Democracy & Reform

Policy Analysis on Democracy & Reform

Map of Israeli bilateral relationships with Arab states

U.S. Policy Toward Arab States, Palestinians, and Israel

The Biden administration can succeed by strengthening and expanding Israeli normalization with Arab states and pursuing gradualism on the Palestinian issue.

Jan 26, 2021

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David Makovsky

◆ Transition 2021

Egyptian president Sisi is sworn in to a second term in Parliament in 2018.

Brief Analysis

Egypt’s New Parliament: Reopening Political Life, But Only So Far

Giving the legislature a makeover is Cairo’s latest bid to ease public frustrations, but will a token opposition be enough to keep socioeconomic tensions from boiling over?

Jan 26, 2021

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Haisam Hassanein

Brief Analysis

Humanitarian Aid and the Biden Administration: Lessons from Yemen and Syria

Veteran NGO practitioners with deep experience in the aid sector discuss how Washington can help fix flawed approaches to assisting civilians in these two conflict zones.

Jan 25, 2021

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Jan Egeland
Alex Harper
Emma Beals
Jomana Qaddour
Elana DeLozier

Brief Analysis

Riots Erupt in Tunisia

Growing unrest in the birthplace of the Arab Spring could translate into serious instability for the young democracy, with potential repercussions beyond its borders.

Jan 22, 2021

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Sarah Feuer

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

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

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

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

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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

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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

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Laurence Bindner
Hugo Micheron
Aaron Y. Zelin

◆ Counterterrorism Lecture Series

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Project Fikra: Defeating Extremism through the Power of Ideas

Fikra n. [Arabic] "Idea"

The Washington Institute's Project Fikra is a multiyear program of research, publication, and network-building designed to generate policy ideas for promoting positive change and countering the spread of extremism in the Middle East.

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Catherine Cleveland

Catherine Cleveland is The Washington Institute's Croft-Wagner Family Senior Fellow and managing editor of Fikra Forum.

Ben Fishman

Ben Fishman is the Steven D. Levy Senior Fellow in the Linda and Tony Rubin Program on Arab Politics at The Washington Institute, where he focuses on North Africa.

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Project Fikra: Defeating Extremism through the Power of Ideas

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