Policy Analysis

December 14, 2017 Before U.S. President Donald Trump recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel in a speech on December 6, the anticipated move was roundly criticized. Both by America’s ‘traditional enemies’ such as Iran and various Islamist groups, but also by U.S. allies in the Middle East and North

December 14, 2017 President Trump’s dramatic declaration to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital and his plans to relocate the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem have thrown a spotlight on three goals the Palestinian leadership had so far failed to achieve, namely, to affirm the Palestinian national rights in

Civil society organizations in the Arab world saw great development in the 1990s, when non-governmental organizations (NGOs) were actively engaged in amending the laws and regulations concerning them, reflecting positively on civic development. Consequently, these NGOs saw growth and prosperity in light of relative freedoms granted in several Arab countries

December 11, 2017 Iran resorts to multiple and contradictory narratives in its international outreach. Tehran is offered to the West as a natural ally against (Sunni) terrorism, while for the rest of the world it is a role model of self-sufficiency, if not autarky, in the face of the arrogant

December 4, 2017 Despite being a key ethnic group in Iraq, the Turkmen have been denied legitimate rights since the founding of the modern Iraqi state. Until the fall of the Baath regime, Turkmen areas of residence were subject to discrimination, Arabization, and systematic neglect. After initial excitement and hope

November 29, 2017 As the peaceful phase of the Syrian revolution gave way to a destructive sectarian conflict and terrorist organizations gained prominence, hundreds of thousands of Syrian Kurds fled to Iraqi Kurdistan seeking security and job opportunities. Syrian Kurds welcomed Iraqi Kurdistan’s recent independence referendum, whether they were in

November 27, 2017 Tunisia is rightfully proud of what it has accomplished, for it was Tunisia that triggered the most important wave of far-reaching political transformation in the Arab world since the Sykes-Picot Agreement. Despite the movement’s trajectory in the region and its evolution into bloody struggles that have destroyed

November 27, 2017 Women’s rights take a backseat during conflict, along with freedoms and civil rights. And if women are discussed at all in situations such as that of Yemen, they are often seen only as victims and not also as stakeholders in the political process. But on March 18

November 20, 2017 By now, there can be no reasonable doubt that Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri was detained in Saudi Arabia, and that he was forced to submit his resignation through a televised statement on a Saudi-funded network. Irrespective of where the new Saudi leadership intended this action to

Though political tensions exist between Bahrain’s Sunni elite and its Shia majority, polling suggests that public opinion on several key foreign policy issues is quite close between these two groups.

A military doctrine is "the system of concepts officially adopted by a country and the arrangements taken to fight against threats and ensure security, as well as to prevent wars and armed conflicts.” It is also "the system of advanced visions of military formation and preparation of the country, armed

November 15, 2017 Following the attacks in Barcelona and Cambrils, the magazine Jeune Afrique devoted the cover of its August 27, 2017 paper edition to the involvement of Moroccans in acts of terrorism, with the title: "Terrorism: Born in Morocco." This provoked a great deal of criticism and anger in

November 13, 2017 The sudden and surprising resignation of Lebanese prime minister Saad Hariri over the weekend, blaming Iranian interference in his country, compels us to consider this tragic dilemma. Of particular interest—and importance—is the way Iran has used Hezbollah, an intrinsic part of Lebanon’s political fabric, as a means

November 9, 2017 The sudden resignation on November 4 of Lebanon’s Sunni Muslim prime minister, Saad Hariri, cast a harsh spotlight on his country’s internal polarization and external ties to Iran. Speaking from Saudi Arabia, where he remains in exile, Hariri blamed both of those Shia-dominated actors for Lebanon’s growing

November 8, 2017 Beginning when the Muslim Brotherhood came to power in Egypt in the summer of 2012, the Hamas-Egypt relationship deepened significantly. The relationship went beyond the General Intelligence Directorate’s coordination of security matters, to include coordination among political leaders Mohamed Morsi and Ismail Haniyeh. The strong relationship between

November 7, 2017 Watching a televised debate last week on the current tension between Kurdistan and Iraq, Haitham al-Jibouri, an Iraqi parliamentarian from the dominant Da’awa Party, made this proclamation: “The Barzanis violated the rights of the Kurdish people by misusing power and wealth. We will correct all these misfortunes

November 7, 2017 Former Kurdistan region president Masoud Barzani miscalculated the potential fallout of the referendum. But political miscalculation by itself cannot explain Barzani’s decision to hold the controversial referendum on September 25th. Rather, the security dilemma in which Iraqi Kurds have lived since the foundation of Iraq in early

November 2, 2017 In mid-August, TV screens showed us the strange footage of Islamic State militants and their families travelling in buses protected by the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF), Hezbollah, and the Syrian Arab Army (SAA). Yesterday enemies, today the LAF, Hezbollah, and SAA are keen to move the Islamic

October 27, 2017 The Berber Spring, known in Berber as “Tafsut Imaziyen,” was a period of clashes that erupted between Algerian security forces and Berber students and activists on March 10, 1980. Algerian authorities had banned a lecture by writer Mouloud Mammeri on ancient Berber poetry in the city of

October 25, 2017 As Secretary of State Tillerson returns from the Middle East, where he focused on challenges from Iran and intra-Arab divisions, a new poll in Kuwait reveals a mixed yet largely favorable picture of popular attitudes on such issues in that small but strategic Gulf state. On Iran’s