Policy Analysis

In this season of Decision Points, Institute Senior Fellow David Makovsky will examine the Hamas-Israel war and its long-term implications for Israeli society, U.S.-Israel relations, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and more.

The coming months still hold hope for the president’s dream of Israeli-Saudi normalization, but only if Netanyahu stands up to his far-right coalition partners.

A student recruitment and indoctrination group tied to a PMF directorate, with a name that eulogizes a slain U.S.-designated terrorist.

Given the tense U.S. election cycle, Biden and Netanyahu will likely keep their policy disagreements within careful bounds, but the visit is unlikely to see immediate progress on the hostage deal or other key issues.

The Iranian model of creating and supporting proxy groups is consistent across the “Shia Crescent,” but recently Tehran has begun employing new and troubling tactics that threaten to only expand their influence.

The current cycle of legal actions involving Israel is unprecedented in scope and politicization, but governments are still better off engaging with the process and lodging their objections there than dismissing it outright.

Three experts discuss the domestic and foreign implications of Masoud Pezeshkian’s presidential election victory—including the need to temper any expectations that he is able or willing to pursue substantial change.

The Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba leader released a corny video for Ashura in which he pretended to help with a drone attack on Israel.

The commander of Iraq's influential "shrine militias" signaled that the religious establishment is still willing to push back against the Coordination Framework and Tehran's other "resistance" proxies.

Tracking and accurately assessing the shifts in the group’s activities and command structure over the past five years is crucial to containing the evolved threat.

Although separating fact from fiction inside the Assad regime is often difficult, Luna al-Shibl’s death is likely a harbinger of further internal changes at a sensitive international juncture.

By firmly resisting the takeover of higher education by pro-Iran faculty and students, the United States can prevent the militias from recruiting the next generation of fighters.

Regional backlash against Washington’s unilateral interventionist policies, viewing the region only through security lenses, lack of social, economic, and cultural policies, and U.S. support for authoritarian regimes has created the conditions for conspiracy theories such as BOP.

In this anthology, contributors discuss the policy challenges associated with an emerging phenomenon, but disabuse readers of any notion that jihadist governance and statecraft should be equated with political moderation.

The U.S. ambassador to Tunisia joins three Washington Institute experts to discuss the evolution of great power competition in North Africa.

Iran’s new reformist president will need time to generate consensus at home before making any significant foreign policy moves; Washington should do the same.

A promising cross-Mediterranean initiative has run into political challenges, burdensome investment laws, methane leaks, and other hurdles.

Direct strikes from the Yemeni group are unlikely at the moment, but a more aggressive Hezbollah could alter the threat picture.

The challenge is to find a common line that accounts for different national positions on regional issues while still promoting a coherent foreign policy.

A former Israeli military planner joins three experts to discuss each side’s current calculus and the U.S. policy implications if they opt for war or a truce.