دمکراسی و اصلاح

Policy Analysis on دمکراسی و اصلاح

Water Issues Are Crucial to Stability in Syria's Euphrates Valley

Regardless of who drives the Islamic State out of the Euphrates Valley agricultural zone, they will need to address the legacy of failed regime irrigation policies that are once again creating tension among local tribes.

۲۶ مهٔ ۲۰۱۶

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Fabrice Balanche

Brief Analysis

Iran's New Assembly Chair Shows Who Really Won the Elections

Despite weeks of reformist spin about the spring election results, the decision to name a notorious hardliner as head of the Experts Assembly shows that Khamenei is intent on making life even more difficult for President Rouhani's camp.

۲۴ مهٔ ۲۰۱۶

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Mehdi Khalaji

Articles & Testimony

Bilateral Counterterrorism Cooperation and Changes in Saudi Leadership

When it comes to maintaining, improving, or repairing the kingdom's efforts against the Islamic State and other terrorist groups, many of Washington's tried and tested ways of understanding the royal family's power politics need to be discarded.

۲۴ مهٔ ۲۰۱۶

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Simon Henderson

Articles & Testimony

U.S. Support of Palestinian Security Forces and the Politics of Succession

Convincing Abbas to clarify succession and return the security services to nonpolitical control will require higher-level engagement from Washington and other parties.

۲۴ مهٔ ۲۰۱۶

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Ghaith al-Omari
Mitchel Hochberg

Brief Analysis

Erdogan's Nationalist Path to a Full Presidential System

By further hardening his approach toward Kurdish nationalism at home and in Syria, Erdogan hopes to woo Turkish ultranationalists and legally enshrine his executive power, but his efforts could clash with U.S. policy on the war next door.

۲۴ مهٔ ۲۰۱۶

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Soner Cagaptay

In-Depth Reports

From ISIS to Activists:

New Security Trials in Saudi Arabia

In 2008, Saudi Arabia established the Specialized Criminal Court to try al-Qaeda detainees who had been connected to attacks inside the kingdom. Over time, the court's caseload has expanded to include supporters of the Islamic State, Jabhat al-Nusra and other terrorist groups, as well as activists and critics. The court's

۲۳ مهٔ ۲۰۱۶

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Lori Plotkin Boghardt

Video

Alternative Futures for the Middle East

Lasting reform will have to come from within Middle Eastern societies, a panel of American, Israeli, and Saudi experts said at an Asia Society forum.

۲۰ مهٔ ۲۰۱۶

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Dennis Ross
Michael Herzog

Brief Analysis

Netanyahu's Sudden Coalition Shift: Early Implications

The prime minister has made a seemingly bitter tradeoff: although he is gaining six seats to ensure his political survival, he has saddled himself with a fierce rival, potentially alienated a loyal, experienced defense minister, and left the door open to unfavorable international initiatives.

۱۹ مهٔ ۲۰۱۶

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David Makovsky

Articles & Testimony

France Refuses to See Islamism as a Cultural Problem

If European countries keep dodging difficult questions about Islamism for the sake of political expediency, international jihadists will continue to emerge from within.

۱۳ مهٔ ۲۰۱۶

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Fabrice Balanche

Articles & Testimony

A European Crisis

The future of Europe as a political project may depend on how the union and its individual member states respond to the Islamic State threat.

۹ مهٔ ۲۰۱۶

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Olivier Decottignies

Brief Analysis

Saudi King's Son Drastically Reshapes Government

Sweeping bureaucratic changes, including the appointment of a new oil minister, may help the deputy crown prince impose his economic plan but could also prompt a royal family crisis.

۹ مهٔ ۲۰۱۶

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Simon Henderson

Articles & Testimony

Turkey's King: Erdogan After Davutoglu

If the president continues down his path of personalizing power and hollowing out political and civil institutions, he will endanger the country's longstanding democratic makeup.

۸ مهٔ ۲۰۱۶

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Soner Cagaptay

Articles & Testimony

Fueling the Islamic State's Engine

What makes someone become a violent Salafi rather than a non-violent Salafi depends on how they answer a basic question -- what makes someone Muslim?

۵ مهٔ ۲۰۱۶

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Jacob Olidort

Fikra Forum

Defining a New Italian Role in Libya and Africa

Half a decade after the 2011 Libyan uprising, the Libyan Eastern Army is fighting against Islamist militants in Benghazi while a unified interim government in Tripoli, guided by Fayez Sarraj and sponsored by the United Nations (UN), is attempting restore order according to the Libyan political agreement of last December

۲۸ آوریل ۲۰۱۶

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Maurizio Geri

Articles & Testimony

The Caliphate as Geopolitical Challenge

Until ISIS declared its so-called caliphate in 2014, this Islamic theological term barely raised flags for the West.

۲۸ آوریل ۲۰۱۶

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Jacob Olidort

Brief Analysis

Inside Iran's Runoff Election

A detailed look at what happened in the first round of this year's parliamentary elections and how it might affect round two.

۲۵ آوریل ۲۰۱۶

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Patrick Schmidt

Articles & Testimony

Flipping the Script on ISIS

To curb the power of Salafi ideas, the West must help Middle Eastern countries rebuild even as they fight ISIS, so that the group's destructive, exploitative project is perceived for what it is.

۱۸ آوریل ۲۰۱۶

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Jacob Olidort

Articles & Testimony

The French Disconnection: Francophone Countries and Radicalization

A recent article on the Francophone origins of foreign jihadists fighting in Syria shows a surprisingly shallow understanding of the French-speaking world.

۱۲ آوریل ۲۰۱۶

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Olivier Decottignies

Articles & Testimony

The Islamic State, Extremism, and the Spread of Transnational Terrorism

For many at-risk Muslims in Europe, the Islamic State provided the opportunity to be a part of building something exciting, and local authorities are now dealing with the consequences of this recruitment wave.

۱۲ آوریل ۲۰۱۶

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Matthew Levitt

Fikra Forum

The Alawites in Syrian Society: Loud Silence in a Declaration of Identity Reform

April 11, 2016 The “Declaration” presumably issued by Alawite notables and broadly covered by international media is a historic statement, irrespective of its political implications. While it commands international engagement, both to highlight its positive aspects and to invite its authors to expand on the less positive, it particularly ought

۱۱ آوریل ۲۰۱۶

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Hassan Mneimneh

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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