Policy Analysis

After so much hope, what happened?

If a case can be made for a country too big to fail in the Middle East, it would be Turkey.

How will the election's outcome shape the direction of U.S. Middle East policy, and how do America's friends in the region view the prospect of a new administration? Read or watch a conversation between leading Middle Eastern journalists and U.S. policy experts.

The most reliable road to Kurdish sovereignty still runs through Baghdad, not through Ankara or the Trump White House.

Yes, Israel is popular right now, but most of its new friendships are based on assessments of common interest, and such assessments can change overnight.

Given his campaign rhetoric about Russia, Putin, and NATO, Trump could decide to pursue a number of problematic policy moves, such as lifting Crimea-related sanctions in exchange for Moscow's cooperation in Syria.

Well before his inauguration, the president-elect can take steps to calm foreign allies and build domestic support by conveying a sense of his strategy and priorities overseas, both in private and, to some degree, publicly.

Iran's missile force could double or triple in size by the time the major limits imposed by the nuclear deal are supposed to be lifted, so any attempts to improve on the JCPOA should address Iran's missile program as well.

As an idea, the Islamic State has gone global, attracting far more foreign terrorist fighters than all previous jihadist conflicts combined. But as a so-called state or "caliphate," how successful has it really been at expanding its global footprint through the establishment of "provinces" around the world? And what will

If the American-Russian diplomatic process permanently fails, Syria could be on the brink of becoming the epicenter of international jihadism.

As Shiite militias in Iraq attempt to become potent political actors, they may follow Hezbollah's Lebanese model: using military leverage over the government to wrestle power on Iran's behalf.

In this short video, Institute Executive Director Robert Satloff explores implications of the election of Donald J. Trump for America’s role in the region.

How did the group rise to power so quickly after Mubarak's ouster in 2011 -- and then just as quickly lose public support and fall from power itself? Read or watch a conversation between leading experts on Egyptian politics.

In addition to the schadenfreude of many loyal to the Islamist movement after the attack, there were other voices which were impossible to ignore: those of a group mourning for the soldiers while simultaneously criticizing the army’s leadership.

In the unlikely event that either side decides to follow through on its declared intentions, each has multiple options for advancing on the Islamic State's heartland.

I should feel complimented by Paul Pillar dredging up a piece I wrote for the Washington Post a year ago in his quest to calumny anyone ever recommending use of military force. I had written that, given the impact of ISIS including the threat of more terrorist attacks, the Administration

Where does the Middle East fit into America's global strategy, and is the rise of Russian and Chinese great-power competition in the region a permanent new reality or an anomaly that the next president can reverse? This episode of the Institute's Near East PolicyCast podcast features a conversation with Michael

The right question is not whether Americans still believe in U.S. global leadership, but whether policymakers do -- and, if so, how they plan to restore it.

An in-depth look at where Iraqi military, Peshmerga, and Shiite militia forces have wound up in their push toward Mosul, and what sort of resistance they are encountering along the way.

Although security cooperation tends to get the headlines, the two countries have been quietly pursuing other initiatives that could provide a desperately needed boost to Egypt's trade, tourism, and energy sectors.