Essays

Police patrol the predominantly North African neighborhood La Goutte d’Or, Paris

A century after the mass immigration of North Africans began, Arabs in France are more present in politics, the economy, and culture than ever before. Yet part of the French population rejects a shared history in favor of the myth of the “interior enemy.”

French demonstration after the terrorist attack on Charlie Hebdo magazine

Je Suis Charlie?

By Emmanuel Todd

Spring 2016

The Charlie Hebdo attack prompted an unprecedented collective response throughout France. Was it an admirable act of national solidarity in defense of press freedom or an outburst of xenophobia in a country that has lost its way?

Leaders at the 26th Arab League Summit, Sharm El-Sheikh

A Call for Arab Diplomacy

By Nabil Fahmy

Spring 2016

In the midst of the Middle East turmoil, Arab diplomacy is strangely absent. Arab states must approach a changing world in wide-ranging agreement to reorient foreign policy away from excessive international dependence.

U.S. envoy Dennis Ross with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

Fantasies of a Middle East Envoy

By Ahmad Samih Khalidi

Spring 2016

Veteran U.S. policymaker Dennis Ross argues that the U.S.-Israeli relationship is “doomed to succeed.” But a hardheaded look at the political, demographic, and ethnic changes in both countries suggests otherwise.

Presidential candidate Ted Cruz surrounded by television reporters, Center Barnstead, New Hampshire, Jan. 19, 2016. Ian Thomas Jansen-Lonnquist/The New York Times/Redux

The Buying of the President

By Charles Lewis

Winter 2016

The 2016 race for the White House is the wildest, most expensive money and media circus ever. The price to become president? About $1 billion.

Rally for presidential candidate Donald Trump aboard the USS Iowa, Los Angeles, Sept. 15, 2015. Mark Peterson/Redux

Understanding Conservatives

By Donald T. Critchlow

Winter 2016

Donald Trump's vituperative, outsider presidential campaign rallied voters anxious about the economy, national security, and culture. But establishment Republicans shouldn't be surprised by the tumult in the Grand Old Party.

Then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton poses with U.S. Marines at the American Embassy, Cairo, March 16, 2011. Paul J. Richards/Pool/Reuters

Hillary the Hawk

By Stephen Zunes

Winter 2016

Despite Hillary Clinton's reputation as a liberal, the record suggests her presidency would push America toward a more militaristic approach to the Middle East.

Homeless man, New York, May 1, 2009. Ashley Gilbertson/VII/Corbis

American Poverty

By Bernie Sanders

Winter 2016

The great middle class is in decline, despite major growth in the U.S. and global economy. One presidential candidate's solution: democratic socialism.

Latino immigration supporters launch a voter registration campaign, Boulder, Oct. 28, 2015. Evan Semon/Reuters

Viva Latino Voters!

By Adrian D. Pantoja

Winter 2016

America's Latino population, once a political sleeping giant, is poised to play a pivotal role in the 2016 American elections. And thanks to the anti-immigrant policies and rhetoric of Republican politicians, the Democratic Party could be the big winner.

President Barack Obama with leaders of Arab nations at Camp David, Catoctin Mountain Park, Maryland, May 14, 2015. Kevin Dietsch/Pool/Associated Press

Obama’s Tarnished Legacy in the Middle East

By Hisham Melhem

Winter 2016

President Barack Obama had to deal with a dysfunctional state system and fraying civil societies, as well as blowback from George W. Bush's invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq. Yet his own actions and inactions throughout two terms of office contributed significantly to the great unraveling of the Middle East.

Cuban woman poses wearing an American flag dress, Havana, Aug. 4, 2015. Enrique de la Osa/Reuters/Corbis

A Long Road to Havana

By William M. LeoGrande

Winter 2016

In 2014, Cuba and the United States shocked the world by announcing the normalization of bilateral relations after a half century of hostility. Yet with political leadership changing soon in both Havana and Washington, the path forward is still marked with uncertainty. Decades of enmity will not be easily forgotten.

Failings of Political Islam

By Tarek Osman

Fall 2015

After the Arab Spring, the rise of Islamists stirred social polarization in many countries. The most potent Islamists today are the jihadists who have seized control of territory through extreme violence. Can political Islam be reconciled with secular modernity?

Rule of Terror

By Karen Koning AbuZayd, Carla Del Ponte, Vitit Muntarbhorn and Paulo Pinheiro

Fall 2015

The Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) proclaimed a caliphate in 2014. An in-depth report on how its militants are using severe brutality and radical interpretations of sharia law to govern a large civilian population.

ISIS leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi in Mosul, Iraq

A Portrait of Caliph Ibrahim

By Abdel Bari Atwan

Fall 2015

Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi rarely allows himself to be seen in public, hence his nicknames the “phantom” and the “invisible sheikh.” A veteran journalist pieces together the story of the most feared jihadist leader since Osama Bin Laden.

Egyptian Ultras football fans protest in Cairo

The Problem with Radicalism

By Ömer Taşpınar

Fall 2015

It is commonplace to associate violent extremism with Islam, but terrorist organizations from recent history show that radicalism is not explained by religion. The concept of relative deprivation is key to understanding the roots of terrorism.

Al-Shabab fighters in Mogadishu, Somalia

Turning Somalia Around

By Marcin Buzanski

Fall 2015

The rise of the jihadist Al-Shabab group has compounded Somalia's problems with internal warlords and regional rivalries. Will a new constitution and elections in 2016 finally bring hope to this "failed state?"

Emir Faisal of Mecca and his entourage at Paris Peace Conference

A Century After Sykes-Picot

By Eugene Rogan

Fall 2015

With the fall of the Ottoman Empire after the First World War, Arabs found themselves divided into new states under British and French domination. Today’s crises are a legacy of political decisions made a hundred years ago.

Customers wait outside a bank in Athens, Greece

Greek Debt, German Hubris

By Stelios Kouloglou

Fall 2015

Greece’s European Union creditors showed little sympathy for the country’s financial crisis, blaming a poor national work ethic and insisting on shock therapy. But Germany had its own reasons for pressuring Athens: economic windfalls and political hegemony.