Policy Analysis

This weekend's mass shooting elicited wide official condemnation from Arab states, but regional media coverage has been limited so far.

The leader's distorted view of the Ottoman past may dictate whether the country further embraces Islamization.

In the American policy debates over the causes, consequences, and potential cures of Islamist extremism, institutions of state Islam -- i.e., religious institutions that are formally tied to the states governing their respective countries -- have featured only marginally. Whether due to an understandable ambivalence toward overt engagement with religious

The group's public executions of gay men are part of a deliberate moral policing campaign, one aimed at showing supporters and enemies alike that it means to enforce its narrow, atavistic view of Islamic law wherever it can.

The deputy crown prince's first solo trip to Washington confirms his preeminence in the Saudi hierarchy but could spur pushback from royal rivals.

Morocco needs to balance its desire to hold onto an economically and politically important region with the realities of EU human rights regulations and other international norms.

When the 2011 Jasmine Revolution catalyzed a major shift within Tunisian society, contemporary European observers noted that this movement exhibited similarities to the European model of revolution. Many argued that Tunisia's experience had and would continue to remain distinct from those influences shaping the Egyptian, Yemeni, Libyan, and Syrian revolutions

Last month's assassination of a senior Hizbullah commander, apparently by Syrian rebel groups, demonstrates the growing threat the organization faces from fellow Arabs and Muslims.

To get a truer picture of the party's longer-term plans and the implications for political Islam writ large, observers will need to see how Ennahda changes its internal structures, how it votes on divisive legislation, and how it campaigns in upcoming elections.

Two Washington Institute experts share their findings from recent visits to Russia, where they discussed a wide range of regional issues with current and former officials, leading analysts, and other citizens.

The tribes in eastern Syria have been driven in different directions by the Assad regime, outside actors, and their own self-interest, leaving the coalition with a complex web to untangle before it can fully uproot IS.

The heated criticism of his government's rightward shift is obscuring the fact that Arab officials continue to work with Israel on various important initiatives, creating room for potential diplomatic developments that could render outside peacemaking forays moot.

A recent Foreign Policy article argued against holding the Sykes-Picot agreement accountable for the current turmoil in the Middle East. While the author may have gone too far in absolving the treaty and its signatories from all blame, it is certainly true that the borders this document ultimately helped develop

Last month, many Kurds mourned the 100th anniversary of the Sykes-Picot agreement, signed on May 16 1916, which laid down the foundation for today’s nation states in the Middle East. Arguably, no single ethnic group despises this agreement more than the Kurds, who often view it as a moratorium on

This essay, the sixth in a series exploring prospects for political reform throughout the Middle East, analyzes the unique perils facing democratic governance in Iraq, particularly the dangerous Islamist alternatives masquerading under the guise of theocracy.

The government in Manama, the headquarters of the U.S. Fifth Fleet, blames Iran for supporting the Shiite opposition and downplays the threat of Sunni extremist support for the Islamic State.

The new Israeli government reflects the country's increasing polarization and leaves Netanyahu with limited room for maneuver, making it difficult for him to preempt the growing momentum behind efforts to internationalize the Palestinian issue.

Turkey's incoming government reflects the regionalization of political power, outsize influence from religious schools, and the sidelining of Kurds and women, as well as pointing to the emergence of an exclusive governing-party system.

A recent crash highlights the air force's struggles to maintain its readiness and budget at a time when Revolutionary Guard leaders are pushing for a deterrence posture based solely on their own ballistic missile arsenal.

While airlift operations may provide temporary relief for a number of besieged and hard-to-reach communities, urgently enhancing the military capabilities of moderate opposition groups is ultimately the only way to effectively counter the Assad regime's use of food as a weapon.