Policy Analysis

The price of today’s breakthrough may be tomorrow’s turbulence, as the president and his advisors press their thumbs on the scales of Israel’s electoral and legal processes.

To ensure the U.S. peace plan meets the long-term goal of a Gaza that is not ruled by Hamas and does not pose a threat to its neighbors, authorities need to combine realistic and measurable achievements with efforts toward disarmament, civilian reconstruction, and changing the public agenda.

Gulf leaders know that neither China, Russia, nor a “Mideast NATO” can replace the scale, capability, and strategic commitments that Washington brings, though they are still looking to recalibrate the partnership somewhat following Israel’s Qatar strike.

Despite the ceasefire, on-the-ground media coverage is unlikely to improve given the tight grip Hamas still holds over the Strip.

More than three decades ago, amid the prospect of Israeli withdrawal from Palestinian territory, international actors similarly sought to disarm the group and exclude it from governance.

Perhaps, given the ceasefire deal, the group will rein in its operations abroad to avoid giving Israel reason to resume the war, but the involvement of senior group leaders in plots targeting Denmark, Sweden, and other countries has justifiably drawn law enforcement attention.

A compilation of Washington Institute insights on the profoundly complex tasks ahead—from preventing a Hamas resurgence to promoting Palestinian political reform—and the states and mechanisms likely to carry them out.

Five experts and former high-level officials discuss the gamut of opportunities and risks created by the Trump administration’s diplomatic achievement.

Facing an uncertain economic future and fed up with corruption and mismanagement, young people in countries from Morocco to Iran have begun voicing demands for more responsive leadership and a more open society.

While those deemed responsible for crimes committed under the Assad regime must face justice, the sweeping purge of public-sector employees threatens to deepen divisions in an already fragmented nation.

The momentum created by phase one of the peace plan will eventually fade, so the Trump administration must work quickly with its partners to establish clarity on complex issues like disarming Hamas and securing Gaza, and on identifying the actors to implement them.

Executing the president’s ambitious plan will require an army of experts in areas ranging from military command-and-control to community engagement and rehabilitation.

Inevitable attempts by Tehran to rebuild its nuclear and missile programs will require a U.S.-led campaign to track the regime’s proliferation activities and block transfers of related materials.

An Emirati official and an Israeli expert join two former U.S. officials to discuss the ongoing aftershocks of the Hamas attack, including the revised prospects for peace amid the Trump administration's new diplomatic push.

The potential economic and strategic benefits of reopening the northern Iraqi pipeline are clear, but the agreement still faces bureaucratic, political, and security challenges before exports can resume in earnest.

Ongoing delays in implementing their integration agreements threaten to derail the entire post-Assad national project, but the Kurds and Damascus don’t need to solve all of their core issues right away—they just need to take a well-defined set of urgent confidence-building steps.

The regime’s attempts to stir up nationalist support and increase its legitimacy postwar are not working—opposition is at a historical high.

Distinguished former officials and analysts mark two years since the horrific attack on Israel, assessing how best to build on new diplomatic momentum in Gaza while avoiding long-term damage to the prospects of regional integration.

Although top-down change seems increasingly unlikely, elected Libyans may stand a better chance of challenging the national status quo by pushing from the local level.

An in-depth report on the corrosive role that Russian and Hezbollah elements are playing in Mali, Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, and other West African states.