry of protesters in 2019, when they chanted, nureed watan, “we want a country.” T…

  • Policy Analysis
    LebanonRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    Lebanon and Syria and the Saudi-Iran Detente

    Mar 21, 2023Imad K. Harb

    The recent China-brokered agreement between Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Republic of Iran is expected to have a de-escalating effect on many issues in the Midd…

  • External Readings
    IraqUS Foreign Policy

    From Iraq to Ukraine: Reflections on imperial hubris

    Mar 20, 2023Marwan Bishara

    Twenty years ago, as the United States prepared to wage war on Iraq, then-Democratic Senator Joe Biden voted in favour of President George Bush’s reckless adve…

  • From our Affiliates
    The Arabian Peninsula and The GulfRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    China Brokered Iran Saudi Agreement: Motives and Prospects

    Mar 16, 2023Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies

    Following secret five-day negotiations in Beijing between the two countries’ national security advisors, Saudi Arabia and Iran have reached an agreement to res…

  • Policy Analysis
    The Arabian Peninsula and The GulfRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    China as Middle East Matchmaker

    Mar 16, 2023Daniel Brumberg

    While the central role that China recently played in renewing diplomatic relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia underscores the United States’ declining influ…

  • Policy Analysis
    YemenConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Oman’s Interests and Role in the Conflict in Yemen

    Mar 14, 2023Afrah Nasser

    In the course of the conflict in Yemen, Oman’s role has evolved substantially and in various ways. Currently, expectations are high that the sultanate will be …

  • External Readings
    Saudi ArabiaRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    The Saudi-Iran détente and its regional implications

    Mar 12, 2023Marwan Bishara

    On March 10, Saudi Arabia and Iran announced an agreement to restore bilateral relations. The deal was conceived out of need and out of desire: The Saudi-Irani…

  • Policy Analysis
    OmanRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    Walking a Tightrope: Oman and Normalization with Israel

    Mar 7, 2023Imad K. Harb

    As the mechanisms of normalization between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco, and Sudan continue to take shape, other Arab states are ponde…

  • Policy Analysis
    IranProtests and Activism

    Iranian Protests and the Crisis of Free Speech

    Feb 23, 2023Kourosh Ziabari

    There is consensus among scholars and observers that the protests that erupted in Iran in September 2022 represent a defining moment in the contemporary histor…

  • Policy Analysis
    The Arab WorldUS Foreign Policy

    Washington Doubles Down on Middle East Ties

    Feb 15, 2023Charles W. Dunne

    Reducing US commitments in the Middle East and pivoting to Asia has been a hot topic among foreign policy analysts and Middle East experts since the idea was p…

  • Conferences
    The Arab WorldUS Foreign Policy

    A US Pivot Away from the Middle East: Fact or Fiction?

    May 18, 2023

    Experts discuss the US pivot to Asia, it's rationale, military and economic dimensions, geopolitical implications, and effects on Middle East countries.