Arab & Islamic Politics

There are ways for the new prime minister to reinforce Iraq’s independence after a series of foreign attacks, but they will be complex and painful.

Several of the region’s demographic heavyweights will be surpassed, and major shifts at the global level may affect how great powers vie for influence there as well.

Iran's repeated attacks on the Kurdistan Region of Iraq represent the regime's efforts to both distract from internal opposition and disrupt external opposition support.

Nearly two years after Gulf neighbors put a splint on their diplomatic fracture with Doha, persistent tensions and historic quarrels will form a major part of the competition’s backdrop.

While the past few decades saw a dip in any political references to Turkey’s founder, opposition groups and the AKP alike have returned to Atatürk as a key political symbol of nationalism ahead of the elections.

Regional polls from March and August reveal shifting power dynamics, as economic conditions and relations with Israel continue to weigh on citizens’ minds.

As Prime Minister, MbS won't throw out the Arab Peace Initiative altogether, but he will likely reframe it.

The hostile and corrupt forces arrayed behind him might ease their anti-American activities just to reassert their power at home, so Washington should make the new government’s honeymoon a short one—and work around it if necessary to help the Iraqi people.

Watch an expert conversation on the pivotal week in WWII whose events continue to shape the modern Middle East.