Policy Analysis

Can the Islamic State be beaten in the banks as well as on the battlefield? Watch three Institute experts discuss government and private-sector efforts to cut off its funding.

An in-depth look at the unique and often-controversial procedures that will govern Iran's latest elections.

If Moscow and Damascus have their way, the latest ceasefire will further divide the rebels, isolate Turkey, and facilitate their ongoing military and political strategy for preserving Assad's rule.

Tehran and its proxies have increased their efforts to provide armor-piercing explosive devices to Shiite cells in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, and this game-changing escalation could pose even greater challenges if Riyadh takes further action in Syria.

Until Fatah settles its own internal power struggle, appointing a PA vice president will remain nothing but an idea divorced from political reality.

Any safe zones would need to be secured by the military forces of Syria’s neighbors, such as Turkey and Jordan, as well as by U.S. air and ground support.

Mitchel Hochberg untangles the complex factors hindering Gaza reconstruction and shows why a clearer understanding is a necessary first step toward rectifying this dangerous situation.

Unfortunate civil unrest could emerge if the jihadist group continues targeting anti-government Turks and Moscow keeps its sights set on Erdogan and his party.

Analysis of funeral reports and other open-source data offers potentially revealing insights into the militia's combat losses in Syria, its shifting role in the war next door, and the security of its position back home in Lebanon.

Some analysts have voiced disagreement with the view that Damascus and Moscow are truly at odds.

Joint support of Basher al-Assad's regime has highlighted Moscow and Tehran’s developing political alliance. In contrast, the level of economic cooperation between the two states has historically been very modest: 2014 trade between the two countries amounted to $1.68 billion and was just 0.2% of all Russian foreign trade. Yet

UN Security Council Resolutions 2170, 2249, and 2254 offer ample grounds for establishing a zone to protect refugees and counter the Islamic State, but shaping the international diplomatic response would be paramount given the legal gray areas inherent in such action.

In times of crisis, individuals rise up to act as their society’s conscience. These individuals work to alert the international community to human rights violations or work tirelessly to help their community recover from major obstacles, natural or man-made. These protectors are civil society activists, community mobilizers, and independent journalists

However difficult it might be to implement safe zones after years of inaction, the humanitarian disaster will only grow without them, as will the threat to regional and European stability.

There is no doubt that Egypt faces a slew of challenges and potentially dire consequences related to the Renaissance Dam that Ethiopia is currently constructing at the headwaters of the Nile. Some politicians and media personalities have attempted to characterize the construction of the Renaissance Dam as a side effect

Understanding how Salafi leaders balance ideological robustness and personal risk as they are validated or threatened by local circumstances might be a good place to start in assessing their future approach to political engagement.

Although Ankara has the necessary parliamentary authorization and professional military capacity to establish a safe zone, it would still need Western intelligence help, air support, and diplomatic backing to cover the operation and deter Russian retaliation.

Western policy must be precise and consistent in its use of terms, objectives, and methods in order to account for differing local perceptions.

The Kurdish issue in Turkey stands on the precipice of becoming an international problem, involving all sorts of nefarious actors from the Syrian civil war.

The lifting of international sanctions and the region's vastly changing geopolitical environment have opened a window of opportunity for Tehran to buy potent arms from Russia and modernize its arsenal.