Syria’s New Government Appointments: More Continuity Than Change
The years that President Sharaa’s circle spent managing Idlib province now look less like improvised wartime governance and more like a deliberate long-term project to build the cadres of a future state.
May 22, 2026
  • Aaron Y. Zelin
A Counterterrorism Strategy Disconnected from the Terrorist Landscape
In focusing on cartels and gangs in the Western Hemisphere as well as left-wing extremists, the administration's “radical shift” elides certain threats from the Middle East along with the political right, while appearing to write off diplomacy and capacity building as key tools.
May 15, 2026
  • Michael Jacobson
Turkey’s Limited Role in the Iran War
Power parity informs the view from Ankara, which has a strong interest in preventing Iran from going nuclear or alternatively falling into chaos—even as the war’s outcome will be largely outside Turkish control.
May 26, 2026
  • Soner Cagaptay
Shifting from Diplomatic Urgency to Strategic Patience on Iran
For decades, Tehran has repeatedly exploited Western diplomatic urgency to extract concessions, buy time, and refill its coffers; the answer is to turn time itself against the increasingly vulnerable regime.
May 19, 2026
  • Zohar Palti

Interactive Map: Maritime Attacks in the MENA Region

Video: America and the Middle East at 250 with Dr. Martin Kramer

Historian Martin Kramer, the Walter P. Stern Fellow at The Washington Institute, explains how America's early leaders navigated the republic's first encounters with the Middle East—and hears some echoes of today's policy dilemmas.

Arab Public Opinion 2014 to Today

Fikra Interactive Public Polling Platform Thumbnail
Maps & Graphics
TWI Interactive Polling Platform
Interactive datasets, from 2014 to today
Jun 30, 2022