Policy Analysis

President Trump is likely expecting some progress to emerge from this week’s diplomacy, but ongoing concerns with Islamabad’s stances on terrorism, Iran, and other issues mean he shouldn’t hold his breath.

Washington needs to do a better job of defeating the group's local political strategy and fighting the war holistically.

As authorities consider correcting a past mistake and designating the group in its entirety, long-held assumptions about its European activities must be put to rest.

What happens when private Middle Eastern firms have cyberweapons as powerful as those owned by governments?

An in-depth look at the terrorist group's ongoing activities in a multitude of countries, and the steps that government agencies are taking to counter them.

The nuances of jurisprudential difference between Sunni and Shi’a concepts of jihad have been more or less shaped by the history of the Shi’a community and by the approach of the Shi’a religious scholars to politics. Though the Shi’a concept of jihad has not infrequently aligned with that of Sunnism

The concepts of jihad and the charge of unbelief on a Muslim or non-Muslim known as takfir have evoked mixed and dreaded reactions among many in Western countries, where the concepts often make headlines and are presented without context to those who may not have personal interactions with mainstream interpretations

Besides raising security concerns, rushing to reopen the crossing would yield far fewer economic benefits than implementing recommended IMF reforms.

The current Iranian narrative—that economic problems stem from domestic mistakes rather than foreign pressure—complicates the U.S. policy of using sanctions to force change.

Top IDF officials believe cuts could deepen the economic crisis in the West Bank and Gaza, put thousands of Palestinians out of work, and ultimately lead to violence.

Protesters in the Algerian province of Ouargla took unprecedented action late last month and boycotted a concert on July 27 by holding communal evening prayers at the concert venue. The protesters hoisted placards condemning the marginalization, exclusion, and discrimination practiced against them for decades. These developed into calls for broader

Cairo needs Washington's help to avoid a drastic, potentially destabilizing water shortage while advancing the negotiations with Ethiopia.

Saudi Arabia and Iran are not often presented as being ‘in dialogue.’ Yet on January 29, 2018, two former Saudi and Iranian diplomats discussed a host of key issues at the Joint Special Operations University in Tampa, Florida. Prince Turki al-Faisal Al-Saud of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Ambassador

A further delay in the Saudi Aramco sell-off adds to a growing picture of policy unpredictability.

August 26, 2018 — Regional turmoil has forced the generally secretive Druze minority into the limelight. With its leaders losing the influence that has so far protected the community, the Druze must take seriously the threat of disappearing altogether.

On the night of August 11, tens of thousands of Arab-Israelis and Jewish-Israelis marched from Rabin Square to the plaza of the Tel Aviv Museum in central Tel Aviv, protesting the recently passed Nation State Law. The demonstrators held up placards demanding equality, justice, a repeal of the law, and

The continued difficulty of integrating so many displaced people could make Ankara more amenable to a political solution that ends the war and allows large numbers of them to return home.

Renewed naval exercises, missile tests, and other developments point to a broadening threat, but their muted nature indicates that Tehran is trying to avoid popular backlash at home.

Far from simply replaying the 2006 Lebanon war, the next conflict on Israel’s northern frontier will likely involve many more actors on multiple fronts, raising unprecedented challenges for escalation management.

Although there is little official confirmation, reports have emerged that the Sisi government and Muslim Brotherhood representatives have begun attempting a type of reconciliation. Bloomberg first reported in February that the Egyptian government sought reconciliation in order to offset internal differences between the government and former members of the military