Policy Analysis

U.S. officials need a clearer roadmap for how to reallocate certain resources away from the Middle East while maintaining cooperation with regional allies.

Reestablishing control in Manbij is the only way to build influence across the Euphrates, and now that U.S. troops are set to leave, both Russia and local Arab tribes may support this regime goal.

Three Institute scholars report on recent regional visits and U.S. legislative developments, looking ahead to the most critical policy questions in the coming year.

With protests originally sparking in July 2018, Basra continues to experience sporadic demonstrations.

It has been almost a month since U.S. President Donald Trump’s abrupt announcement that American forces would leave Syria shocked American enemies, allies, and Trump’s own officials alike. For Washington, the question of what comes next has been a matter of significant debate and speculation. For Northeast Syria—and the millions

A former ambassador to Israel and a veteran congressional staffer outline concrete steps for preserving the most crucial security and humanitarian programs.

As Tehran’s economic patience grows thinner, it may try to exploit holes in the nuclear deal as a way of pressuring the West, but this strategy could prove to be a double-edged sword.

Out of the public view, access to Islamabad’s nuclear and missile technology could be the main agenda item for a bilateral meeting whose reported purpose is financial support.

Recent reforms are running up against deep-seated cultural realities, and some foreign investors and officials are not ready to forget the Khashoggi incident.

A new opportunity has emerged to roll back generations of antisemitic and rejectionist messaging in Arab media, mosques, and schools. It stems from the convergence of interests between Israel and Arab powers, a youthful Arab grassroots trend in favor of a “peace between peoples,” and new Israeli and American Jewish

By benefiting from questionable wartime revenue streams and outright corruption, both the Houthi rebels and the U.S.-supported Hadi government are inhibiting a transition to peace.

Characterizations of U.S. engagement in the Middle East as merely chaotic ignore—often deliberately—that a course correction in U.S. policy is indeed taking place. Underneath the U.S. administration’s multiple, even conflicting messages communicated to friends and foes in the Middle East, the outlines of a coherent policy are potentially discernible. Washington

An October 2018 poll of Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem confirms a sharp shift against integration with Israel in the past two years. This surprising result was first reported based on our May 2017 survey, with the trend continuing towards Palestinian nationalism. In stark contrast to previous polls conducted as

The French military’s Maginot line—built during the 1930s in order to prevent the inevitable German invasion—is a classic example of how a false sense of security led to failed strategic planning. Lesser known is the Mareth Line of the same period, built in Tunisia to defend the French protectorate against

Apart from its military intervention, Tehran has pursued a wide range of economic and social tactics for increasing its sway in Syria, but Washington can still push back with targeted assistance, innovative sanctions, and strategic messaging.

For now, he is sticking with the tried-and-true formula of emphasizing his security pedigree, but looming indictments could change his campaign narrative and coalition-building strategy.

The last remaining thread of U.S.-Palestinian ties is the American-trained PA security forces, but Washington is about to cut them off.

The Kremlin often becomes more aggressive abroad to help shore up its legitimacy at home, so it may be more than happy to maintain a permanent state of low-level, managed conflict in the region.

If recent history is any indicator, ceding further ground to Russia virtually guarantees that the conflict will keep simmering for years to come.

Indigenous to North Africa, the Amazigh people, sometimes known as Berbers, have spent decades fighting for cultural recognition in the predominantly-Arab region. For years, Amazigh activists have been engaged in a battle against oppressive policies while also trying to promote measures that would help preserve Amazigh identity. Central to past