Three Years Later

Building a future that gives the Palestinians their right to self-determination is difficult, but absolutely necessary.

The Dynamics of War, Politics, and Peace in the Middle East

By Paul Salem / Spring 2026

The justifications, enactments, and conclusions of the various conflicts that arose in the aftermath of October 7 remain murky, but historical and modern theories of war light a path toward future stability.

Urbicide and the Brutal Unmaking of the City in Gaza

By Muhammad Alaraby / Winter 2026

Palestine has become a laboratory for how to destroy a people by demolishing their cities

2025 Year in Review: Prolonged Conflict, Erratic Policy, and Burgeoning Artificial Frontiers

The past year has presented important lessons for the world to learn

The Banality of a Public Race for the Nobel Peace Prize

By Kourosh Ziabari /

Donald Trump’s year-long campaign for a Nobel Peace Prize was not just impractical, unrealistic, or outrageous. It showed a clear disregard for the rules of the Nobel Foundation

What’s New Is Old: The Enduring Challenge of Non-State Armed Actors in the Post-October 7 Landscape

By Grace Wermenbol / Spring 2026

While these groups may not have the resources or structure of traditional states, they play a major role in the continuation, or cessation, of conflict in the region.

Rebuilding from Rubble: The Future of Gaza

By Abigail Flynn / Spring/Summer 2025

Amid the dust and rubble, the new ceasefire offers relief to a war-ravaged Gaza; hope remains for a bright future in the Strip as questions surface of the role civil servants formerly employed by Hamas will play in governance

Trump’s Peace Plan for Gaza: The Good, the Bad, and the Unknown

Fall 2025

The most recent ceasefire deal proposed by the U.S. president makes big promises, but can it deliver?

Resolving the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

By Raphael Cohen-Almagor / Fall 2025

Building a new future for Israelis and Palestinians will require flexibility, compromise, and dedication from both sides as well as the international community

Beyond Its Wildest Dreams: Israel’s Campaign for Geo-Strategic Dominance in the Middle East

By Richard Silverstein / Fall 2025

Israeli hubris as it celebrates the demise of its enemies will be its ultimate downfall

The Double Genocide in Gaza

By Gregory H. Stanton / Fall 2025

Israel’s disproportionate response to Hamas’ October 7, 2023 massacre includes genocide against Palestinians in Gaza

A State is not Built with Rhetoric Alone—with H.A. Hellyer: CR Amplified ep. 5

By Abigail Flynn / Fall 2025

Verbal gestures toward recognition of a Palestinian state mean little without practical policies to hold Israel accountable for its violations of international law

Caught in the Crossfire: Jordan’s Balancing Act in the Iran-Israel Conflict

By Francesca Maria Lorenzini and Kourosh Ziabari / Fall 2025

Jordan’s defensive action to intercept Iran’s retaliatory drones and missiles, slashing through its skies in mid-June, has drawn both approval and criticism, underscoring the kingdom’s struggles to balance strategic alliances with public opinion

Israel and Iran: Major Threats to Middle East Stability

By Erwin van Veen / Fall 2025

Both states have violated international law and instigated regional chaos

Confederative Futures and the Burden of Leadership in Israel/Palestine

By Klara Vlahčević Lisinski / Fall 2025

The pathway to recognition of Palestinian Statehood does not require the world’s approval through the raising of 192 flags; rather, it requires convincing “one state only—the state of Israel”

Israel is Erasing Palestine and the West is Complicit

By Nour Odeh / Fall 2025

The genocide unfolding in the Gaza Strip has allowed Israel to speed up its takeover and ethnic cleansing of the occupied West Bank in stealth mode

What Palestinian Statehood Must Mean to Mean Anything

By Omar Auf / Fall 2025

As more governments prepare to recognize Palestine this September, the gesture risks being performative unless matched with concrete policies such as sanctions and legal obligations, and a decolonial vision of statehood that challenges occupation at its roots

Ending the War In Gaza: What Must Be Done Now

By Gershon Baskin / Fall 2025

Israel’s military juggernaut will not be stopped in Gaza without significant international pressure and a range of conditional sanctions

From Symbolic Victories to a People’s Victory: How Gaza Forged Global Recognition of Palestine

By Ramzy Baroud / Fall 2025

A story of two tracks: the symbolic quest for a state and the daily reality of a people fighting for their existence

On World Refugee Day, the World Must Help Correct the Historic Injustice Against Palestinian Refugees

By Ola G. El-Taliawi /

Since 1948, the international community has offered little more than hand-wringing and humanitarian aid when it comes to the plight of Palestinian refugees. The global community must recognize that return is not a threat to peace, but a precondition for it

Gamechanger or Fantasy? Trump’s Evolving Middle East Strategy

By Carla Dondera and Gedaliah Afterman /

Trump’s return to the White House has revived his ambition to reshape the Middle East, but as the recent war between Israel and Iran shows, the way forward is anything but simple and demands an unprecedented level of U.S. involvement

Gaza: Israel’s AI Human Laboratory

By Anwar Mhajne / Spring/Summer 2025

Israel’s use of artificial intelligence has wreaked horrific destruction on Gaza; this technology will likely be sold across the globe in the near future

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

By Francesca Maria Lorenzini /

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

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 Jørgen Jensehaugen and Kjersti G. Berg 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

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 Mohamed Salama and Mona Raafat Alsaba and Shahira S. Fahmy /

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

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?

Relocating Palestinians to “Clean Out” Gaza: Trump’s Proposal Echoes Forced Population Transfer

By Ola G. El-Taliawi / January 30, 2025

Moving the Palestinians in Gaza to neighboring Arab countries will not solve the underlying problems caused by the Israeli occupation

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

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

Is Israel a Liberal Democracy?

By Raphael Cohen-Almagor / Fall 2024

Israel’s democratic principles are under threat both internally and externally. Its long-term survival is to integrate fully into the Middle East, and the key to that integration is to peacefully resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Is China Becoming a Political Player in the Middle East?

By Dominika Urhová and Gedaliah Afterman /

China saw Israel’s war in Gaza as an opportunity to gain traction in the Middle East at the expense of the United States, but is it ready to become a serious political actor in the region?

Israel Accelerates Mass Arrest and Torture Campaigns

By Kellie Kuenzle /

The Israeli government has capitalized on public anger and fear following Hamas’ October 7, 2023 attacks to justify arbitrary mass arrests of Palestinians, the systemic use of torture, and inhumane prison conditions

A Reading on the Future of Hamas

By Omar Shaban / Summer 2024

The aftermath of October 7, and assassination of senior commanders, has forced an existential rethink within Hamas

The Court Rules: Occupation Illegal

By Abigail Flynn /

What does the advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice tell us and why is it important?

It’s Been a Year

It’s time to end this war

Is Israel’s Star Fading in Latin America?

By Jodor Jalit / Summer 2024

The Latin American response to Israel’s war on Gaza could help strengthen the rich but neglected cultural ties with Arab states

Don’t Forget About the Red Sea

By Burak Şakir Şeker / Summer 2024

A widening of Israel’s War on Gaza could threaten the vital Red Sea waterway and lead to a global economic crisis

China Tests the Water in Palestinian Diplomacy

By Ramzy Baroud / Summer 2024

While the ramifications of the recent unity agreement signed in Beijing by multiple Palestinian factions remain to be seen, it is evident that China has stepped up as a leader in the region

The Olympics: Arenas of Contention

By Jung Woo Lee / Summer 2024

Political tensions simmered under the facade of international communion at the Paris 2024 Games as countries competed both on and off the stage

Iranians Don’t Want a War With Israel

By Kourosh Ziabari / Summer 2024

Most believe that Tehran’s engagement in the battle for Palestinian emancipation is intrusive and uncalled for

Why Hamas Cannot Be Destroyed

By Grace Wermenbol / Summer 2024

Israel’s strategy to eradicate Hamas by killing off its leadership has proven ineffective for decades; the current war demonstrates the myopic nature of this approach

Politics of Apathy and All-Out War in the Post-Gaza New World

By Abdalhadi Alijla / Summer 2024

The genocidal campaign against the Gaza Strip threatens widening of the conflict into a regional war, creating new realities that may endure for decades

Less Than a State

By Sean Lee / Summer 2024

Without a new framework that ensures true sovereignty and security for a future Palestinian state, the two-state solution will remain a farce

Prioritizing Palestinian Self-Determination is Long Overdue

By Omar Auf / Summer 2024

The discussion about a one-state or two-state solution must be preceded by efforts to facilitate exercise of the right to self-determination by the Palestinian people. Only then can a realistic solution be genuinely pursued.

Egypt’s Balancing Act

By Karim Haggag /

Jon Alterman: Karim Haggag, welcome to Babel.

Karim Haggag: Thank you Jon, thank you for having me. It’s great to be with you.

Jon Alterman: Egypt has had a security focus on the Israeli border since the creation of Israel in 1948. Help us understand the context. How does the current Egyptian concern over Gaza rank among the various crises that Egypt has felt on its border with Israel over the last 75 years?

Karim Haggag: This is a fundamentally different challenge than the large-scale armed conflicts that Egypt fought with Israel over the years, » Read more about: Egypt’s Balancing Act »