Policy Analysis

The Palestinian Authority may have avoided an immediate, devastating crisis following Israel's recent decision to resume the transfer of tax revenues, but the failure of the Palestinian-Israeli peace process, and the unwillingness of the PA to exercise representative good governance, have created a dynamic that will continue to erode the

In recent days, the U.S. Government reshuffled the Middle Eastern deck dramatically, signing a framework agreement with Iran but also buttressing America's traditional regional allies -- supporting the Saudi-led Arab force in Yemen, lifting arms delivery constraints on Egypt, launching air strikes against ISIS in Tikrit after Iran's effort there

By canceling a weapons financing system that had long served as a signal of Egypt's privileged relationship with Washington, the president might have closed the book on any chance for closer ties during his term.

Click to download high-resolution map [PDF] This map adapted from information contained in Nuclear Iran: A Glossary.

Volcanic changes in the region are under way, with the outbreak of Sunni-Shiite wars in Iraq, Syria, and Yemen, unprecedented tension between Washington and Israel, and U.S.-Iranian nuclear talks that appear on the verge of breakthrough. Watch an expert discussion of these challenges and the future of U.S. policy in the region.

If Washington and its negotiating partners do not adjust their approach, the talks could be remembered not as a signature foreign policy accomplishment, but as a case study of a powerful country playing a strong hand poorly.

Over the past two years, global attention has shifted to Syria and Iraq with the rise of Jabhat al-Nusra and the return of the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS). However, nearly one thousand miles to the west, Ansar al-Sharia in Libya (ASL) has continued its work of facilitating

President Rouhani speaks of conciliation with the United States, but the differing bilateral descriptions of the parameters have some Iranians worried that a deal is by no means certain.

Initial public statements by Iranian officials emphasize that the United States and its partners have accepted an outcome in which Tehran need not change course.

In this video,Institute Managing Director and Lane-Swig Senior Fellow Michael Singh notes that the nuclear framework agreement announced on April 2 between Iran and the P5+1 presents impediments to Iran's ability to create a weapon, but does not completely eliminate its nuclear program. President Obama must now reassure U.S. allies

Israel's concerns about the framework nuclear deal center on how the United States will prevent Iran from getting away with violations, increasing its destabilizing actions in the Middle East, and triggering a regional arms race, all while Tehran gets to retain much of its industrial-size nuclear infrastructure.

With ISIS and Iran both threatening to upset the state system in the Middle East, Washington needs to adjust its approach accordingly.

In addition to its political importance, the EU decision to keep blacklisting Hamas is legally significant in shaping how donor nations move forward on rebuilding Gaza.

The Yemen intervention and other recent actions show how concerned the Gulf states are about the Iranian threat, though an even greater challenge may emerge from their severe tactics against domestic dissent.

Although the newly released terms cover more ground than skeptics had feared, significant questions linger on almost every major issue, particularly with regard to enforcement.

No negotiations with the Iranians are easy. The difficulty in producing the framework understanding is a reminder that filling in the details will also prove to be an ordeal. While the framework includes important limitations on the Iranian program, the Iranians will resist the scope of the verification that the

If we want to keep the Iranians from cheating, the issue of responses and consequences needs to be clear.

Read a collection of Counterterrorism Lectures from November 2013-May 2014.

By issuing blanket calls for the lifting of all sanctions, Tehran may undermine efforts to forge, implement, and enforce a viable nuclear deal.

"Don't stop history! Nobody will be able to fight the divine decrees, nor delay the day when it rises. This world has changed and the world has evolved." Only one week after President Hosni Mubarak's resignation was announced in 2011, Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi delivered those words during a powerful speech