Essays

Who are Palestine’s Overlooked Refugees? Investigating Stateless Palestinians in Jordan

Stateless Palestinian refugees originally from Gaza who now live in Jordan face a precarious legal and economic situation as they lack adequate support systems. Scant attention is paid to their struggles

Can the ‘F’ Word Help Save Ukraine?

By Klara Vlahčević Lisinski

Is federalism the solution for a peaceful Ukraine after Russia withdraws? A discussion with federalism expert Soeren Keil

Longer Sticks and Shorter Carrots: How the U.S. is Changing its Engagement in MENA

By Amr Adly

Winter 2025

The United States’ approach to achieving international hegemony is shifting away from trade and investments back toward bombs and missiles

In Jordan, Trump is a Divisive Figure

By Laila Shadid

Winter 2025

Before Trump officially took office, some Jordanians believed that he was the “lesser of two evils”. Now, two months into his presidency, Trump has few fans in Amman

The Consequences and Prospects of Israel’s Ban of UNRWA

By Kjersti G. Berg, Jørgen Jensehaugen, and Lex Takkenberg

Winter 2025

As the UN agency’s operations continue to be obstructed, its outright ban will continue the perpetuation of severe human suffering and have multidimensional ramifications, from illegality on the international level to political considerations regarding the tenuous ceasefire

A man holds the flag adopted by the new Syrian rulers, as people gather to celebrate after the ousting of Syria's Bashar al-Assad, at March 18 Square in Daraa, Syria,

Syria Remains at a Dangerous Crossroads

By Jacob Blau

The recent removal of Bashar al-Assad’s regime creates two divergent paths for Syria, one of freedom, and the other that embodies an all too familiar authoritarian style of governance

American Netizens Worry For the Future of TikTok

By Sydney Wise

Winter 2025

The temporary banning of TikTok in the United States in January prompted concern over the politicization of tech platforms. The two likeliest paths forward for TikTok represent alternate visions of the relationship between Big Tech and government

Round Two: Trump’s Foreign Policy Takes on New Challenges

By William B. Quandt

Winter 2025

Trump will have to manage the continuing conflict in the Middle East, the war in Ukraine, and the rising power of China as he navigates the beginning of his second term

Palestinian Journalists as Both Storytellers and Targets in the Israel-Gaza War

By Shahira S. Fahmy, Mohamed Salama, and Mona Raafat Alsaba

For Palestinian journalists confronting physical and psychological threats online and on the ground, the perilous pursuit to document Israel’s war on Gaza embodies a deeper personal mission

Trump 2.0: Where Rhetoric Meets Reality

By Diana Bartelli Carlin

Winter 2025

The new president has made big promises, but can he keep them?

Trump’s Return: What It Could Mean for Palestine and the Region

By Ramzy Baroud

Winter 2025

Donald Trump’s return to the White House in the context of the Gaza war and other regional conflicts raises questions regarding his approach to the Israel-Palestine conflict

Donald Trump and the Art of Bending Reality

By Gabriele Cosentino

Winter 2025

The gravity-defying political comeback of Donald Trump is the pinnacle of the chaotic career of an extreme risk taker with little concern for established norms. But his willingness to upend rules and bend reality to suit his vision might push U.S. and global politics to the breaking point

A Resurgent Trump Returns to a Turbulent Middle East

By Paul Salem

Winter 2025

Trump’s unpredictable yet forceful leadership is entering a region in flux, offering both challenges and opportunities for his second term

President Trump’s Policies in the Middle East

By Raphael Cohen-Almagor

Winter 2025

The U.S. president’s pragmatic approach and his out-of-the-box bold ideas may bring a positive change to both Israel and the Palestinians provided they will be translated into action plans carefully and through sensitive communication with all concerned stakeholders

Trump’s Alternate Reality in the Middle East

By Hussein Ibish

Winter 2025

With his recent foray into drastic measures to resolve the Israel-Palestine continuum, could there be a method to the madness of King Trump?

The Elusive Saudi-Israeli Normalization Deal: Why an Agreement is Likely to Fall Short of Expectations

By Robert Mogielnicki

Winter 2025

A deal between Saudi Arabia and Israel will likely happen eventually but is unlikely to transform the Middle East

Duel with Israel is Turbocharging Iranian Nationalism

By Kourosh Ziabari

There’s only one ingredient in the Iranian people’s worldview that has not been outperformed by a disastrous mélange of crackdowns on civil liberties, economic maladies, corruption, and the specter of an all-out confrontation with Israel: nationalism

Israel, Hamas, and the Burdens of History

By Michael J. Reimer

Fall 2024

The violence of the Hamas attacks on October 7, 2023, and Israel’s subsequent retaliatory war on Gaza have reignited historical collective traumas and existential fears among Jewish-Israelis, the Jewish Diaspora, and Palestinians

Enabling Evolution: The Role of Knowledge Production in the Development of African Unity

By Samuel M. Makinda, and Angela Leahy

Fall 2024

Knowledge is power; by harnessing knowledge production, the Organization of African Unity and its successor, the African Union, have set the continent on a new path

Pursuing Unity: Pan-Africanism in Practice

By Stephen Okhonmina

Fall 2024

History has proven that a completely politically unified Africa may be impossible to achieve; instead, integration should be pursued with a more limited goal of facilitating faster economic, social, and political progress