Policy Analysis

Since losing its territorial base, the group has shown troubling signs of recovery amid a deteriorating situation at al-Hawl refugee camp.

Algeria's divided Hirak movement needs greater unity in order to strengthen real, democratic institutions.

A village of women in Eastern Syria are upholding the core political beliefs of the Kurdish minority there.

Wishful thinking aside, Moscow will continue to push solely for its own interests in these discussions, which for the foreseeable future means empowering Assad.

Recent understandings between Cairo and Ankara have many of the group’s exiled figures worried about their future on Turkish soil.

New proposals by Palestinian commentators can give Abbas and other senior officials a viable framework for rescheduling premature elections and jumpstarting engagement with Israel, Egypt, and Jordan.

Three scholars explore the stunning breadth of Iranian dominance over Damascus and what this means for any U.S. plans to foster stability in Syria or reopen negotiations with Tehran.

This minor facade group is occasionally used to claim bombing attacks on U.S. supply convoys and rocket attacks on the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.

Regardless of the Biden Administration's stance on Iran and Hezbollah, sanctioning corrupt politicians in Lebanon is a good call.

The U.S. does not always have to be at the head of the table, but it has to be present and ready to jump in if progress stalls on issues such as advancing political dialogue, holding elections on time, and addressing Russia’s worrisome military encroachment.

A more modest approach is warranted, one that emphasizes core interests, acknowledges the limitations of U.S. leverage, and avoids going too far with funding cuts and sanctions.

Abbas may decide to postpone the vote given Fatah’s internal fissures, his rivals’ relative unity, and the damage that certain outcomes could do to Palestinian relations with the West.

Turkey is making overtures for rapprochement with Egypt. How will Sisi respond?

Iraqi militias value legitimacy and try to portray themselves as acting within the law, so evidence-based approaches can be very effective at reining in those who attack on Tehran’s behalf.

Moscow has intensified its military deployments in sensitive areas and continued its counterproductive diplomatic track, exhibiting a long-game mindset that Washington needs to match.

With a basic knowledge of uranium enrichment and an interactive spreadsheet, governments and even the public can quickly work out how close Tehran may be to a nuclear weapon.

Washington needs to revisit its traditional reluctance to share decisionmaking with European partners—who in turn need to reconsider their traditional discomfort over burden sharing.

U.S. concerns center on Turkey’s democratic backslide and deepening ties between Erdogan and Putin—but the Turkish president also wants to develop a rapport with Joe Biden and fortify his country’s weakened economy.

Syria may not be a priority for the Biden administration, but the Brussels pledging conference and the July vote on the UN cross-border mechanism mean that major donors can no longer keep the disastrous humanitarian situation on the back burner or expect NGOs to resolve it on their own.

Netanyahu has managed to erode support for key rivals and further complicate any opposition coalition scenarios, but the lingering possibility of a fifth round of elections raises troubling questions about the status of Israeli politics.