Policy Analysis

Washington's objective should be to persuade all parties that returning to the de facto ceasefire serves everyone's best interests, though even that outcome promises instability if Hamas does not crack down on jihadist groups in Gaza.

The Iranian nuclear program and the Assad regime share a commonality: both aim to undermine Western interests in the Middle East. For this reason, as much as Ayatollah Ali Khamenei values the nuclear program as a pillar of the Islamic Republic's political identity, his pro-Assad stance has taken its own place in Iran's regional policy.

Amid fierce debate over Egypt's draft constitution, Fikra Forum editors asked Egyptian human rights experts Hafez Abu Saeda and Magdi Khalil to analyze the draft with respect to human rights, religious freedom, and democratic values. Hafez Abu Saeda is the head of the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights and Magdi Khalil is the executive director of the Middle East Freedom Forum.

In deciding what to do about Israel, the new Egyptian president is torn between the security establishment and the Muslim Brotherhood.

If the Supreme Leader decides to get serious about nuclear negotiations, he will likely take a more public role in the process than before, if only to maintain control of Iran's increasingly turbulent domestic politics.

Jihadist groups do not buy into the democratic process and are attempting to consolidate Islamic rule in their countries one charitable act at a time.

Nearly two years after the onset of the Arab Spring, four leaders have been toppled, a bloody civil war is raging in Syria with no end in sight, and the status quo in other Arab states is fragile. Where does all of this lead? In this paper, Michael Herzog assesses

As the Assad regime's increasingly precarious military situation becomes irreversible, outside assistance could help deter Damascus from extreme escalation.

On November 8, 2012, Washington Institute executive director Robert Satloff addressed a Policy Forum along with Dennis Ross and Jim Jeffrey. The following is an edited version of Dr. Satloff's comments; the full event can be viewed in the above video. If President Obama tasked a courageous National Security Council

Amid talk of personnel shakeups and foreign policy retooling, a former Obama advisor suggests how the president should choose his top aides and cabinet secretaries.

Don't believe the loose talk of President Obama exacting vengeance on Benjamin Netanyahu -- the two leaders need each other too much to let old grudges get in the way.

How will those in the region -- allies, adversaries, and everyone in between -- react to the election results? Watch online as veteran policy practitioners and scholars explore the priorities and challenges of the second Obama administration.

Twenty-nine years ago, Hezbollah blew up the U.S. Marines and French army barracks in Beirut, both compounds under the aegis of the Multinational Force sent to Lebanon as peacekeepers to oversee the evacuation of the Palestine Liberation Organization from Beirut. The barracks bombings left 241 Americans and 58 French dead

The bilateral relationship is based on tangible, steadily increasing security and economic interests, not just shared values.

Satloff: Obama Administration to Test Iran with 'Grand Deal'

The emir of Qatar, Sheik Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, recently became the first head of state to visit Gaza since it came under the control of Hamas in 2007. In an email interview, Simon Henderson, director of the Gulf and Energy Policy Program at The Washington Institute, discussed the Qatari leader's visit.

In times of conflict, being impartial does not necessarily translate into neutrality; silence in such circumstances may signify taking a side. This is indeed the Shi’ite clergy’s narrative about the violence in Syria.

Assumptions about who will be the future ruler of Saudi Arabia -- the world's largest oil exporter and self-declared leader of the Islamic world -- need to be revised after the sudden resignation of one of the royal family's senior-most members. Today's surprise announcement that Interior Minister Prince Ahmed bin

In September 2012, anticipating nationwide local elections in 2013 (later rescheduled) and a presidential election in 2014, members of Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) held internal voting to determine who will guide them through the coming transition. Results from the convention, which were strongly influenced by Prime Minister

So far, the Obama administration has chosen the wrong way to influence Egypt's new Islamist leaders.