Policy Analysis

September 28, 2016 In a bold state-like move, the Kurdish Democratic Union Party ( PYD) conducted censuses in the Rojava canton of Jazira. The government of the autonomous region seems to realize that being the “good guys” on the battlefield is not enough. To be legitimate rulers, they need to

Although continuing the crackdown would be the quicker and more expedient approach to meeting Erdogan's goals, it is also more dangerous, risking a permanent state of cultural civil war.

With a few exceptions, the candidates focused more on debating the past than offering ideas and prescriptions for today's Middle East challenges.

In addition to meeting the kingdom's urgent energy needs, the new natural gas deal should facilitate long-delayed efforts to develop Israel's offshore Leviathan field.

In Arab Fall, Eric Trager examines the Muslim Brotherhood's decisionmaking throughout the eventful period that commenced with the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings and ended with Mohamed Morsi's overthrow. He explains the Brotherhood's reason for joining the anti-Mubarak uprising, running for a majority of the seats in the 2011-12 parliamentary elections

Rather than honoring its pledge to comply with international norms on money laundering and terrorist finance, Iran may point to two prominent banks in particular as safe spaces for Western engagement.

There's no stopping Iranian ambitions if Moscow has Tehran's back, warns Ambassador James Jeffrey, unless the United States is prepared to "get real" about its Middle East engagement in the next presidential administration. The former American ambassador to Iraq and to Turkey, Jeffrey explains the importance of setting, and upholding

Read what both candidates and their parties have said about Syria, ISIS, the Iran nuclear deal, U.S.-Israel relations, and host of other pressing regional issues.

America's latest terrorist incident shows why the preferred metaphor to describe such attacks is usually a contradiction in terms.

How will the Syrian cessation of hostilities deal brokered by Washington and Moscow affect the geopolitical and military dynamics of Russia's intervention? Read a summary or watch video of this expert forum.

Watch senior FBI official Michael Steinbach as he details the new borderless threats from terrorists, and how law enforcement is changing the way it does business.

While the group's core appeal among most recruits is its supposed Salafi orientation, the project of raising a generation of Islamic State 'citizens' is driven by factors that have little relation to Salafi doctrines.

Former Israeli defense minister Moshe "Bogie" Yaalon offers his views on the Iran nuclear deal, Israeli-Palestinian relations, and what he hopes (and expects) from the next U.S. president.

Although the parliament remains a marginal institution, the Brotherhood's ability to continue mobilizing political support despite a recent ban shows its persistent appeal in the kingdom.

The author would like to thank Dr. Jacob Olidort for his assistance and support on this piece. The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has a much more effective online media program than its jihadi neighbors and predecessors: it recruits and radicalizes supporters while provoking and terrorizing enemies. Yet

This paper, the eighth in a series of essays exploring prospects for reform throughout the Middle East, explains the near absence of a political center within Egypt by examining the failure of non-Islamist reformists to assert themselves as a meaningful political force following Mubarak's overthrow.

The episode gives Moscow a great excuse to be uncooperative, which it may have planned to be anyway, but providing clearer information could nevertheless help further the coalition's goals.

Egyptians have welcomed news that the Democratic presidential candidate will meet with President Sisi, but rumors such as those linking Clinton to the Muslim Brotherhood are nevertheless likely to persist.

As the battle for Mosul looms, however, national fragility may require postponing larger boundary-drawing initiatives.

The group's use of children as suicide bombers highlights its broader indoctrination practices, which mirror many of the mundane techniques used in normal educational curricula.