Arab & Islamic Politics

Syrian Shiite fighters increasingly show loyalty to Tehran, over even the Assad regime, marking an important shift in the wartime dynamic.

Strong ground support for moderate rebels would be needed to keep any buffer zone in the northwest from falling under the control of al-Qaeda's Syrian affiliate.

This contribution, the fifth in a series exploring prospects for political reform throughout the Middle East, considers the strengths and limitations of Lebanon’s robust civil society.

March 3, 2016 Could one of Iraq’s most notorious political parties make a comeback after thirteen years in exile? This may increasingly become a central question for Middle East analysts, as Ba’athists are claiming their sociopolitical platform of supporting pan-Arab causes defused sectarianism and united Iraqis around nationalistic themes. They

The prime minister has broad backing to begin absorbing Shiite militias into the armed forces, though two key PMUs seem bent on resisting the move.

Given the absence of sharp ideological differences and the growing irrelevance of old political categories, those who win office this week may have little actual influence on important issues such as succession, economics, or the next presidential election.

Caught at the geographic convergence of four key states and their various political and military conflicts, Kurdistan may gradually spread a new paradigm focused on sharing the space instead of attempting to carve untenable dominions out of it.

As in past votes, the candidates have been closely screened, the outcome is expected to uphold the legislature's largely conservative makeup, and the victors will remain largely dependent on military institutions.

In places like Jordan, even minimal support for the Islamic State fell over a one-year period, and a similar downward trend may be occurring elsewhere.