Arab & Islamic Politics

The perpetrators of the ongoing string of major terrorist attacks are obvious, but Turkey's bitterly divided pro- and anti-Erdogan camps refuse to focus on the foreign and domestic policy factors underlying the violence.

The heavy presence of pro-Iranian and pro-Syrian ministers is troubling, but Hariri and his allies can still preserve Lebanon's sovereignty by pushing for a balanced electoral law and a timely parliamentary ballot.

In addition to expanding and professionalizing their traditional roles at home, Basij paramilitary forces are poised to assume a larger share of the fighting in Syria alongside Iran's foreign militia proxies.

A century after diplomats Mark Sykes of Britain and François Georges-Picot of France drew up a secret agreement to divide the Ottoman lands of the Middle East, a look at the modern map indicates the resulting states have largely stood the test of time -- at least thus far. Most

Although Egypt's security, diplomatic, and economic cooperation with Israel continues to improve, the optics of such rapprochement remain a political liability for President Sisi.

Doing so gives the Assad regime a veneer of legitimacy and has a serious impact on international accountability.

Absent preventive measures, the Mosul campaign could increase Tehran's regional influence and embolden its proxies to act against U.S. forces in Iraq.

Despite pressure from OPEC to cap its oil production, the Iraqi government can neither afford a cut nor enforce it upon the Kurdistan Regional Government.

Saudi Arabia's reluctance to show weakness toward Iran likely means no real agreement will result from this week's OPEC meeting.