Policy Analysis

Egypt's liberals should be focused on the economic long game, because whichever party delivers prosperity to Egyptians will rule.

On November 30, 2011, Mr. Rachid Ghannouchi, leader of Tunisia's an-Nahda movement, visited the offices of The Washington Institute for Near East Policy to address a seminar of the Institute's senior research staff and several select, invited guests. This was an on-the-record session, with a tape recorder sitting in the

Much of the rhetoric surrounding the Iranian nuclear impasse has been marked by Tehran's staunch refusal to budge and pessimism among Western analysts that increasingly strong diplomatic and economic measures will ever have their desired effect. Yet several avenues for progress have opened up amid an environment of incrementally effective

Egypt's liberals have lost control of their revolution.

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

The past two-and-a-half years have witnessed a string of failed efforts to launch substantive Israeli-Palestinian negotiations and, more recently, heated controversy surrounding President Obama's baseline formula for compromise. This sad story reflects, among other things, the deep divide between the two sides on the supposedly "easier" issues of territory and

The death of Kim Jong-il provides an opportunity for Washington to organize a show of disapproval for North Korea's nuclear and missile proliferation.

On December 16, Mitchell D. Silber, NYPD Director of Intelligence Analysis, addressed a Policy Forum at The Washington Institute to discuss his new book, The Al Qaeda Factor (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2011). Silber examines sixteen Al-Qaeda-associated attacks launched against Western interests since 1993 and identifies potential points of vulnerability

The "Carnation Revolution" suggests democracy can take root in the most unexpected places if the necessary outside support is provided.

Syria's leader is fast losing allies, who seem to know the regime's end is near.

The Middle East begins 2012 much as it began 1949, 1968, and 1980: confident only that uncertainty is the new norm.

To be more effective, U.S. policy intended to encourage reform in Bahrain should be part of a common approach with allies, especially Britain.

The Brotherhood's efforts to project itself as a responsible actor in Egypt do not align with the inflammatory views freely expressed by its members.

Without external intercession, the violence in Syria is likely to escalate, with destabilizing consequences for its neighbors, particularly Lebanon and Iraq.

In Washington, concern is mounting that Iran's potential for troublemaking will now be countered by Saudi actions, which may escalate rather than quiet regional tensions.

The new financial sanctions against Iran are significant, although key U.S. allies will need to do more to potentially impact the regime's nuclear program decisionmaking.

In its present form, VOA's Persian service is a waste of U.S. tax dollars.

The Salafist view of equality in Egypt is clear: so long as we all live by sharia, we're all equal. Eric Trager reports from Giza.

Washington and Baghdad should begin laying the groundwork for a real strategic relationship that assuages Maliki's insecurities while emphasizing U.S. red lines on Iran, human rights, and other issues.

In the coming months, the new Tunisian government will need to begin the process of containing Salafism alongside the tasks of writing the new constitution and reviving the economy.