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Democracy and Reform

Policy Analysis on Democracy and Reform

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Brief Analysis
Changing of the Guard: New Iraqi Militia Trends and Responses
In the year since their most iconic leaders were killed, Iran-backed militias in Iraq have been changing in crucial ways, providing rich insights into how Baghdad and its international partners should approach them in 2021.
Jan 19, 2021
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  • Michael Knights
  • Hamdi Malik
  • Crispin Smith
Former UK prime minister Tony Blair
Video
Brief Analysis
America, the Middle East, and the World: A Conversation with Tony Blair
The former Prime Minister discusses the challenges and opportunities facing the Biden administration twenty years after 9/11 and a decade after the Arab Spring.
January 11, 2021
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  • Tony Blair
National Guard soldiers protect the United States Capitol building.
Articles & Testimony
Trump’s Aiding Capitol Violence as World Watches Shows U.S. Is Now Exporting Extremism
The homeland has increasingly been a haven for far-right extremism during the president’s tenure, frustrating America’s allies and encouraging its enemies.
Jan 8, 2021
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  • Matthew Levitt
Brief Analysis
Leveraging U.S. Sanctions on Faleh al-Fayyad
The Biden administration should embrace the new sanctions against the civilian head of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces, a decision that is supported by strong evidence of human rights abuses and can help hold other violators accountable.
Jan 8, 2021
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  • Michael Knights
Video
Brief Analysis
Humanitarian Aid and the Biden Administration: Lessons from Yemen and Syria
Watch a conversation with veteran NGO practitioners with deep experience in humanitarian efforts in Syria and Yemen as they discuss lessons for the Biden administration's approach to humanitarian aid.
January 15, 2021
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  • Jan Egeland
  • Emma Beals
  • Alex Harper
  • Jomana Qaddour
  • Elana DeLozier
  • Charles Thépaut
Articles & Testimony
Saudi Sentencing of Women’s Activist Sets Up Riyadh for a Clash with Biden
The topic of human rights has become a red line for Saudi leaders, who seem to perceive it as a purely domestic matter on which they will not countenance any foreign pressure.
Dec 28, 2020
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  • Simon Henderson
Articles & Testimony
Putin, Charlie Hebdo, and Free Speech
As the Kremlin continues to undermine Western values, institutions, and influence while expressing distorted views of counterterrorism, liberals would do well to keep defending liberalism.
Dec 21, 2020
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  • Anna Borshchevskaya
Brief Analysis
A Short-Term Diplomatic Agenda for the Syrian Puzzle
If Biden wants to create additional leverage before attempting difficult negotiations with Russia, he will need to display strategic patience by partnering with allies on ten preliminary issues.
Dec 21, 2020
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  • Charles Thépaut
Women plumbers on rooftop
In-Depth Reports
Promoting Women's Economic Activity in Jordan
Low women's employment in Jordan is perplexing given the kingdom's middle-class attributes. Creativity in U.S. development initiatives could deliver lasting gains.
Dec 17, 2020
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  • Allison Jacobs Anderson
Brief Analysis
Reform, Not Violence, Will Ease Iraqi Kurdish Protests
In addition to publicly condemning the violent repression of demonstrations, Washington should urge its Kurdish allies to stop stalling on economic reforms at home and budget negotiations with Baghdad.
Dec 10, 2020
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  • Bilal Wahab
Brief Analysis
Hezbollah Has Created Parallel Financial and Welfare Systems to Manage the Current Crisis
To contain corrupt actors and facilitate reform, the international community must provide alternatives to Hezbollah pharmaceutical and food programs while filling gaps that the group is unable to address.
Dec 9, 2020
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  • Hanin Ghaddar
Articles & Testimony
Russia’s Soft Power Projection in the Middle East
Moscow conducts far more soft-power activity in the region than one might suspect, using subversive and opaque versions of the same tools employed by the West.
Dec 4, 2020
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  • Anna Borshchevskaya
Articles & Testimony
Forecasting U.S.-UAE Relations Under the New Biden Administration
From addressing Iranian threats to mending rifts with Qatar and Turkey, the sound bilateral partnership on regional issues will likely thrive in the Biden era, albeit with some marginal adjustments by both governments.
Dec 1, 2020
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  • David Pollock
Articles & Testimony
How Biden Can Restore America’s Role Abroad
Doing so means finding the right mix of hard and soft power, creating new mechanisms with democratic allies, and answering hard questions about various countries and conflicts in the Middle East.
Nov 20, 2020
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  • Dennis Ross
Brief Analysis
Saudi Arabia Faces Summit Scrutiny
The virtual G20 meeting in Riyadh will be watched closely for insights on the kingdom’s royal politics at home and its standing abroad.
Nov 20, 2020
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  • Simon Henderson
Brief Analysis
Cairo’s Concerns About a Biden Presidency
Egyptian leaders fear that his administration will openly confront them on human rights and enable an Islamist resurgence, but the outlook is brighter for engagement on Turkey, Israel, and other issues.
Nov 18, 2020
◆
  • Haisam Hassanein
Brief Analysis
Shock Therapy Will Kill, Not Cure, Iraqi Kurdistan’s Economy
Spending cuts are necessary and overdue in the Kurdistan Region, but international players need to ameliorate the impact of politicized provisions in the new funding deficit law.
Nov 13, 2020
◆
  • Michael Knights
Video
Brief Analysis
Terrorism in France: New and Old Trends in Jihadism
Three experts on European jihadism discuss the root causes and operational significance of recent Islamist violence in France.
Nov 13, 2020
◆
  • Laurence Bindner
  • Hugo Micheron
  • Aaron Zelin
Multimedia
Brief Analysis
America Votes, the Middle East Reacts: Views on U.S. Elections from Across the Region
Experts from the Gulf, Egypt, Turkey, and Israel respond to the initial voting results and discuss factors that may help or hinder the next administration.
Nov 9, 2020
◆
  • Abdulrahman al-Rashed
  • Mohamed Anwar E. al-Sadat
  • Asli Aydintasbas
  • David Horovitz
Brief Analysis
How Does Indonesia View the Prospect of Normalization with Israel?
Jakarta’s domestic politics make normalization unlikely despite years of positive signals, but the United States should nevertheless urge it to consider incremental, mutually beneficial steps toward rapprochement with Jerusalem.
Oct 28, 2020
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  • Michael Singh
  • Ehud Yaari

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