Policy Analysis

Even prior to the announced withdrawal from Syria, the longstanding unwillingness of the United States and the West to become seriously involved in the war has encouraged Russia to entrench itself militarily there. Russia now has a number of secure military bases throughout the country, in addition to airport access

“We will not allow Iraq to become a battlefield for other countries to clear their debts”—this statement would be unremarkable coming from many Iraqi politicians, as it is in sync with the current view of most Iraqi political parties and the three Presidencies of Iraq: the President, Prime Minister and

The seven-weeks-long wave of protests in Algeria against the candidacy of Abdelaziz Bouteflika has successfully ended the former president’s bid for a fifth term and forced him to resign without finishing his fourth. But now that the dust has settled, Algerians are questioning the achievements of the protests and remain

Two signature Trump Administration initiatives dominate U.S. Mideast policy today: “maximum pressure” against Iran and pursuit of an Israeli-Palestinian peace “deal of the century.” In recent weeks, Washington has upped the ante on both. It has tightened oil sanctions against Iran and designated the entire Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps as

A spirited policy debate is underway within the corridors of power in Washington D.C. over the manner in which the United States should view and treat the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), Iraq’s web of paramilitary organizations. It takes a great deal of concern to elevate such a niche issue to

In successive polls, approval of the United States within the Sunni Lebanese community has rated consistently high—a fact that stands in contrast with low numbers in other Sunni Arab populations. Certainly, part of the discrepancy reflects internal Lebanese politics. Sunni Lebanese view Washington, together with Riyadh and Paris, as backers

Morocco was one of the few countries in the Arab World partially spared by the upheaval of the Arab Spring. However, recent regime changes in Algeria and Sudan, along with continued domestic discontent, suggest that Morocco should reexamine its prior response to its domestic version of the Arab Spring—the 20

Advisers advised, Congress criticized, and ground partners pleaded with President Donald Trump when he decided to rapidly withdraw the roughly 2,000 U.S. troops stationed in Syria. This policy ticked off a box, fulfilling yet another campaign promise to “get out of Syria” and bring U.S. service members home, even if

For Muslims, the month of Ramadan marks one of the most expensive periods of the year. Many families will spend up to twice their normal expenditures during the month of Ramadan. The end of the holiday requires further spending in order to purchase clothes and other holiday items for Eid

Former U.S. President George Bush Sr. acted prudently when he convinced Israel’s leaders not to respond when Saddam Hussein’s missiles rained down on Tel Aviv in January of 1991 following the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. At the time, Saddam was trying to draw the region into an Arab-Israeli confrontation. An

Since 2014, Washington has relied on the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) to defeat ISIS in Syria. Yet Washington’s policy of working with the YPG in Syria, where U.S. support has helped the group soar, has concurrently undermined American policy regarding the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in Turkey, the

Following Trump’s announcement that Washington would acknowledge Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights, the question of this area, occupied since 1967, has reemerged and captured the attention of the Syrian public. However, the Golan question is far from a new issue among Syrian circles. But while numerous Syrians—both pro-regime and

Israel is holding its elections for the Knesset on April 9, the 21st parliamentary poll in the country’s history. Of an estimated 5.8 million citizens with voting rights, 16 percent are from Israel’s Arab minority, which makes up around a fifth of Israel’s total population. During the previous Knesset elections

Despite its relatively small size, Yemen is one of the most populous areas in the Arabian Peninsula, with a population of over 28 million. The number of people affected by the war in Yemen is correspondingly large: according to some estimates, more than 20 million people need humanitarian assistance and

On the thirtieth anniversary of the establishment of the Arab Maghreb Union, one cannot help but wonder about the lessons learned from the failure of this project of Maghreb integration. The union was a coherent, fully-fledged geographic and regional block that included more than a hundred million people from the

Like any other country, Syria has its fair share of local quirks; almost every region is at the receiving end of bawdy jokes or even outright mockery. The same holds true for Idlib, whose inhabitants enjoy the rather dubious reputation—at least in Damascus—of being stubborn, somewhat backwards, and receptive to

During a trip to the Kawergosk Syrian refugee camp in the Erbil governorate of the Kurdistan region of Iraq (KRI) to interview refugees on their employability skills, I came across a list of over a dozen registered, underaged divorcees. In some of these cases, adolescents as young as sixteen had

Over the past month, Algeria has witnessed the largest protests in its modern history as millions contested the announced fifth term of current president Abdelaziz Bouteflika. For many, this was a turning point, and in some ways this reaction was expected in light of the increasing socioeconomic problems and political

Northeastern Syria is often described as a “clan-based society” due to its large number of Arab tribes. These tribes are transnational, extending beyond Syria’s borders to include Jordan, Iraq, and the Gulf. Until recently, analysis of the Syrian uprising often prioritized the sectarian dimension over the tribal one. Yet the

In the wake of the multiple Arab uprisings since the Tunisian fruit seller Muhammad Bouazizi’s heroic act of self-immolation, few instances of democracy have actually emerged. Since 2011, many Arabs have looked back nostalgically at the ‘good old days’ of pre-Arab Spring dictatorships, when daily bread, safety, and stability seemed