دمکراسی و اصلاح

Policy Analysis on دمکراسی و اصلاح

Morocco’s Election Highlights Lingering Protest Grievances

Although the outcome is unlikely to affect core U.S. policy issues such as the Western Sahara dispute and Morocco’s participation in Gaza peacekeeping efforts, Washington should remain vigilant about the potential political impact of widespread disaffection, especially among the kingdom’s younger generations.

۳ سپتامبر ۲۰۲۶

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Sabina Henneberg
Salma Annasse

Articles & Testimony

Who Gets to Shape Sudan’s Political Future?

As the army, the RSF, and civilian forces debate this question, the international Quintet faces growing obstacles to building an inclusive political process.

Aug 26, 2026

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Areig Elhag

Photo of Syrians holding a memorial protest for family members killed by the former Assad regime.

Brief Analysis

Assad’s Speech Laws Are Putting Syria’s Security and Reconstruction at Risk

With Assad-era laws increasingly triggered by private complaints and enforced unevenly, U.S. officials can no longer relegate these issues to secondary tracks or assume that core administration objectives will remain unaffected.

۲۸ اوت ۲۰۲۶

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Aaron Y. Zelin

Photo of Marco Rubio shaking hands with Sadaam Haftar.

Articles & Testimony

Libya Needs Elections, Not Another Leadership Selection

Libyans are fed up with temporary solutions, but Washington’s current approach is structured to be just that—another transitional phase that lets political elites keep postponing elections and reform.

۲۱ اوت ۲۰۲۶

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Ben Fishman

Against parliamentary hall backdrop, book cover includes Tunisian flag imagery at top, EU, USA, IMF, World Bank imagery at bottom.

Maps & Graphics

In-Depth Reports

Why Economic Reform Failed in Tunisia:

Assessing Four Donors and a Country in Transition

International actors, while expressing confidence in the country’s political progress, struggled to adapt to economic resistance from the national labor union, the destabilizing effects of terrorism, and interference from outside actors.

۱۹ اوت ۲۰۲۶

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Sabina Henneberg

Photo showing Taliban fighters outside Kabul Airport, August 2021.

Maps & Graphics

Brief Analysis

Five Years of Taliban Diplomacy: Recognition Without Concessions

The Taliban has learned that it can reap substantial international rewards without budging on key security and human rights issues, but Washington can still exert pressure on crucial soft spots such as UN credentialing, Treasury Department licensing, and Central Asian project financing.

۱۸ اوت ۲۰۲۶

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Aaron Y. Zelin

Brief Analysis

Russia Is Not Leaving Syria

While it no longer enjoys primacy in Damascus, the Kremlin has proven itself able to adapt to the new reality, and Washington must play the long game in response.

۲۷ ژوئیه ۲۰۲۶

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Anna Borshchevskaya

Articles & Testimony

Five Years After Saied’s Power Grab, Tunisia Is Isolated and Unmoored

Even as the country's president shuns outside support, Western actors can use creative methods to engage reformers, support the Tunisian economy, and prevent instability.

۲۷ ژوئیه ۲۰۲۶

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Sabina Henneberg
Sarah Yerkes

Flags of Iran, Hezbollah, and Lebanon are seen at a Quds Day celebration in Tehran - source: Reuters

Articles & Testimony

Hizballah’s Deep State: The Real Challenge of Disarmament in Lebanon

As long as the group’s economic, political, and institutional ecosystem remains intact, officials will need to pair disarmament efforts with a sustained strategy to target financial networks, political influence, and judicial infiltration.

۱۵ ژوئیه ۲۰۲۶

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Hanin Ghaddar

Haibat al-Halbousi (R), Speaker of the Iraqi Parliament, welcomes Iraqi Prime Minister-designate Ali al-Zaidi (L) at the parliament building ahead of a parliamentary session for a confidence vote on the cabinet formed by al-Zaidi - source: Reuters

Articles & Testimony

Mr. Al-Zaidi Goes to Washington

Despite significant progress, Iraq still has a long way to go to meet the Trump administration’s expectations for reining in Iranian influence.

۱۳ ژوئیه ۲۰۲۶

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David Schenker

Brief Analysis

$300 Billion for Iran? Don’t Expect Much Impact

The heftiest portion of the theoretical financial windfall discussed in the U.S.-Iran agreement is unlikely to materialize, let alone have a big economic or political impact inside the Islamic Republic.

۷ ژوئیه ۲۰۲۶

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Patrick Clawson

A photo illustration depicts Israeli and Palestinian flags - source: Reuters

Articles & Testimony

Abolishing Lebanon’s ‘Anti-Normalization’ Laws: A Prerequisite for Peace

Recent Lebanese media engagement with Israelis is a welcome sign, but U.S. mediators should let this organic trend gain momentum for the time being rather than pressuring Beirut to make immediate legislative changes.

Jul 1, 2026

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David Schenker

Moroccan flags fly in front of a mosque in Rabat - source: Reuters

Brief Analysis

How Morocco’s Religious Rehabilitation Model Could Help Gaza

Although local religious and social differences would present some obstacles, the proven exportability of Rabat’s deradicalization machinery and the kingdom’s good working relations with the Israeli government make it an intriguing candidate for inclusion in the wider Gaza stabilization effort.

۱ ژوئیه ۲۰۲۶

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Salma Annasse

A protester holds a #FreeIran banner in Berlin - source: Reuters

Articles & Testimony

Trump Told Iranians to Keep Protesting. Then He Abandoned Their Cause.

With the regime still in place, the war has left ordinary Iranians worse off, and U.S. policy has compounded their sense of abandonment.

۱۶ ژوئن ۲۰۲۶

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Holly Dagres

Ships and boats await passage in the Persian Gulf - source: Reuters

Articles & Testimony

A Deal Could Leave Iran Fatally Weakened

The Trump administration won’t achieve all of its war goals, but it could still notch a strategic win with time.

۸ ژوئن ۲۰۲۶

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Dennis Ross

Brief Analysis

Rethinking Foreign Assistance Cuts That Endanger U.S. Interests

Despite President Trump’s transformative goals in the Middle East and the ongoing need for American help in weathering multiple regional crises, the new budget request doubles down on a range of problematic funding cuts.

۸ ژوئن ۲۰۲۶

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Alina Romanowski
Ben Fishman
Michael Jacobson

A man manipulates cables on a bank of internet data servers - source: Reuters

Articles & Testimony

Iran’s Next Internet Blackout Is Inevitable

Flipping the kill switch is a potent exercise of authoritarian control, but expediting countermeasures like D2C can help prevent regimes from using this tactic in the future.

۵ ژوئن ۲۰۲۶

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Holly Dagres

Brief Analysis

Syria’s Protest Wave: A Governance Stress Test

Washington should treat the recent public discontent not as a sign that Syria’s transition is failing, but as an opportunity to help ensure that Damascus does not repeat the mistakes of previous governments.

۳ ژوئن ۲۰۲۶

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Aaron Y. Zelin

Brief Analysis

Tempering U.S. Expectations About Iraq’s New Government

Tehran seems just as enthusiastic about the new prime minister as Washington—a telling sign that the militia-dominated status quo in Baghdad will be difficult and slow to change, if it changes at all.

۲۸ مه ۲۰۲۶

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David Schenker

Oil wells sit idle in Syria - source: Syrian Petroleum Company

Brief Analysis

The Politics Blocking Syria’s Energy Recovery

Washington’s message to Syrian officials should be simple: foreign energy capital is unlikely to flow quickly as long as the outside world sees their government as an opaque regime with unclear authority, factional infighting, uncertain legal protections, and unresolved military tensions with powerful neighbors.

۲۷ مه ۲۰۲۶

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Andrew J. Tabler

Supported by the

Project Fikra: Defeating Extremism through the Power of Ideas

Fikra n. [Arabic] "Idea"

The Washington Institute's Project Fikra is a multiyear program of research, publication, and network-building designed to generate policy ideas for promoting positive change and countering the spread of extremism in the Middle East.

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