Policy Analysis

With Algeria’s presidential elections scheduled in April 2019, calls are now being heard from within the Algerian regime for President Abdelaziz Bouteflika to run for a fifth term. This messaging has caused controversy and confusion among Algerians, who are wondering about the unexpressed reasons for regime figures to insist on

While the very earliest civilizations in Iraq grew up around the gifts of the Tigris and Euphrates, millions of Iraqis from the North to the newly revived southern Marshes are at risk from the actions of Iraq’s northern and astern neighbors. Turkey and Iran’s increased limiting of water of the

Notwithstanding their decades of contention, the two governments must resolve their differences legally to make way for economic development and stave off public unrest.

Moscow has seemingly reaffirmed Israel’s right to keep Iranian forces away from the Golan frontier, but it is unclear whether Assad’s southern offensive will actually help or hinder that goal in the long term.

The United States steadily continues to tighten the screws on Iran, prompting an upswing in Iranian rhetoric implying that closing the Strait of Hormuz is on the table as a military option in response to U.S. actions. While Iran’s naval capabilities are ill-equipped for a total closure, these threats from

The results of the May 2018 Iraqi elections caught many by surprise, especially in the polling field. A series of public opinion surveys conducted between March and May predicted that the Nasr Coalition, led by Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, would win the highest number of seats in the Iraqi Parliament

The Israeli revelations make the argument for sticking with the nuclear accord much more difficult to sustain.

Tehran will likely resort to measured countermoves in the nuclear domain at first, but successful U.S. pressure could spur it to challenge JCPOA limits, take action in non-nuclear domains, or push back against U.S. and allied forces.

Tehran has generally responded to pressure by issuing threats, ramping up its nuclear activities, accepting temporary limits, and, when the heat is turned up, launching cyber, military, and terrorist operations.

In addition to his poor record on keeping promises, Putin has no ability or desire to genuinely restrain Iran, leaving little room for substantive dealmaking.

Keeping U.S. troops in place is critical to our national security, but American interests don't require the large-scale, long-term ground force that many fear.

As the FIFA World Cup final approaches, a highlight this year was the four Middle Eastern countries participating for the first time in years. Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, and Saudi Arabia each succeeded in qualifying, though their respective teams did not make it further than the first round of the Cup

The Houthi militia’s track record of betrayal and broken promises shows that it only calls for negotiations and is willing to discuss compromises when the group is at a disadvantage. These negotiations allow the group’s fighters to catch their breath, reposition themselves, and launch a new round of violence. Thus

Despite recent tensions between Jordan and other stakeholders in the Middle East, shifting dynamics across the region have recently led to the formation of a tentative U.S.-backed cooperation between Israel and such Sunni Arab states as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and the Hashemite Kingdom. While this rapprochement

With the president aiming to force a dominant-party system on a split electorate, Turkish society may be headed for a long-term political crisis.

Since the end of March 2018, the Gaza-Israel border has witnessed repeated violent eruptions initiated by Hamas, including challenging the border and causing massive fires in Israel. With ongoing friction for months and scores of Palestinian fatalities, clashes have grown progressively more violent, risking deterioration into yet another Israel-Hamas war

The director of strategic operational planning at the National Counterterrorism Center discusses the general state of U.S. CT efforts, the persistence of the threat, and the need to focus on nonkinetic prevention methods.

Today, Syria is the sole battlefield in the world where American, Russian, Turkish, Iranian, and Israeli military forces all operate, along with a kaleidoscope of proxy actors foreign and domestic. As the preeminent arena of strategic competition in the Middle East and a wellspring of potential Islamic State resurgence, Syria

In June, Turkey and the United States announced that they had agreed to implement a roadmap to promote peace in the Syrian city of Manbij, which has been under the control of the Syrian Democratic Forces since the 2016 expulsion of ISIS. The agreement came as part of U.S. efforts

On the streets of Beirut, the impact of the Syrian Civil War is more than palpable. According to recent reports, Syrian refugees make up approximately a fourth of Lebanon’s total population. Seeking to address rising acrimony and hostility between refugees and Lebanese, the country’s authorities have been searching for solutions