Policy Analysis

Regardless of the Hormuz initiative's supposedly peaceful intent, foreign officials should be careful not to give Tehran any rights in the strategic waterway that don’t have to be given.

In September 2015, Moscow made its first push outside former Soviet borders when it authorized airstrikes in Syria. More pertinently, the move—and Russia's broader intervention in Syria—constituted a step toward reshaping the whole regional balance of power, taking advantage of a diminishing U.S. footprint. According to the Russian defense minister

The September first round of presidential elections in Tunisia have revealed two major developments in Tunisian politics. The results show both that voters will no longer tolerate the mismanagement and indecisiveness of previous policy makers, and that there is a belief that disruption, through unconventional candidates, can bring new life

The legacy of the last 28 years of Kurdish self-governance has been marked by a broken political and economic region—with youth stripped of Kurdish patriotism. The Kurdistan Region’s rentier economy has led its policymakers to think in terms of short-term political gains, fed into a patron-client system already deeply entrenched

In the current circumstances of deep disbelief on both sides, stabilization and development go hand in hand.

Although it still relies on its stronger rival to operate, the ascendant affiliate has been cementing its presence in Idlib province, attracting other factions to its banner, and potentially setting itself up to lead a future insurgency.

Six months have passed since the beginning of the peaceful protest movement in Algeria, commonly known as the Hirak, which ousted longtime president Abdelaziz Bouteflika. The protest movement has also managed to dismantle the clan that surrounded him, as most of its controversial figures are now in jail. However, Algerians’

Tehran seems to believe that anything goes, and the wrong U.S. response may just reinforce that conviction.

Despite diluting certain commonalities with Europe and Washington over the past decade, Ankara still relies on the West in the trade, investment, and security realms.

A comprehensive, bipartisan look at how the U.S. government can still achieve important objectives on various fronts, from countering terrorist groups and Iran to addressing refugee and humanitarian issues.

Events considered impossible tend to happen in the region with unusual frequency, so when will the next one appear?

Even as Baghdad works to rein in militias that invite outside attacks, Washington needs to be patient with the country’s contradictions in the near term and give space for it to exert sovereignty in the long term.

U.S. leadership must be buttressed not by unrealistic threats, but by deterrent actions and collective diplomacy that constrain Tehran’s room for attacks while defining the path to negotiations.

President Trump should use his UN speech and side meetings to seek cooperation with European partners and lay the foundation for a ‘better deal’ with Iran down the road.

The surprising results of Tunisia's first round of presidential balloting signal that voters are generally disenchanted with the country's political establishment.

Emboldened by their success in attacking Gulf and U.S. interests with relative impunity, Iranian leaders are now aiming to disgrace the Saudi royal family and foster Trump’s defeat in the 2020 election.

Due to external pressures and internal fissures, the Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood (MB) today is experiencing its worst days since its establishment in 1946. This decline follows the challenges of the broader Muslim Brotherhood organization, which is facing an “internal crisis” after losing much of their momentum after the Arab Spring

Whether due to institutional concerns, failed alarmist tactics, or turnout issues, Netanyahu’s seat tally shrank between rounds one and two, and time is now on Benny Gantz’s side.