Policy Analysis

November 29, 2017 As the peaceful phase of the Syrian revolution gave way to a destructive sectarian conflict and terrorist organizations gained prominence, hundreds of thousands of Syrian Kurds fled to Iraqi Kurdistan seeking security and job opportunities. Syrian Kurds welcomed Iraqi Kurdistan’s recent independence referendum, whether they were in

November 27, 2017 Tunisia is rightfully proud of what it has accomplished, for it was Tunisia that triggered the most important wave of far-reaching political transformation in the Arab world since the Sykes-Picot Agreement. Despite the movement’s trajectory in the region and its evolution into bloody struggles that have destroyed

November 27, 2017 Women’s rights take a backseat during conflict, along with freedoms and civil rights. And if women are discussed at all in situations such as that of Yemen, they are often seen only as victims and not also as stakeholders in the political process. But on March 18

Though political tensions exist between Bahrain’s Sunni elite and its Shia majority, polling suggests that public opinion on several key foreign policy issues is quite close between these two groups.

A military doctrine is "the system of concepts officially adopted by a country and the arrangements taken to fight against threats and ensure security, as well as to prevent wars and armed conflicts.” It is also "the system of advanced visions of military formation and preparation of the country, armed

November 15, 2017 Following the attacks in Barcelona and Cambrils, the magazine Jeune Afrique devoted the cover of its August 27, 2017 paper edition to the involvement of Moroccans in acts of terrorism, with the title: "Terrorism: Born in Morocco." This provoked a great deal of criticism and anger in

November 7, 2017 Watching a televised debate last week on the current tension between Kurdistan and Iraq, Haitham al-Jibouri, an Iraqi parliamentarian from the dominant Da’awa Party, made this proclamation: “The Barzanis violated the rights of the Kurdish people by misusing power and wealth. We will correct all these misfortunes

November 7, 2017 Former Kurdistan region president Masoud Barzani miscalculated the potential fallout of the referendum. But political miscalculation by itself cannot explain Barzani’s decision to hold the controversial referendum on September 25th. Rather, the security dilemma in which Iraqi Kurds have lived since the foundation of Iraq in early

November 2, 2017 In mid-August, TV screens showed us the strange footage of Islamic State militants and their families travelling in buses protected by the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF), Hezbollah, and the Syrian Arab Army (SAA). Yesterday enemies, today the LAF, Hezbollah, and SAA are keen to move the Islamic

October 25, 2017 As Secretary of State Tillerson returns from the Middle East, where he focused on challenges from Iran and intra-Arab divisions, a new poll in Kuwait reveals a mixed yet largely favorable picture of popular attitudes on such issues in that small but strategic Gulf state. On Iran’s

October 18, 2017 On September 13, the Tunisian parliament adopted a highly controversial “reconciliation in the administrative field” bill. The law offers amnesty to public officials involved in financial corruption under the Ben Ali regime (1987-2011) and is a lead initiative of Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi. On September 14

October 05, 2017 There is not a war in the world that does not bring misfortune. Even if Hezbollah wins the Syrian war, sharp divisions among the Lebanese Shia will remain. The war has exacerbated the phenomenon of sectarianism in a variety of ways. Day after day, the region’s poor

October 2, 2017 Seven years after the Jasmine Revolution toppled the graft-ridden dictatorship of Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali, corruption remains one of the top concerns of average Tunisians. With the launch of Prime Minister Youssef Chahed’s “war on corruption” in May 2017, many Tunisians hope that they may finally see

September 22, 2017 Iran is increasingly nervous about Iraqi Kurdistan’s bid for a referendum on an independent Kurdish state. This nervousness arises because of two factors. First, declaring an independent Kurdish state would encourage Kurdish separatism within the Islamic Republic of Iran. Second, a new Kurdish state would undermine Iran’s

September 21, 2017 On September 25, 2017, the Kurdistan Region of Iraq will hold a referendum on independence and succession. An independent Kurdish state is something that Kurds have sought for generations, but the notion of a referendum among Iraqi Kurds has gained strength in recent years due to disintegrating

September 15, 2017 The most interesting election of 2017 may be its least transparent. In October, the United Nations will elect the next Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in a race as wild as any presidential or parliamentary contest. The next director will manage

September 5, 2017 Recently, another controversy erupted over a one-hour sermon delivered at the Islamic Center of Davis in California by Imam Ammar Shahin. His words sounded hateful and anti-Jewish in tone bidding to "liberate Al- Aqsa mosque from the filth of the Jews. Annihilate them down to the very

August 10, 2017 In a few weeks, the citizens of Iraqi Kurdistan will vote in a historic referendum that will pave the way for the emergence of a fully sovereign Kurdish state. Almost a century has passed with Kurdish national aspirations thwarted by a world order that has otherwise accommodated

August 9, 2017 To wish for change is very hard in a culture that fears transformation. For almost three decades Iraqi Kurdistan has seen the same government, the same faces, and the same ideas, with only the slightest changes in leadership or policies. Who is accountable for the crisis in

July 27, 2017 In his July 13 Fikra Forum article, “The United States and Saudi Arabia Have More In Common Than Mere Common Interests,” Fahad Nazer makes the jarring claim that U.S.-Saudi relations are now based not only on well-known security and economic interests, but also on shared “core values”