Arab & Islamic Politics

Policy Analysis on Arab & Islamic Politics

A former Lebanese journalist shares her experience growing up in Lebanon, her insights on Hezbollah, and her views on how associated threats might evolve amid the Gaza war.

Oct 27, 2023

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Hanin Ghaddar

Articles & Testimony

I Might Have Once Favored a Cease-Fire with Hamas, but Not Now

A perceived victory by the group will validate its ideology of rejection, give momentum to Iran and its collaborators, and foreclose the possibility of peace with Israel.

Oct 27, 2023

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Dennis Ross

Palestinians view an unexploded Israeli shell in Gaza

Articles & Testimony

The Collapse of Israel’s Hamas “Conceptzia”

The belief that Hamas would abandon ideology for economic gain led to disastrous consequences.

Oct 27, 2023

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David Makovsky

A man carries Iranian and Palestinian flags at a pro-Hamas rally in Tehran in October 2023 - source: Reuters

Articles & Testimony

Beyond Gaza, the Confrontation with Iran

By supporting Hamas’s operation, the Islamic Republic managed to subvert a broad emerging Arab-Israel partnership—but Israeli success in destroying the group’s military capabilities could turn the tables.

Oct 26, 2023

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Ehud Yaari

Brief Analysis

Morocco and North Africa Are Feeling Anti-Normalization Ripples from the Gaza War

The conflict will make it more difficult for Washington and Israel to preserve—let alone expand—the diplomatic progress they have made with North African governments in recent years, particularly as public opposition intensifies.

Oct 25, 2023

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Sabina Henneberg

◆ Tracking International Reactions to the Hamas-Israel War

Brief Analysis

Jordan Still Has a Vital Role to Play in the Gaza Crisis

Despite the canceled visit to Amman, President Biden should keep King Abdullah front and center in any efforts to ease humanitarian conditions in Gaza.

Oct 19, 2023

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Ben Fishman

Articles & Testimony

Hamas Has Fractured the Arab World

A closer look at the political and security dilemmas that Arab leaders will face as the Hamas-Israel war intensifies.

Oct 13, 2023

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Ghaith al-Omari

Israeli Iron Dome missiles intercept rockets fired into Israel from Gaza by Hamas in October 2023 - source: Reuters

Video

Brief Analysis

The New Middle East: Hamas Attack, Israel at War, and U.S. Policy

Veteran U.S., Palestinian, and Israeli experts and policy practitioners explore the broader strategic repercussions of the unfolding war, as well as the factors that enabled Hamas to reach its current level of malign regional influence.

Oct 13, 2023

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Robert Satloff
Ehud Yaari
Matthew Levitt
Neomi Neumann
Ghaith al-Omari

Illustration of chess pieces and the Russian and Ukrainian flags - source: Reuters

Articles & Testimony

Middle Eastern Ambivalence Toward Russia and Ukraine

An in-depth look at how regional states have responded to Putin's invasion of Ukraine—by their actions as much as their words.

Oct 10, 2023

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Anna Borshchevskaya

Video

Brief Analysis

Islamist Approaches to Governance

Scholars will explore past and current attempts to establish Islamist governance by groups across broad swaths of the globe, from North Africa to the Indonesian archipelago. This event, originally scheduled for October 10, 2023, has been postponed.

This event, originally scheduled for October 10, 2023, has been postponed.

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Matthew Levitt
Aaron Y. Zelin
Joana Cook
Shiraz Maher

Protesting Syrians in the town of Suwayda hold signs and Druze flags - source: Reuters

Articles & Testimony

How to Support the Latest Revolt in Syria

Opening a low-cost Jordanian humanitarian corridor in the south would go far toward bolstering the Druze and preventing Assad from besieging and starving them.

Sep 2023

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Ehud Yaari

Brief Analysis

How to Stop Iraqi Kurdistan’s “Bleeding”

Federal pressure and disastrous internal missteps have brought the KRG to the brink, raising the need for more active U.S. mediation.

Sep 28, 2023

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Bilal Wahab

Fikra Forum

Ethnic Tension in Kirkuk Signals Fractures in Ankara-Erbil Relations

Longstanding tensions in the multi-ethnic city of Kirkuk in Iraq may once again spark confrontations between Turkey and the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI), the latest in a series of disagreements over the city.

Sep 25, 2023

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Bekir Aydoğan

People look at the list of missing people, in the aftermath of the floods in Derna, Libya - source: Reuters

Articles & Testimony

Libya Floods: As Families Search for Loved Ones, Politicians Trade Blame

Derna’s future and Libya’s broader political fate will be determined by the race for recovery and the battle of narratives over who is responsible for the tragedy.

Sep 14, 2023

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Ben Fishman

Wang Yi, director of China's Office of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission, Ali Shamkhani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, and Minister of State and national security adviser of Saudi Arabia Musaad bin Mohammed Al Aiban shake hands in Beijing in March 2023 - source: Reuters

Articles & Testimony

Gulf De-escalation and Hedging in the Shadow of US Retrenchment

Although any decrease in tensions is welcome, Washington should be concerned that regional rapprochement is being driven by diminished confidence in the United States.

Sep 12, 2023

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David Schenker

Articles & Testimony

Saudi Arabia and Lebanon: A Love-Hate Relationship

Riyadh won’t lend a helping hand in Lebanon unless Washington takes action on fully implementing the Taif Accord, curbing Captagon smugglers, and reversing Iran and Hezbollah’s takeover of the state.

Sep 12, 2023

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Hanin Ghaddar

Maps & Graphics

Brief Analysis

The Coordination Framework's Four-Way Split in Provincial Elections (Part 2): Division Over Diyala?

Diyala is the one area where the CF's main militia politicians are competing, with the upstart Qais al-Khazali trying to challenge his elders Hadi al-Ameri and Faleh al-Fayyad in their tribal home province.

Sep 12, 2023

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Hamdi Malik
Michael Knights

◆ Militia Spotlight

Twitter photo showing an Iranian woman standing on top of a car during a protest against the killing of Mahsa Amini.

Video

Brief Analysis

Woman, Life, Freedom: Iran’s Mass Protest Movement, One Year On

A Conversation with Masih Alinejad

A leading activist discusses the protests and the international response on the anniversary of the movement’s outbreak.

Sep 12, 2023

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Masih Alinejad

Maps & Graphics

Brief Analysis

The Coordination Framework's Four-Way Split in Provincial Elections (Part 1): Overarching Trends

Badr, Asaib Ahl al-Haq, and Nouri al-Maliki are testing each other's strength in the south but mostly hanging together in the north.

Sep 11, 2023

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Hamdi Malik
Michael Knights

◆ Militia Spotlight

Pedestrians near Manara Circle, downtown Ramallah

Fikra Forum

Support for Mass Protest on the Rise in Gaza and the West Bank

As rival Palestinian factions clash in Lebanon’s Ain al-Hilweh camp and Hamas-backed militants capture UNRWA schools, new polls indicate that public frustration in Gaza and the West Bank has grown to the point where many would back popular protests.

Sep 11, 2023

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Catherine Cleveland

Supported by the

Linda and Tony Rubin Program on Arab Politics

The Washington Institute's Linda and Tony Rubin Program on Arab Politics focuses on social, political, and economic developments in the Arab world, with an emphasis on the Arab countries of the Levant.

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Featured experts

David Schenker

David Schenker is the Taube Senior Fellow at The Washington Institute and director of the Linda and Tony Rubin Program on Arab Politics. He is the former Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs.

Ghaith al-Omari

Ghaith al-Omari is the Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Foundation Senior Fellow in The Washington Institute's Irwin Levy Family Program on the U.S.-Israel Strategic Relationship.

Hanin Ghaddar

Hanin Ghaddar is the Friedmann Senior Fellow at The Washington Institute's Rubin Family Arab Politics Program, where she focuses on Shia politics throughout the Levant.

Bilal Wahab

Bilal Wahab was the Nathan and Esther K. Wagner Senior Fellow at The Washington Institute.

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Arab & Islamic Politics

Policy Analysis on Arab & Islamic Politics

Linda and Tony Rubin Program on Arab Politics

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Regions & Countries

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Arab & Islamic Politics

Policy Analysis on Arab & Islamic Politics

Linda and Tony Rubin Program on Arab Politics

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