Policy Analysis

Lone wolf attacks are inevitable, but U.S. and Western reactions will determine whether the jihadist group succeeds in its long-term goal of turning its hatred into a culture war legitimized by the other side.

The Syrian government has intentionally targeted its own medical infrastructure, a violation of the Geneva Convention that has resulted in the near complete destruction of the country's modern preconflict health care system.

The eight suicide bombers were apparently dispatched to disrupt a new political paradigm in Lebanon: a Christian-Shiite alliance.

Cairo believes that relations with Israel are strategically and diplomatically beneficial, and the trend toward greater rapprochement will likely continue.

Few countries have received as much negative attention in Washington as Saudi Arabia over the last two years. Some of this is due to the politics of the Iranian nuclear deal and the Saudi response. It is also due to an attempt to make sense of the unprecedented breakdown of

July 15, 2016 Some Western social and political scientists have explained the rise of ISIS in Iraq as a response to Islamic and Arab peoples’ rejection of globalization or Western culture. Although this analysis may be theoretically correct, like to most theoretical analyses, it does not fit with the reality

Ms. Hiam Nawas, an analyst based in Washington, D.C., argues that, essentially, the source of the Arab world’s current crisis is its ‘culture’, promoting James Clapper’s claim that the United States “can't fix” the Middle East region. But a solution for the region’s fundamental problems needs a proper diagnosis, and

July 15, 2016 With Britain’s new Prime Minister Theresa Maym at the helm, Great Britain will soon leave the EU and return to its historical position as a bridge between Europe and America. But what will become of the EU after Brexit, an event that some have seen as equally

As the kingdom attempts to counter the Islamic State's narrative by consolidating a common identity for those most prone to radicalization, it is simultaneously alienating others.

Editor's Note: This is the first article in a two-part series. Next week, Prof. Mohammad Dajani presents the view that the region's challenges are primarily political rather than cultural. James Clapper, Director of National Intelligence, recently claimed that the United States “can't fix” the Middle East region. Clapper is right

During nuclear negotiations with the West, the behavior of various Iranian state institutions demonstrated the success of Iranian coalition efforts, notably the “House of the Leader” and the Revolutionary Guards institutions, to reengineer the internal political scene in preparation for the negotiations. This alliance demonstrated its influence through tight control

The Kurdistan Region is often praised as an anchor of stability in the Middle East; its military forces in particular are considered a major bulwark against the Islamic State (ISIS). Nonetheless, it faces potential balkanization as provincial voices begin advocating for autonomy from the Kurdish core. Both political parties and

The Islamic State (ISIS)’s siege of Mare’ in the countryside north of Aleppo near Dabiq has once again brought this Syrian town into the public eye. It is one of ISIS’s latest conquests in a string of newly captured strategic villages such as Kafr Kalbin and Jibrin during the end

Last March, Special Presidential Envoy for the Global Coalition to Counter ISIL Brett McGurk announced the launch of a complex operation to liberate Mosul. This announcement, and the United States' subsequent efforts, have suggested that the United States is undoubtedly one of the countries most dedicated to building a successful

On the surface, it seems that Lebanon is currently far from descending into civil war. After a string of bombings in southern Lebanon, an unprecedented level of quiet has prevailed in the often-volatile Sunni north and Shiite south. Yet now may be the moment that the United States and the

It is certainly still premature to engage in a post-mortem for the “Islamic State” in Iraq and Syria (ISIS). While the group has lost two-fifths of its territorial conquests, including Tikrit, Ramadi, Tal Abyad, Sinjar, and Palmyra, ISIS has not yet been put fully on the defensive. Instead, it continues

Months after the attack on Ben Gardane, Tunisians and the regional public are still overwhelmed by mixed feelings of pride in the power of Tunisian security forces and the people and fear of the Islamic State’s bold move of attempting to establish an “emirate” in Tunisian territory. ISIS leaders had

When the 2011 Jasmine Revolution catalyzed a major shift within Tunisian society, contemporary European observers noted that this movement exhibited similarities to the European model of revolution. Many argued that Tunisia's experience had and would continue to remain distinct from those influences shaping the Egyptian, Yemeni, Libyan, and Syrian revolutions

A recent Foreign Policy article argued against holding the Sykes-Picot agreement accountable for the current turmoil in the Middle East. While the author may have gone too far in absolving the treaty and its signatories from all blame, it is certainly true that the borders this document ultimately helped develop

Last month, many Kurds mourned the 100th anniversary of the Sykes-Picot agreement, signed on May 16 1916, which laid down the foundation for today’s nation states in the Middle East. Arguably, no single ethnic group despises this agreement more than the Kurds, who often view it as a moratorium on