Policy Analysis

Despite the wave of derision and mockery in response to Egyptian president Abdel Fattah el-Sisi’s latest discourse, the president appears determined to send a message of forbearance towards those who view him with fear and apprehension. He repeatedly delivered this message: referring to the office of the presidency, he stated

March 17, 2016 I came to the United States in the mid-1980s. It was the age of multiculturalism. The color was rainbow, and the country was reconciling itself with the fact that it was made up of different strokes. My name, accent, and physique indicated that I was from the

March 15, 2016 When the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs invited me to visit Israel as part of a delegation of European-based Arab journalists and media representatives, I accepted without hesitation. The goal of the invitation was to provide us with an opportunity to freely explore the different dimensions to

March 10, 2016 Since February 2016 the public sector in Kurdistan has protested corruption and unpaid wages. For the first time in 25 years, Kurdish protesters are publicly showing their disappointment in the government. Meanwhile, the KDP’s Massoud Barzani, whose term as president has technically come and gone, has begun

March 10, 2016 “It is a religion that raises us up, makes us more loving and giving citizens of our country.” With these words, many Muslim African Americans have connected with their ancestors’ contributions to civil rights movements and the embedding of the principles of justice and equality in American

March 8, 2016 In a remarkable if little-noticed development last week, all six GCC states – Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the UAE, Qatar, Oman, and Bahrain – formally designated the Lebanese movement Hezbollah as a terrorist organization. This week, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu called this step “important and even amazing,” but

March 3, 2016 Could one of Iraq’s most notorious political parties make a comeback after thirteen years in exile? This may increasingly become a central question for Middle East analysts, as Ba’athists are claiming their sociopolitical platform of supporting pan-Arab causes defused sectarianism and united Iraqis around nationalistic themes. They

Sheikh Ahmed Al-Tayyeb, the Grand Sheikh of the prestigious Al-Azhar institute, did not equivocate when responding to the 2015 Paris attacks: “We denounce this hateful incident. The time has come for the world to unite to confront this monster [ISIS].” Yet a sizable roster of Muslim reformers, scholars, researchers, and

Ostensibly convened to develop a political solution to the five-year old Syrian crisis, the Geneva III talks were based on deceit. While diplomatic teams from major world capitals wrangled over the minutiae of the negotiation process, Moscow was preparing a major air and special forces offensive against opposition-held territory in

The fifth anniversary of the Syrian uprising against Bashar al-Assad's government will be commemorated in a few weeks with yet another round of diplomatic attempts at forging a political solution. The Syrian crisis has killed hundreds of thousands, injured and displaced millions, and destroyed much of the country's infrastructure. Facing

In a statement delivered at the King Salman Air Base in Riyadh in mid-December, Saudi Arabian Defense Minister and Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman announced the formation of an Islamic coalition to fight terrorism. The coalition was supposed to be comprised of 35 countries out of a total of

Public opinion polls are considered one of the most important means by which one can understand the people, their opinions, and any trends within them. Any flaws in methodology or lapses in professionalism will create potentially major flaws in understanding. Yet it is exceedingly difficult to conduct polling surveys in

January 15, 2016 There is no doubt that Saudi Arabia is now wary—as are the rest of the Arab countries—of something like the Arab spring breaking out in the region. As a result, Saudi Arabia under the leadership of King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud is keen to distract attention

Undoubtedly, Saudi Arabia faces a delicate situation. The United States has effectively abdicated its historical leadership role in the Middle East. Egypt and Turkey are too preoccupied with internal strife to assume regional responsibilities. Meanwhile, Iran has interpreted the recently concluded P5+1 agreement as a license for an unrestrained offensive

On October 30, the newly installed Swedish government recognized the state of Palestine, becoming the first major country within the European Union to do so. This makes Sweden the third EU-country to take such a step, following Iceland in 2011 and the Vatican, which signed a diplomatic treaty with Palestine

No, this is not the revelation of some hidden conspiracy through which Islamism has penetrated political life in the United States. It is instead a reflection on the unintended consequences of political positions that ought to be better thought out. A recurrent theme in the assessment expressed by a number

December 10, 2015 Political reform, in nearly every country on earth, relies on three principles. The first is that a powerful state can impose its influence on the country it rules and force the entirety of its people to submit to the laws it issues. Secondly, and in contrast to

A real national commonwealth demands an authentic national narrative that recognizes the multiplicity of cultural, religious, and social foundations, but the courageous political leadership needed to embrace this inclusive approach has yet to emerge.

An old conflict through the prism of a new institution: an insider’s explanation of the effects of Palestine’s recognition as a “State” under the Rome Statute

November 4, 2015 The Egyptian pundit Ahmed Moussa, one of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s most prominent and passionate supporters, has recently become the target of a great deal of both local and international mockery. During a recent episode of his television program, Moussa displayed a video ostensibly showing Russian airstrikes