Arab & Islamic Politics

BEIRUT—While headline news was being made in Iraq and the Erez checkpoint, a less-noticed political drama has been unfolding in another corner of the Middle East, Lebanon. Here, Lebanese are in the midst of a five-week election five electoral districts each voting on subsequent Sundays that could have an important

Contrary to initial analyses of the April elections, it is now clear that conservative ideologues_not the reputedly more pro-Western supporters of President Rafsanjani_are the dominant force in the Iranian Majlis. That result, plus early Iranian presidential politicking, makes prospects for U.S.-Iranian dialogue as unlikely as ever and could foreshadow an

Secular Turkey has an Islamist prime minister, at least for now. Turkey's unprecedented coalition government, headed by 69-year-old pro-Islamist Necmettin Erbakan in coalition with heretofore staunch secularist Tansu Ciller, appears to be a compromise that keeps security issues mainly in the hands of the secularists; offers the Islamists dominant responsibility

In the first Middle East summit since August 1990, Arab leaders are meeting in Cairo to try to forge a unified Arab stance towards the peace process. However, just as the last Arab gathering six years ago ended in acrimony after Iraq's aggression against Kuwait, the current meeting also seems

With just days to go before Israel's national elections, key Israeli Arab political leaders this week endorsed Shimon Peres for prime minister, lessening the worry within the Labor Party that had emerged in the wake of Operation Grapes of Wrath that parts of a core constituency might abstain in the

Day-by-day events of the Middle East -- from conflict in South Lebanon, to terrorism in Cairo, to elections in Israel -- obscure already well-established, longer-running economic trends that are having a profound impact on the shape of the region for years to come. Increasing populations, declining oil revenues and the

While the pursuit of Arab-Israeli peace justly remains the dominant U.S. interest in the Levant, it is important to assess Syrian politics through a wider political lens. Since coming to power in 1970, Assad has imposed a brutal, authoritarian police state that has brought an unprecedented measure of stability to

The Muslim Brotherhood and its political wing, the Islamic Action Front, represent the most powerful political movement in Jordan today. Their statements and actions over the past five years—in government and in opposition—offer insight into how the Islamists might conduct domestic and foreign affairs if they come to power. To

Extending the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty: The Middle East Debate Executive Summary The debate in the Middle East over the possible extension of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) at the April 1995 review conference has emerged as one of the key determinants of whether the treaty will be extended. Egypt ratified