Democracy & Reform

Nearly six months after the demonstrations that followed June's disputed presidential election, Iran's pro-democracy "green movement" is as strong as ever. Rallies took place in downtown Tehran today, having been in the works for months through Twitter, blogs, and word of mouth. Iran, it seems, is on the verge of

Turkey's ties with its neighbors have been transformed since the Justice and Development Party (AKP) came to power almost seven years ago in November 2002. Some analysts have described the AKP's foreign policy as a "zero problems with neighbors" approach. Under the AKP, Ankara has indeed eliminated problems and built

How does one deal with and explain rising anti-Americanism, anti-Semitism, and anti-Israeli sentiments in Turkey? A dangerous tendency is to look into the historic roots of these phenomena and explain them as being hardwired in the Turkish polity, not as products of current politics. This is a trap that Turks

The decision by both Afghan President Hamid Karzai and his main rival, former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah, to accept a runoff election is a welcome development that provides the Afghan government with an opportunity to restore its damaged credibility. The runoff election now faces two main challenges: making the process

Download the complete proceedings. On October 17, 2009, Mohamed Abdelbaky, Nabeel Khoury, and David Pollock addressed The Washington Institute's annual Weinberg Founders Conference. Mohamed Abdelbaky is a Keston visiting fellow at The Washington Institute's Project Fikra, focusing on economic and political reform, democracy, governance, and youth development in the Middle

Download the complete proceedings. On October 17, 2009, Ataollah Mohajerani addressed The Washington Institute's annual Weinberg Founders Conference. Ataollah Mohajerani has played a central leadership role in the Islamic Republic of Iran, serving as President Muhammad Khatami's minister of culture and Islamic guidance and as President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani's vice

A Safe Haven: Harry S. Truman and the Founding of Israel, Allis and Ronald Radosh's suspenseful, meticulously documented account of Harry S. Truman's controversial decision to recognize the new state of Israel, has won the Gold Prize -- including a cash award of $30,000 -- in The Washington Institute's 2009

Download the complete proceedings. On October 16, 2009, Jackson Diehl, Mortimer Zuckerman, and Michael Mandelbaum participated in a keynote debate at The Washington Institute's annual Weinberg Founders Conference. Jackson Diehl is deputy editorial page editor of the Washington Post. Mortimer Zuckerman, a member of The Washington Institute's Board of Advisors

The Obama administration has finally woken up to the fact that Iraqi parliamentary elections scheduled for January 16 are in real danger of not taking place as scheduled. The realization has been lamentably slow in coming and, with just two days to go before an Iraqi government-imposed deadline expires, may