Lebanon: Political Imagination, Accountability, and a New Roadmap for Regional Stability

By Ayman Mhanna / Fall 2025

Independent media, some syndicates, civil society organizations, student movements, reform-minded entrepreneurs, and the diaspora continue to carve out spaces of accountability, even as national institutions flounder

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

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 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

Recognizing a Palestine State: What’s New—and What’s Not

By Bidisha Biswas / Fall 2025

Australia is the latest G8 nation to pledge recognition of an independent Palestine, but long before Western capitals took action, recognition of the Palestinian state echoed across India, Indonesia, South Africa, and much of Latin America in a shared sentiment of justice rooted in anti-colonial solidarity

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

Tehran’s Red Lines, Trump’s Maximum Pressure, and Regime Survival

By Ali Fathollah-Nejad / Spring/Summer 2025

Progress toward a potential nuclear deal between the United States and Iran stalls, amid a high-stakes process for Tehran and others

Silicon Borders: The Global Justice of AI Infrastructure

By Johannes Himmelreich / Spring/Summer 2025

Washington uses ‘chokepoints’ to restrict global access to AI development, but this approach may threaten U.S. national security while creating significant moral dilemmas

The Future of Democracy in the Age of Deepfakes

By Hany Farid / Spring/Summer 2025

AI-generated content has already begun to work against us, rather than for us. To ensure this technology brings benefits rather than harms, we must institute immediate changes

A Costly Illusion of Control: No Winners, Many Losers in U.S.-China AI Race

By Paul Triolo / Spring/Summer 2025

The aggressive U.S. approach to China risks triggering conflict between the two nations while upending any progress to a global framework for AI safety and security

Iran’s Civil Society May Be its Best Hope

By Kourosh Ziabari /

Iran is engaging in talks with the United States as it feels the weight of economic, diplomatic, and domestic crises. The outcome is not clear and democracy isn’t within reach, but its civil society, representing the nation’s best hope for positive change, hasn’t yet lost its resilience

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

The View from Africa Before and After the U.S. Elections—Q&A with Mark Deets

By Omar Auf / Winter 2025

Trump’s re-election brought massive changes to many aspects of the United States and the world. What led to Trump regaining the presidency? What will the reverberations look like in West Africa? Omar Auf sat with historian Mark Deets to find out

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

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?

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

From Ideas to Policy: Q&A with Ibrahim Awad

By Omar Auf / Fall 2024

Is it possible to imagine, let alone move toward a different global political-economic order? Ibrahim Awad believes conferences and the exchange of ideas have a role to play in moving such a reality forward

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 Angela Leahy and Samuel M. Makinda / 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

Syria is the Middle East’s Hinge, but Which Way Will It Turn?

By Hussein Ibish /

The demise of the Syrian dictator has put the country on the precipice of the chaos and instability other countries experienced since the Arab uprisings. But there is a glimmer of hope that Syria can buck the trend and instead embrace tolerance, plurality, and security

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

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

Looking Backward into The Future: Why the United Nations Has Failed to Prevent Genocide

By Gregory H. Stanton / Summer 2024

At its root, genocide is committed through a lack of empathy, and it has failed to be prevented by a lack of political will. It is time to reverse those failings by rethinking our systems and challenging our assumptions.

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

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: An Economic Growth Success, yet a Health Failure?

By James E. Rauch /

Amid relatively successful long-term economic growth, Egypt still needs to address lagging health issues.

From Cold War to Regional Reconciliation: The New Pragmatism in the Middle East

By Albadr Alshateri /

The new pragmatism in the Middle East is leading to a regional reconciliation process that, though some critics doubt it, is showing signs that it can sustain itself in the near future.

The Strategic Calculus behind the Saudi-Iranian Agreement

By Abdolrasool Divsallar and Hesham Alghannam /

Reconciliation between Iran and Saudi Arabia creates opportunities for cooperation and poses security challenges stemming from opposing objectives, and foreign and domestic spoilers.

A Palestinian Outlet to the World, A Path toward Peace? Considerations and Options for a Gaza Seaport

By Asaf Ashar and Joel Singer / Summer 2022

Between economic considerations, intra-Palestinian divisions, and Israeli security concerns, there are a number of challenges facing the building of a seaport in Gaza, or in its alternatives. Nevertheless, it may be an opportunity to establish a tri-state free trade zone, and, ultimately, peace.

From Borno to Aswan: Where Development, Climate and Conflict are Interlinked

By Omar Auf / August 23, 2022

The Aswan Forum, hosted on June 21-22 in Cairo, discussed topics related to African peace and development, including climate change, confronting terrorism, regional security, youth and women empowerment, and more.

Working Towards Sustainable Peace and Development Through Cooperation: An Interview with Ahmed Abdel-Latif

By Omar Auf /

The Cairo International Center for Conflict Resolution, Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding is a unique Egyptian organization with a mandate for peace through capacity building, convening and research. Director-General Ahmed Abdel-Latif leads the center through its many activities, including serving as the Aswan Forum’s Secretariat.

Arab Nationalism, Regionalism, and Regional Integration

By Ibrahim Awad / Winter 2022

In the third decade of the 21st century, regionalism and regional integration in the Arab region stood in contrast with experiences in other regions of the world. Rather than facilitate integration, Arab nationalism seems to have in fact obstructed it

Shifting Patterns of Arab Politics

By Lisa Anderson / Winter 2022

Over the last seventy-five years, the endlessly shifting coalitions on the chessboard of Arab regional politics seem to have played by the same rules of the game. Yet, as private interests have become a major source of political power, there have been major changes in the powers and purposes of the players