Policy Analysis

Helping the Assad regime establish full control in Damascus is only one part of Iran's plan to create a regional Shiite crescent, and any ceasefire plan that furthers such goals could spark wider sectarian conflict.

The sectarian, ethnic "holy wars" manifesting in Syria and Iraq are morphing into permanent security and financial liabilities for the international community. Have the people of Iraq and Syria decided that they are better off when they are separate but equal? In 2003, Iraq was enshrined with a constitution that

People around world are prone to oversimplify the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. Some say, for example, that they are no more than a transitory or incidental phenomenon. Others posit that they are merely a gang of mercenaries who can be eliminated through military effort alone. Yet, regardless of

On the shore of Nice’s Promenade des Anglais, where July’s Bastille Day attack killed 85 people, a photograph of a woman removing a layer of clothes with French police officers standing over her went viral. The image exposed the irony of a country that classifies itself as a “secular” republic

Their first post-coup meeting was one of the few positive bilateral developments in quite some time, so Washington should try to build on it.

Relations between Riyadh and Tehran are in a downward spiral, raising the urgent need for a U.S. and international response.

Turkey's Syria policy appears to be changing trajectory, signaled by three recent developments: the July 16 attempted coup, which exposed rifts within the military; the August 9 meeting between Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russian president Vladimir Putin; and Turkey's incursion into Syria, culminating in the capture of Jarabulus

New military facilities and operations in Eritrea and elsewhere on the Horn of Africa are serving the UAE's power-projection ambitions.

The three countries that comprise the Maghreb region -- Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia -- are bound by important cultural, linguistic, and economic ties, and by a shared history of French occupation. Even after Africa's official decolonization, the Maghreb has remained a close and intense sphere of European, and especially French, influence

The costly siege has spurred Iran to withdraw or relocate certain IRGC units, but this is unlikely to hurt the Assad coalition's strategy in Aleppo so long as Hezbollah and other Shiite militias remain willing to fight there.

Russia's military alliance with Iran is all about keeping Assad in power and America on its back foot, and even a short-lived partnership can do long-term damage to U.S. interests.

The massacre in an Orlando nightclub on June 12 by an individual claiming to belong to ISIS provoked immediate and firm condemnation from both Arab governments and the liberal Arab elite. However, much of the Arab media’s coverage avoided describing the place of the attack in detail, omitting that it

The surprise visit may have been intended to shore up various aspects of the Saudi-Pakistani defense relationship, perhaps including their suspected arrangement regarding access to nuclear weapons.

As authorities scramble to prepare for the ways in which the Islamic State threat will continue to evolve, many lessons can be learned by looking at the factors that led to its rise. This seventh volume of Counterterrorism Lectures traces ISIL's evolution during 2015.

After the overthrow of Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak on February 11, 2011, international actors and observers turned their attention to the Islamists in Egypt. All began monitoring how Islamism would be incorporated into the political equation. Led by the Muslim Brotherhood, the Islamists were dealing with the new struggle around

The following is the executive summary of a new BICOM study by Brig. Gen. Michael Herzog, IDF (Res.), The Washington Institute's Milton Fine International Fellow and former head of the IDF's Strategic Planning Division. Read the full report on the BICOM website. Two years after the last round of armed

The IRGC will likely continue using such incidents as a way to signal its domestic rivals, justify its large budget, and meet other goals, so Washington should remain vigilant and consider seeking an official channel for emergency communications.

Far away from the exaggerated debates of misguided pundits, Western officials have moved on from past mistakes and are making grownup policy choices on Iraq that are reasonably good under the circumstances.

The ongoing influx of Syrians could tilt future elections in Erdogan and the AKP's favor, though the long-term demographic and social repercussions will be felt regardless of political outcomes.

Normalization remains controversial in Arab circles but is no longer taboo, as more Arabs come to view Israel as a potential partner against enemies like Iran.