Policy Analysis

Despite recent tensions between Jordan and other stakeholders in the Middle East, shifting dynamics across the region have recently led to the formation of a tentative U.S.-backed cooperation between Israel and such Sunni Arab states as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and the Hashemite Kingdom. While this rapprochement

David Pollock’s thoughtful item on Chinese views of the Middle East reminded me of my periodic discussions with Chinese officials over the years on the same subject. Overall, China has a negative opinion of the U.S. role in the region—though Beijing’s views are sometimes nuanced and occasionally outright positive. Why

Next week, President Rouhani of Iran will visit China for a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping, on the margins of a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. Two weeks ago, coincidentally, I spoke in Shanghai at a mid-sized meeting billed as “the first conference on Syria ever held in

Background: The Infallible Israeli Right-Wing As Israel faces an election due in 2019, the factors that have caused the deterioration of the Israeli left will likely inhibit their ability to take the majority from the right-wing Likud. Since 2009, Likud chairman Benjamin Netanyahu has held onto power as the Prime

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is driven by several factors: ethnic, national, historical, and religious. This brief essay focuses on the religious dimension of the conflict, which both historical and recent events suggest lies at its core. That much is almost a truism. What is less often appreciated, however, is how much

To paraphrase Daniel Patrick Moynihan, everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but not their own numbers. After a bloody week earlier this month in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, emotions all around the world are running high, with recriminations flying on both sides of the argument regarding whether Israel used excessive

In an ideal world, Israel, as a Jewish majority state holding on and developing the age-old Jewish civil and spiritual traditions, and home to a thriving Arab community, would sit next to a Palestinian state, home to its Arab majority and to an integrated Jewish community of citizens and residents

Jordan’s King Abdullah II came to power in February 1999 in the aftermath of King Hussein. For the past nineteen years of his rule, he has kept the kingdom stable, despite the hardships and challenges that the whole Middle East region is undergoing, ranging from radicalism to terrorism. He has

While the version of history presented in the article “Who Holds the Key to Peace with Israel” may be debatable, the general thrust of the article is both positive and accurate: Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman is indeed presenting a fundamentally new rhetoric when it comes to Israel, regional

In his latest piece on Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman and Israel, a Saudi writer and General Manager of the Middle East Center for Strategic and Legal Studies in Jeddah Abdulhameed Hakeem tries to wash Saudi Arabia's hands of the long history of animosity toward Israel. Instead, he holds

Initial Arab media reaction was mixed after the March 22 announcement that John Bolton would soon replace H. R. McMaster as President Donald Trump's top national security adviser. In the current polarized Arab media discourse, the latest spin tended to follow different national predilections. For example, Saudi Arabia's Al-Arabiya website

For decades, Israel has had uneven relations with European countries. Today, French President Emmanuel Macron and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu now find themselves in a unique place to enhance bilateral ties, more so than some other EU countries. In particular, France can benefit from Israel in the fields of

1- How Should the New U.S. President Play the "Kurdish Card" in the Middle East? Frzand Sherko - January 10, 2017 Kurdish researcher Frzand Sherko argues that while the next U.S. administration may no longer want to play a direct role in the Middle East, they can still leverage the

The strategic interests of Jordan and Israel overlap to a remarkable, multilayered fashion. Both countries have shared the unenviable position of being primary targets of Arab, Islamist, and other radicals since their respective founding in 1946 and 1948. Yet their common challenges have not obviated real and recurring divergences of

Hovering far above actual policy, national strategy documents are bound to generate multiple contradictory readings and assessments. The most recent strategy papers, released less than a year into the new U.S. administration―and thus, with a limited track record of actions against which to be judged―has been met with the expected

February 09, 2018 Background: The EU-Israel Association Agreement The intent of the 2010 EU-Israel Association Agreement was to strengthen economic cooperation between both parties – and it worked. The President of the European Commission, Jose Barroso, praised the idea in June 2014, saying that: “Israel is a strong player in

February 01, 2018 The Palestinian refugee issue is of renewed controversy given the Trump Administration’s stance on both refugees and the Middle East peace process. It has been an ongoing crisis since Israel’s Declaration of Independence on May 14, 1948, which followed fighting at the local level, and led to

January 25, 2018 “I have a few words for America and its people: I swear by God Almighty, who has raised the sky without pillars, America and anyone who lives there will never dream of security unless we have it in reality in Palestine, and until all infidel armies leave

August 24, 2017 In "Why Israel Should Listen to Jordan on the Temple Mount," Abdullah Sawalha asserts that in handling the recent Temple Mount crisis, Israel prioritized domestic political considerations over coordination with Jordan. While I agree that Israel could have handled the crisis better, I believe the piece presents

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