Policy Analysis

The former head of U.S. naval operations in the Gulf joins two military and diplomatic experts for a discussion on Iran's strategic calculus, allied perspectives, and Washington's policy options.

Iran says it won’t negotiate with Washington under pressure, but it has done so in the past and might again.

How Turkey’s president went from being a regional Islamist leader in the Arab Spring to sharing Qatar’s role as the Middle East’s odd man out.

In his work The Crowd: A Study of the Popular Mind, (1895) French sociologist and social psychologist Gustave Le Bon writes, “The great upheavals which precede changes of civilisations… seem at first sight determined more especially by political transformations.” However, he argues, “A more attentive study of these events shows

Autocrats, theocrats, and democrats—protagonists once again in “Arab Spring” 2.0, in Algeria and Sudan—seem to have all learned the lesson of the original 2011 release, and to be maneuvering to avoid a repetition of the results to their respective detriment. The military in both countries is avoiding provocative moves, relying

Tehran’s decision to renege on some of its nuclear commitments heralds a new period of disturbingly ambiguous announcements.

U.S. rivals are diversifying their support for the Maduro government in familiar fashion, whether to parry the United States, exploit the crisis for profit, or both.

The international community must take steps to empower civil society within the Islamic Republic and protect it from being systematically persecuted and oppressed.

Tehran has reportedly told its militia proxies to be ready for escalation, so Washington must prepare to maintain a full presence in Iraq even under potentially increased fire.

Despite the challenges that usually accompany these high-level talks, Gulf countries seem keener than ever to counter the threat across the Persian Gulf.

"We're not turning back halfway," wrote the head of the opposition Sudanese Congress Party Omar al-Degeir in a tweet referring to the wave of protests against Sudan’s seventh president, Omar al-Bashir, who ruled the country with an iron fist for decades. In the months that followed, Degeir‘s declaration became a

By holding fast to his defiant approach while stopping just short of war, Khamenei may be hoping to stall until the next U.S. and Iranian election cycles.

Explore a comprehensive interactive map of Shia militias across the Middle East, charting their location, movements, ties to Iran, and involvements in conflicts in Iraq and Syria.

Washington should reduce tensions, open lines of communication, and restore deterrence, though managing the contradictions between these objectives will be challenging.