Policy Analysis

Recent upsurges in dissent cross sectarian lines and reveal the governing incompetence at the core of Iranian proxy leadership.

As Washington pushes Erdogan to act responsibly in northeast Syria, the Turkish leader may face contrary pressures from Russia and Iran, who are keeping forces on the ground to back up whatever demands are made at this week’s summit and beyond.

The first such gathering since the recent spate of Iranian attacks, the multinational meeting could help Washington build a coalition capable of preventing future flare-ups.

Three different scenarios could unfold in the coming weeks, but they all share one thing in common: Netanyahu would no longer dominate the political landscape the way he has over the past decade.

According to one observer, many in the region are now saying, “If you are counting on American cover, you are naked.”

Many inhabitants of the al-Hol camp still profess loyalty to the jihadist group and have sought to impose a fundamentalist lifestyle on their fellow residents.

As of now, it appears that the American public is not yet aware of the full consequences of the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Syria. While most American media outlets are focusing on the military side of the problem, and as the European Union is panicking over the possibility of

Russia has steadily inserted itself into Iraq's military, energy, and educational sectors, and these relationships could turn Baghdad further away from the United States now that the Trump administration has ceded Syria to Moscow.

The following joint statement was submitted to the House Subcommittee on the Middle East, North Africa, and International Terrorism in advance of testimony by Dana Stroul and Michael Singh, the Washington Institute fellows who serve as co-chairs of the bipartisan Syria Study Group. Chairman Deutch, Ranking Member Wilson, and members

Erdogan has achieved his primary goal of breaking the U.S.-YPG partnership by leveraging Trump and Putin against each other, but Russia and Iran won’t let him exit Syria scot-free.

The Persian Gulf is more crucial in oil terms, but if hostilities expand to the Red Sea, Iran could gain extra leverage against its adversaries on energy and trade matters.

Muddled governance, harsh crackdowns, and outside interference threaten to overturn the fragile freedom that Iraqis have won at great cost.

Despite the damage wrought by the U.S. withdrawal from Syria, the main drivers of Islamic State resurgence in Iraq can still be restrained by local U.S. engagement, which is now even more vital than before.

On Wednesday, Turkey launched its ‘Fountain of Peace operation’ in northeastern Syria after receiving a de-facto green light from the White House to launch a unilateral operation in the area between Tal Abyad and Serê Kaniyê (Ras al-'Ain in Arabic). This operation began immediately after the United States quickly pulled

The Trump administration is implicitly backing Ankara’s policy imperatives for now, but its approval comes with an imminent expiration date that could arrive even sooner if the operation goes awry.

As Tunisians return to vote in the country’s run-off elections for president, scheduled for October 13, voters expect to determine Tunisia’s next president from two unlikely options. Frustration with the status quo and twenty-six candidates determined that no one candidate managed to secure an absolute majority in the first round

Two pioneers of Israeli-Jordanian peace assess the state of their countries' relations on the twenty-fifth anniversary of their historic 1994 peace treaty.

Tehran and its proxies have been exerting hard and soft power in northeast Syria, combining military consolidation with economic, social, and religious outreach in order to cement their long-term influence.

Himbervan Kose, in his article “ Al-Hawl Camp: A Potential Incubator of the Next Generation of Extremism” provides an apt description of the problem of radicalization at the al-Hawl camp of ISIS fighters and their families in Northeastern Syria along with several debatable pointers on how to address the issue

The September 2019 election is viewed, with reason, as an important crossroad in the history of Arab society in Israel. This was an election in which the extent of Arab integration into the state emerged in an especially conspicuous manner. The Arab public’s chosen representatives opted for precedent-setting measures, most