Policy Analysis

A conversation on the group’s strategic pivot, internal debates, hostage calculations, postwar prospects, and more.

Hamas began laying the groundwork for a West Bank uprising before October 7 and has steadily increased its activities there, demonstrating the risk it poses beyond Gaza.

One of the largest Iraqi-Syrian militias, developed by Iran's IRGC-QF to support regime and proxy objectives in and around Syria.

The group seems intent on using its many remaining captives to increase international pressure on Israel and compel mass prisoner exchanges, though it may hesitate to take steps that would further harm its public image.

The group's earliest reactions to the war were led by its Special Operations wing under Abu Hussein and two spokesmen from his camp.

Hossein Moanes and Abu Fadak have carefully calibrated their threats, showing a multifaceted yet tightly controlled Kataib Hezbollah response.

There is no evidence Moscow knew about the October 7 attack, but it has provided support to Hamas and is taking advantage of the resultant blows to U.S. interests.

A data-driven look at how research into terrorism and extremism is often hindered by tech companies with ill-suited content filters.

Without clearly stated goals and a well-defined exit strategy, Israel risks its counteroffensive becoming a punitive effort that costs immense civilian deaths while failing to establish lasting stability and peace in its southern sector.

The antiaircraft system poses a manageable risk to Israeli operations along its northern border, but Washington must show Moscow and its associates that any benefits to such escalation are not worth the costs.

The Hezbollah leader’s first public remarks on Gaza were cautious in tone and vague on substance, but the group may not stay deterred indefinitely if its political or tactical situation changes.

A regularly updated compendium of Beijing’s reactions to the Gaza war, including analysis of shifts in its traditional approach of trying to please all sides.

The country must come to terms with the fact that this war is deeply different from those it has fought in recent decades, and commit unwaveringly to transforming its security approach.

Changing the minds of anti-Semites is a lost cause, but Israel can win over other critics by committing more effort and ingenuity to the task of saving innocent Palestinian lives.

In his highly anticipated first speech since the Hamas massacre, Secretary-General Nasrallah can be expected to offer plenty of bluster and a possible step up the escalation ladder, but his group has an interest in avoiding all-out war.

Although the Persian Gulf region is far from being fully self-sufficient, countries are gradually diversifying their partnerships—and doing so on their own terms.

This Syrian militia based in Aleppo and Deir al-Zour has developed a uniquely close relationship with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the Assad regime.

Iraqi "resistance" elements are becoming more bellicose in their rhetoric against the American presence, signaling a new level of escalation against U.S. troops as part of their efforts to support Hamas in the Gaza war.

The energy sector is one indicator of the heavy costs the region will pay in the event of a wider conflict, with some effects already measurable in certain countries.

While Washington can do more diplomatically, the most glaring gap in U.S. regional engagement is economic, leaving Beijing unchallenged and American allies unsupported.