Policy Analysis

The raft of new appointments reflects the crown prince’s vision of transforming the economy, but a simultaneous statement about recent arrests shows the limits on political freedom.

U.S. and Turkish officials have four main security and legal disputes to work out, and the geopolitical stakes are immense.

The group’s online media apparatus strategically wields dream accounts to serve the organizational goals of reinforcing a belief in martyrdom.

Numerous individual aircraft and front companies were added to the Treasury sanctions list, but naming even more of them could boost U.S. efforts to pressure Iran and close the IRGC’s Syrian air bridge.

Despite the deep-seated problems roiling the bilateral relationship, U.S. legislators need to understand the potentially dire geopolitical consequences of putting heavy pressure on a fellow NATO member.

New evidence sheds light on Soviet involvement in Egypt and helps frame Vladimir Putin’s current efforts in the Middle East.

Growing great-power competition and a shift in American defense policy could create a power vacuum in the Middle East.

Background: The Infallible Israeli Right-Wing As Israel faces an election due in 2019, the factors that have caused the deterioration of the Israeli left will likely inhibit their ability to take the majority from the right-wing Likud. Since 2009, Likud chairman Benjamin Netanyahu has held onto power as the Prime

Prodding the main parties to compromise on entrenched demands and make room for more factions at the negotiating table would be a good first step in moving from escalation to transition.

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is driven by several factors: ethnic, national, historical, and religious. This brief essay focuses on the religious dimension of the conflict, which both historical and recent events suggest lies at its core. That much is almost a truism. What is less often appreciated, however, is how much

To paraphrase Daniel Patrick Moynihan, everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but not their own numbers. After a bloody week earlier this month in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, emotions all around the world are running high, with recriminations flying on both sides of the argument regarding whether Israel used excessive

Russia is victorious in Syria. It has succeeded in rescuing the Damascus regime, its difficult yet valuable client, from what seemed to be an unavoidable demise. More importantly, it has leveraged the crisis management of the Syrian conflict to create a regional balance between seemingly incompatible powers — Israel, Turkey

Even though Moscow seems less invested in Iran's presence in Syria, Putin's political opportunism should still draw concern from Israel and the United States.

Khamenei’s Ramadan speech combined explicit attacks on the United States, implicit criticism of Rouhani’s approach, and excessive demands on Europe, seemingly bracing the regime for one of the toughest challenges of his thirty-year rule.

The PJD and the monarchy will continue competing for stewardship of the reform process—and for the right to define what it means to be an Islamist party post-Arab Spring.

Washington can address Ankara's deep security concerns via Kurdish withdrawal from the Manbij pocket and ironclad guarantees against Russian aggression.

Russia is challenging the West, including through its current efforts to gain a foothold in Syria and in a number of countries throughout the Middle East and North Africa. The situation in Syria serves as a clear example of Russian meddling, but the actual challenge does not stop there. To

To measure Sisi’s popularity during the recent Egyptian presidential elections, supporters and opponents of President al-Sisi both published photos: of crowded polling stations, or of empty polling stationsSisi’s opponents did not limit themselves to publishing pictures of empty polling stations and stories of forced mobilization on the part of the

On May 6, 2018, municipal elections in Tunisia -- the one country often hailed as the Arab Spring’s sole success story -- were finally held, after being postponed several times. Just a few months ago, many observers were really skeptical about the feasibility of such an event. Supporters put forward

Can Washington turn its Arab partners' favorable rhetoric on the administration's new Iran policy into concrete actions to curb Tehran's regional adventurism? Join us for an expert conversation and live webcast on Tuesday, June 5.