الديمقراطية والإصلاح

Since the 1980s, the Shia terrorist group Hezbollah has not been given to blunt public moralizing about the need for women to wear the veil. It originally made no secret of its desire to convert Lebanon into a Shia Islamic state -- the organization's 1985 manifesto called for the establishment

Adapted from remarks given at the Nixon Center debate "Israel: Asset or Liability?" with Chas Freeman on July 20. Read the Jerusalem Post's summary of Ambassador Freeman's remarks. See comprehensive coverage of the debate, including complete video. I don't think there is anyone who would disagree with the contention that

In this analysis from the German Marshall Fund's Mediterranean Paper Series 2010, Scott Carpenter explores recent economic and political developments in Morocco, Algeria, Libya, and Tunisia, and the mechanisms by which the transatlantic community has sought to channel social, political, and economic change in them -- for both good and

Repeated incidents demonstrate that Iran's clerical establishment has been unwilling to defend reform-minded clerics against the regime's attacks. Mehdi Khalaji posits that the Shiite clergy's silence does not stem from indifference but, instead, points to a fundamental tension between Iran's clerical establishment and its theocratic government whose roots date back

The latest Pew poll on Middle Eastern political behavior illustrates the media's post-9/11 tendency to report on America's standing on the Arab street -- without analyzing whether attitudes toward the U.S. have any significant effect on actual Arab behavior. To remedy this striking diagnostic gap, The Washington Institute presents a

Homegrown radicalization is on the rise inside the United States. Americans have gone overseas to wage jihad, while a string of terrorists have recently been sent from abroad to attack Americans here at home, ranging from Najibullah Zazi's plot targeting New York City, to the Christmas Day bombing attempt, to

Although the United Nations Security Council has now voted for new sanctions against Tehran, the Iranian regime and opposition -- preoccupied this week with the anniversary of last year's fraudulent presidential election -- seem more concerned about domestic political struggles. To outsiders, it is an often-confusing contest, with Supreme Leader

Ever since the Islamist Justice and Development Party (AKP) assumed power in 2002, Turkish foreign policy has made a 180-degree turn. The country's once-strong ties with the United States and Israel have been weakened, and entry talks with the European Union have stalled while Ankara has come to the defense

Although likely eclipsed in the media by recent Israeli naval action against blockade runners, the first anniversary of President Obama's much-quoted address in Cairo occurs on June 4. In his remarks, described as a "new beginning," he identified seven issues at the heart of tensions between the United States and