All Policy Analysis by Andrew Engel

As the Trump administration adopts a seemingly more aggressive position on Yemen's nearly three-year conflict, it should take a closer look at where the fighting is stalemated, where political progress can be made, and where urgent humanitarian action is needed.

The battle against the Islamic State in Sirte distracted many observers from Libya's ongoing political dysfunction, failed reconciliation process, and growing potential for renewed inter-militia warfare.

While recent battlefield successes against the group's Libyan stronghold are encouraging, the threat persists, and political dysfunction remains a significant obstacle to stabilizing the country.

The revolution that toppled the regime of Muammar al-Qadhafi has brought Libya the exact opposite of stability. Since November 2014 alone, almost a half-million Libyans have been displaced, some for the fourth or fifth time. The Islamic State has recently entered the country, intensifying the climate of violent extremism. A

While some debate the group's true extent in Libya, ISIS has aggressively expanded its physical and media presence to intimidate its foes, coopt other jihadist groups, and attract recruits.

Is post-Qadhafi Libya destined to become a "Somalia on the Mediterranean"? Analyst Andrew Engel studies the causative factors in Libya's failed transition to democracy.

As Libya's steep descent continues, its claim to sovereignty is becoming increasingly tenuous, so further acts of intervention by other countries in the region are likely.

Factional fighting in Tripoli and the declaration of an Islamic emirate in Benghazi suggest a bleak future for Libya. Can the new House of Representatives right the country's course?

The escalation in and around Tripoli holds troubling parallels with the tribal divisions that precipitated Libya's bloody 1936 civil war.

Long-simmering tensions between non-Islamist and Islamist forces have boiled over into military actions centered around Benghazi and Tripoli, entrenching the country's rival alliances and bringing them ever closer to civil war.

Violence between protesters and militias, the bloodiest since the 2011 revolution, has put Libya on the brink of renewed internal warfare.

Helping the Libyan government root militias out of Benghazi and secure the city would go a long way toward securing the country as a whole.

The latest clashes in Beirut show that as long as the Syrian conflict persists, Lebanon's internal security will be increasingly at risk.

Despite trepidation over Libya's upcoming elections, they offer the best way to solve the country's legitimacy crisis, and Washington should tailor its assistance accordingly.

Washington should help improve conditions on the ground in Libya before the upcoming parliamentary elections, supporting civil society organizations that include rebels and prodding the interim government toward greater transparency.

In light of its experience in Iraq and Afghanistan, Washington should be able to do more to facilitate the transition in Libya.

Libya's challenges are immense, but Washington can take steps to facilitate the transition while ensuring that U.S. interests are not sidelined by other actors.