Arab & Islamic Politics

If Washington fails to address Egypt's financial problems, its dispute with Saudi Arabia, and its over-emphasis on the dangers of Sunni Islamism, then American efforts to contain Iran could be in jeopardy.

Ahead of parliamentary elections in May, Algeria’s fractious Islamist parties have announced unlikely new sets of electoral blocs. The confusing new coalitions are not just the latest iteration of the alphabet soup of Algeria’s Islamists. They also reflect the enduring limitations of Islamist party politics, which present an incomplete picture

Many Hezbollah fighters believe their Iranian supervisor in Syria views them as easily replaceable Arab cannon fodder, and the resultant tension is generating disillusionment about Tehran's claims of pan-Shiite unity.

The rise of the Islamic State brought the Kurds together, but its impending fall now threatens to tear them apart.

Egypt remains an essential component of any future Palestinian peace process, but the country's deep anti-Israel propaganda is a persistent stumbling block.

Actions like the travel ban on Iraqis could have the unintended effect of derailing the U.S. alliance with Baghdad -- an outcome that would benefit Iran, the Islamic State, and no one else.

Given the region’s notorious difficulty, it would be tempting for President Trump to pivot elsewhere, but America's pressing foreign policy interests will likely draw his administration to the Middle East once again.

Kurdish-led forces are in good position for a final assault on the Islamic State's Syrian stronghold, and other actors seem ready to either support them or stand aside and benefit from their faster progress on the battlefield.

Washington should pursue a 'day after' scenario that keeps the United States in the region, maintains its new (YPG) and old (Turkish and Iraqi) relationships, pushes back Iranian ambitions, and 'manages' an inevitable Russian presence.