Policy Analysis

After considerable consternation in U.S. congress against Turkey’s incursion into Syria, and a subsequent successful visit by Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan to the White House in mid-November, much attention in the United States has been focused on Turkey’s foreign policy agenda. However, Turkey’s foreign policy in Syria is deeply

Since the beginning of the year, Algerians have repeatedly come to the streets to challenge their political system. Some have used these ongoing protests, also known as Smile Revolution or Hirak, to celebrate their current victories while others have used the occasion to call for a complete change in the

A reliable new Lebanese public opinion poll, conducted in November, shows that a large majority of the country’s Shiites retain positive views of both Hezbollah and its Iranian patrons—even as major anti-government protests include many Shiite participants for the first time. This surprising finding casts doubt on speculation that Hezbollah

On November 23, U.S. Vice President Mike Pence arrived in Iraq for an unannounced trip that included a visit to meet with the President of the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) Nechirvan Barzani. In the published White House remarks of the meeting, one sentence asserted a sense of confidence in the

In February, millions of Algerians went to the streets to protest against Bouteflika’s fifth bid for presidency after ruling the country for twenty years. What started as a spontaneous political movement against Bouteflika quickly transformed into popular demand for a radical political change. Even so, Algerians have been able to

The timing of the Iranian government decision to lift gasoline subsidies, which has effectively doubled the cost of fuel on Iranian motorists, raises fundamental questions about the Tehran regime’s political calculus. Despite protests raging in nearby Iraq featuring open and persistent rejection of Iranian meddling and influence, and despite a

Iraq is witnessing protests that are shaking its political system to its core. The nationwide protests, which started on October 1, 2019, have been startling in their scope, their size, and the violent response with which the largely non-violent protestors have been met. But perhaps the most surprising aspect is

Back in 2015—during the annual forum at American University in Suleimaniyah, Iraqi Kurdistan—I had the chance to tell former U.S. special presidential envoy for the Middle East Brett McGurk to “please tell our friends in the administration to not confuse us [the Kurds] with the conflicting U.S. foreign policies of

Sudan’s revolutionary spirit has succeeded in toppling the country’s dictator and achieving the Sudanese people’s aspiration of seeing their country free from the most oppressive and bloody regime in Sudanese history. The Sudanese people are now prepared to push forward on a set of ambitious yet achievable goals and targets

In his briefing on Yemen’s peace process on October 17, the United Nation’s Secretary General’s Special Envoy for Yemen, Martin Griffiths, mentioned the importance of bringing peace to the currently besieged city of Taiz. Although the inhabitants of Taiz appreciate Mr. Griffiths’ sentiments, we want more than his word. We

In early October, deadly protests calling for an end to pervasive corruption, improvement of basic services, and further job opportunities swept through the Iraqi capital of Baghdad and several other Iraqi cities.

As Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi traveled by plane to New York City to attend the 74th session of the UN General Assembly, sporadic demonstrations erupted in several Egyptian cities calling for Sisi’s ouster and denouncing what they called “military rule.” While limited in scope, the demonstrations marked the first

As Yemen’s devastating war drudges into its fifth year with no end in sight, Yemen’s public sector continues to deteriorate at alarming rates within the conflict zone. The already weakened state of the public sector, especially education, is expected to worsen in the near future. While the plight of Yemen’s

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

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

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

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

The Tunisian presidential elections on September 15 were held under a strange atmosphere—one that suggested a complete lack of trust in the government and ruling elite that has controlled the public sphere since the 2011 revolution. The official results announced two days after elections by the independent electoral commission known

Anti-Israel mobilization and rhetoric have always been a prominent feature of official Arab discourse, regardless of political orientation. Islamist, nationalist, and secular parties have all seen vocal hatred of Israel as a cornerstone for rallying support and a vehicle to spread unrelated political messages to achieve related objectives, with unrelated