Policy Analysis

Short-term benefits aside, America's partners in the Middle East will all suffer in the end if estrangement from the region becomes the norm of U.S. foreign policy.

March 6, 2017 There is no hiding the religious zeal that gripped Lebanon’s Shiites when, in 2013, Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah launched the group’s campaign to defend the Syrian regime of Bashar Al-Assad. Thousands of fighters, imbued with the illusion of rapid victories, crossed the Lebanese border into Syria believing

March 6, 2017 On January 24, during a speech for National Police Day, President Sisi – to everyone’s surprise – brought up the issue of the high divorce rate in Egypt and its dangerous impact on family security and stability, calling for an amendment of divorce laws. According to Sisi’s

If Washington fails to address Egypt's financial problems, its dispute with Saudi Arabia, and its over-emphasis on the dangers of Sunni Islamism, then American efforts to contain Iran could be in jeopardy.

A former U.S. ambassador describes how to fix the bad habits and stale thinking that have subordinated Foggy Bottom to the Pentagon and NSC.

Reports of Yemeni rebel mining activity are only the latest in a string of threats to international vessels transiting the narrow link between the Suez Canal and the Indian Ocean.

Defeating today’s decentralized jihadi threat means treating the soil in which the weeds grow, not pulling them out one by one.

While ignoring Turkey's concerns and going all in with the Syrian Kurds may seem like the best military option for defeating ISIS, bringing Ankara into the fold for a multilateral campaign is the best way of avoiding bigger problems down the road.

At a conference in Dahuk in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq a few weeks ago, I was intrigued to see the leader of the Kurdish Democratic Party of Iran (KDP-I) -- which the Tehran regime considers a subversive, terrorist group -- address the assembled notables. Sitting in the front row

By providing more effective governance and core services, Middle Eastern officials can prevent defeated terrorist groups from reemerging, but such efforts are largely futile without sustained U.S. and European military support.

The restrained nature of this month's military demonstration could signal a combination of dynamics in Tehran: a reaction to the Trump administration's arrival, a shift in the regime's threat assessments, or continued internal political maneuvering.

An Iraq expert offers detailed advice on how the U.S.-led coalition can avoid another Islamic State comeback, explaining the cascade of negative effects that have followed previous American withdrawals.

Turkey has come to see the Iraqi city of Mosul as a representation of the geopolitical balance with other states in the region. The area Mosul is not only important for its size, population, and resources, but also for its location. Sitting on the border between Turkey and Syria, it

In Iraq, there are several significant laws applied by the federal and local governments, despite not originating in Parliament, which is the highest political and legislative institution in the country. Some of those laws are pertinent to fundamental individual freedoms, while others are ideologically oriented; a good example is the

Ahead of parliamentary elections in May, Algeria’s fractious Islamist parties have announced unlikely new sets of electoral blocs. The confusing new coalitions are not just the latest iteration of the alphabet soup of Algeria’s Islamists. They also reflect the enduring limitations of Islamist party politics, which present an incomplete picture

At a time when Russia is firmly in the Syrian driver's seat and Assad shows no sign of going away, brokering a deal to establish a humanitarian buffer area would be one way to address Washington and Amman's pressing concerns about ongoing refugee flows.

All sides failed in the most recent round of negotiations, but there was an opportunity for real progress -- take it from someone who was there.

Doing so will make two conflicts harder to resolve, and rob Libyans of the opportunity to take advantage of Fayyad's considerable skills as an institution-builder and reformer.

Syria Paper Explains How to Fight Terror, Stop Refugee Flow... In this new Transition 2017 paper, Institute expert Andrew J. Tabler argues that Syria remains de facto partitioned, making the establishment of safe zones in non-Assad-controlled areas the Trump administration's most expedient course of action. Moreover, it would further Washington's

Washington should not lend its support to any proposal that will make the Yemeni people long-term hostages to an Iran-enabled quagmire.