Policy Analysis

Bluster from the Kremlin should not be interpreted to mean Putin wants a direct military confrontation with the United States.

Although pro-American, now-crown-prince Muhammad bin Salman has a firm view of Saudi Arabia's place in the world and his own role in securing it.

The United States cannot defeat the Islamic State without first reckoning with Iran's nefarious role in Syria.

Iran-led forces present arguably the greatest future threat to U.S. military personnel and overall interests in Syria, and therefore must be the centerpiece of a broader strategy addressing the conflict.

June 20, 2017 This month marks the tenth anniversary of the violent Hamas coup that took control over the 1.9 million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. There is still no end in sight to their predicament – but this is most certainly not because Hamas enjoys popular support among the

Watch the European Union's counterterrorism coordinator discuss plans to combat the Islamic State after the caliphate falls.

Washington should avoid the appearance of taking sides in the rivalry between the Saudi crown prince and his younger cousin, the deputy crown prince.

Watch European and American policymakers discuss how the West is confronting a new generation of Islamist-inspired violent extremism.

June 15, 2017 Surprising results from a highly credible new survey in the West Bank and Gaza conducted May 16-26, 2017, demonstrate that Palestinians are often more moderate than their leaders on short-term political issues -- such as "pay for slay" bonuses for terrorists, a U.S. embassy move to Jerusalem

The Institute's leading Russia expert outlines the best means of tempering Moscow's influence in the region, recommending a more active U.S. military and diplomatic role while explaining why Putin will never be a reliable partner there.

June 15, 2017 Does Qatar fund terrorism? Certainly. It is an argument based on an accusation that is applicable to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Iran, Turkey, Russia, and the United States. As long as there is no agreed-upon definition of terrorism, any and all governments that provide

Doha is overdue in aggressively targeting terror financiers, but addressing the latest batch of regional al-Qaeda designations could go a long way toward easing Gulf tensions.

The Washington Institute's Simon Henderson and Cipher Brief's Bennett Seftel met to discuss key areas of Saudi-China cooperation, the ways in which increased bilateral relations affect China's role in the Middle East, and ties between China and Iran.

June 14, 2017 The intersection of views and interpretations, a lack of understanding of the issue, confusion regarding language or how to distinguish between different meanings along with less visible reasons, have all created confusion about terms relating to Islam and what it means to be a Muslim. Due to

If Washington fails to press Russia diplomatically and raise the military costs on Hezbollah, a wider confrontation may erupt between U.S. and Iranian proxies in Syria.

June 13, 2017 At the beginning of May, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Raad al-Hussein expressed concerns over Egypt’s policies to combat extremism, highlighting that a state of emergency, the massive numbers of detentions, and arbitrary arrest facilitate radicalization. Meantime, the Libyan President Fayez al-Sarraj and General

June 13, 2017 “I just want to let everybody know that we are strongly supporting President Sisi; he has done a fantastic job in a very difficult situation. We stand with Egypt, and we support the people of Egypt.” With these words, the U.S. President Donald Trump welcomed his Egyptian

Pressing circumstances have pushed the Jordanian business community to set aside ideological objections and become more open to major projects with Israel.

The de facto leaders of Saudi Arabia and the UAE know how to change positions as pressures demand, but getting it wrong in Qatar, Yemen, and other regional hotspots could have dreadful consequences.

A panel of distinguished scholars and former U.S. officials discusses what Washington can learn from the Johnson administration's ambiguous role in a war that reshaped the modern Middle East.