Policy Analysis

Washington should pursue a 'day after' scenario that keeps the United States in the region, maintains its new (YPG) and old (Turkish and Iraqi) relationships, pushes back Iranian ambitions, and 'manages' an inevitable Russian presence.

Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi, a former Iranian judiciary chief who holds a prominent position in the Assembly of Experts, now has two paths to leadership of the Shiite community. The first is as a potential successor to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, now seventy-seven; the second is to eventually take the place

Following accusations that Syria had assassinated former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, Syrian forces withdrew from Lebanon in 2005 under UN Security Council resolution 1559. In a speech to parliament announcing the withdrawal, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said that “Syria’s withdrawal from Lebanon does not mean an end to Syria’s

One of the president's biggest early foreign policy tests will be navigating the aftermath of the nuclear deal, which brought the Islamic Republic even further into Russia's orbit.

Their emerging confluence of interests will only exacerbate the internal problems caused by factionalism and failed governance in Iraqi Kurdistan.

Regardless of how the details surrounding Sunday's launch shake out, it was an unhelpful move at a time when the Trump administration is determining its policy toward Iran's missile program and broader regional behavior.

Three experts discuss the policy implications of the prime minister's first White House meeting with President Trump.

Two Israeli statesmen discuss their country's strategic situation and relations with the United States in the Trump era.

This week's apparent suicide strike on a Saudi warship highlighted the difficulty of protecting military vessels against small-boat attacks, as well as the ongoing struggle to break the stalemate in Yemen.

The military cannot be effective unless it is used to implement policies based on sound geopolitical judgment and an accurate reading of the region's political and cultural realities.

As long as the relocation is conducted within the confines of Western Jerusalem, Arabs should recognize it as a normal diplomatic action.

A former Israeli parliamentarian outlines four steps that could help the Trump administration carry out its proposed embassy move.

Like many of his predecessors, President Trump has come to office pledging to solve the decades-long Palestinian-Israeli conflict. In this paper, two veteran U.S. peace negotiators point out the repeated failure of past efforts to reach "all-or-nothing" solutions to this conflict, urge the president not to seek a comprehensive settlement

Because the proposed Israeli embassy move is a potential headache for the palace, it will no doubt be high on the king's agenda, but U.S. officials should be prepared to offer assurances on other pressing security and economic concerns as well.

The countries of northwest Africa -- Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia -- have proven either more resilient or more adaptive than other Middle East states to the political upheavals that have engulfed the region over the last half-dozen years. To varying degrees, however, stability remains a major challenge for all these

Pakistan, a country with an unprecedented youth bulge, could be a massive recruitment pool for ISIS. Several Islamist terrorist organizations have already taken advantage of the country’s fragile situation.

In the past decade, Tehran’s cyber toolkit has evolved from a low-tech means of lashing out at its enemies to a central pillar of its national security concept.

The Turkish-Russian relationship is an unequal one, and Erdogan may not realize the extent of Putin's capacity for manipulating and abandoning temporary allies.

An in-depth look at how the United States can reverse its policy missteps and subpar performance in various regional conflicts, in large part by correcting its inadequate understanding of the operational environment.

This essay series explores how non-Islamist Arab political actors might facilitate progress toward reform and democratic transition.