Democracy & Reform

On March 27, 2012, Robert Satloff, Andrew J. Tabler, and Simon Henderson addressed a Policy Forum at The Washington Institute. Dr. Satloff, the Institute's executive director and Howard P. Berkowitz chair in U.S. Middle East policy, had just returned from Israel and Jordan. Mr. Tabler, the Institute's Next Generation fellow

Testimony prepared for the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, U.S. House of Representatives Mr. Chairman, thank you for the opportunity to testify on the Assad regime's brutal year-long crackdown on Syria's pro-democracy protestors. Throughout years as a journalist and analyst based in Damascus, I followed Tom Lantos's often-critical words on

During their March 25 meeting, President Obama and Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan agreed that part of the agenda of the April 1 "Friends of Syria" summit in Istanbul will concern "nonlethal assistance" to the opposition "within Syria." This indicates that the administration is beginning to accept a "tragic

The recent ordeal of American democracy workers in Egypt was not so much about them as about Cairo's own internal power struggle.

By weakening the Islamic Republic's institutions and strengthening his own authority, Ayatollah Khamenei may make himself more vulnerable in a time of crisis.

Barring unexpected developments, even optimistic observers see the current Israeli-Palestinian deadlock persisting at least until after this year's U.S. elections. The key actors are too focused on other challenges, too skeptical of each other's intentions, and too limited by multiple constraints to engage in the kind of decisionmaking a peace

The regional impact of Bashar al-Asad's eventual fate may be at least as important for American interests as the direct effects inside Syria.

In this new study, Jason Pack and Barak Barfi explain why the United States must take a proactive stance in ensuring that Libyan authorities win the peace, not just the war.

Washington should help improve conditions on the ground in Libya before the upcoming parliamentary elections, supporting civil society organizations that include rebels and prodding the interim government toward greater transparency.