Maps and Multimedia

The upcoming independence referendum in Iraq’s Kurdistan region is already yielding positive results in the form of compromise and cooperation among parties and movements whose enmity has long gridlocked Iraqi Kurdish politics.

Watch a wide-ranging address by the former deputy chief of the Israel Defense Forces' general staff as he explores the new and more complex security challenges facing Israel.

The SDF and U.S.-supported Arab fighters likely lack the might and unity to overcome Assad-regime advances and other obstacles.

Watch an international panel of experts discuss the alarming increase in so-called lone wolf terrorism.

Watch an expert conversation about the fight against Taliban forces in Afghanistan and the lessons for battles against extremists elsewhere in the region.

Watch three expert observers examine a divided Turkey one year after the failed military coup of 2016.

Watch the European Union's counterterrorism coordinator discuss plans to combat the Islamic State after the caliphate falls.

Watch European and American policymakers discuss how the West is confronting a new generation of Islamist-inspired violent extremism.

A panel of distinguished scholars and former U.S. officials discusses what Washington can learn from the Johnson administration's ambiguous role in a war that reshaped the modern Middle East.

Various players have been rushing to secure their spot in former Islamic State strongholds that will be strategically important to the next phase of the war.

Leading American and French experts discuss the evolution of modern jihad and Europe's concerns about radicalized foreign fighters returning home from Iraq and Syria.

To maintain its dominant position and stay true to its ideological roots, the PYD is pushing socialist policies on a skeptical Rojava populace, with uncertain consequences for the future of the Syrian Kurdish zone.

In this short video, Institute scholars explain the economic, security, and political dynamics shaping Iran's 2017 presidential election and the future of Iranian policy.

A former counterterrorism official outlines what governments are doing to address the threat of militants returning home from Syria and Iraq.

Read a summary or watch video of an in-depth conversation regarding Turkey's recent referendum, which has further consolidated Erdogan's hold on power but also signaled deep internal divisions.

The regime's latest atrocity was spurred by clear military motivations, and the situation will likely worsen as the army begins a wider ground campaign against rebel strongholds in Idlib province.

Despite their desire for greater independence, Syria's Kurds have shown a willingness to broker agreements with the Assad regime in order to secure their near-term economic interests, and they may soon do the same with Iran.

The authors of a bipartisan study discuss their recommendations for preventing and countering violent extremism.

In 2014, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry warned that Israel risked becoming an apartheid state if a two-state solution could not be reached. In March 2017, a UN report titled "Israeli Practices toward the Palestinian People and the Question of Apartheid," published by the Economic and Social Commission for

Two leading experts on clerical succession in Iran and Iraq discuss how the passing of Ayatollah Sistani and Supreme Leader Khamenei would affect American interests across the Middle East.