Israel at a Crossroads

By Shlomo Ben Ami / Fall 2017

Israel’s occupation of the West bank raises the question of whether the Jewish state wants peace. Fifty years later, apartheid policies pose a threat not only to the future of the Palestinian people, but also of Israeli democracy.

Palestine and the Law of Nations

By Nabil Elaraby / Fall 2017

The United nations holds a “sacred trust” to establish Palestinian statehood and independence. Yet repeated failures to enforce decisions against Israel’s occupation have shaken the credibility of international law and the universal human rights it upholds.

A European Call for Palestinian Independence

By Miguel Ángel Moratinos / Fall 2017

Europe’s role in the Middle East has evolved from colonial overlord into a partner for peace between Jews and Arabs. European leaders should no longer delay in showing equal respect to Palestinian and Israeli national aspirations: they should recognize Palestinian statehood now.

Global Palestine

By Nasser S. Judeh / Fall 2017

The Arab World should accept responsibility for its leading role in achieving peace in Palestine, but global leaders should remember that the “Palestinian question” remains central to both regional and international relations.

Waiting for Uncle Sam

By Daniel C. Kurtzer / Fall 2017

For decades, the United States has billed itself as an “honest broker” in the Palestinian-Israeli peace talks. Ten principles for renewing confidence in U.S. leadership, and the Arab-Israeli peace process.

Trump’s Toughest Deal

By Shai Feldman and Khalil Shikaki

Fall 2017

President Donald Trump has boasted “We will get this done” on peace in the Middle East. Negotiations between wary Israeli and Palestinian leaders might need a provocative jolt in order to stop the slide toward a “one-state reality.”

A Century’s Legacy of Conflict

By Abdel Monem Said Aly / Fall 2017

Understanding the lessons of a conflict deeply steeped in history is essential to resolving it. The strength of facts on the ground, the futility of “might makes right,” and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict’s persistent role in the region’s instability are all part of a legacy that must be acknowledged to achieve peace.

Peace versus the People

By Khalil Shikaki / Fall 2017

Palestinian and Israeli leaders could never reach an agreement on a permanent peace settlement. But what do public opinion surveys reveal about popular, and increasingly ambivalent, support for the peace process’ promised two-state solution among Palestinians and Israelis?

Modi in Israel

By P. R. Kumaraswamy / Fall 2017

Narendra Modi was the first Indian prime minister to visit the Jewish state. Now India, Asia’s rising giant, is stuck between a rock and a hard place: caught at once between its historical support for the Palestinian cause, and its rapidly growing business and technology relations with Israel.

From Russia, With Fear

By David J. Kramer / Fall 2017

How did Putin’s regime of fear and paranoia push Russia toward a new confrontation with the West?

Jerusalem and its Holy Sites

By Jessie Steinhauer / Fall 2017

Timeline of the struggle over Jerusalem and its holy sites since 70 AD.

Beyond “Land for Peace”

By Allison Hodgkins / Fall 2017

Peace negotiations between Palestinians and Israelis in the last quarter-century were never designed to support the establishment of a two-state solution. Brokers of the conflict should look beyond the “land for peace” formula and return to some of the finer details of UN General Assembly Resolution 181 on the partition of Palestine.

Silencing Dissent in Saudi Arabia

By Hala Al-Dosari / November 9, 2017

Saudi Arabia’s recent waves of arrests reveal the political system’s increased use of security measures to control the public while promising limited reforms to stave off instability.

Trump’s Short-Sighted Iran Strategy

By Maysam Behravesh / November 9, 2017

President Trump’s aggressive stance against the Iranian Revolutionary Guards could further jeopardize regional stability and the Iran nuclear deal.

The Forgotten Maghreb-Sahel Nexus

By Jacques Roussellier / November 1, 2017

In confronting the Sahel’s transnational security challenges, international actors would benefit from giving Maghreb states a role in stabilization and development.

Dilemnas of Trade with Iraqi Kurdistan

By Tamer Badawi / October 23, 2017

Escalating tensions surrounding the Kurdish independence referendum are encouraging Iran to accelerate efforts to diversify trade to Iraq.

In With the Old in Tunisia

By Emir Sfaxi / October 5, 2017

Tunisia’s cabinet reshuffle, Administrative Reconciliation Law, and election postponement are prompting fears of a return of the Ben Ali regime.

The Next Middle Eastern War

By Rami G. Khouri / September 14, 2017

Regional powers must avoid another war with Israel. Armed conflict will never achieve peace.

Six Reasons Why You Are Confused about Syria

By Rami G. Khouri / September 8, 2017

The historical changes behind the country’s complicated civil war.

Is Reconstruction Syria’s Next Battleground?

By Benedetta Berti / September 7, 2017

The Syrian regime is turning to reconstruction to boost legitimacy and consolidate control, a process that also benefits its external allies.

Two Young Arab Leaders to Keep an Eye On

By Rami G. Khouri / August 28, 2017

An unlikely meeting between Saudi Arabia’s crown prince and one of Iraq’s leading Shiite cleric.

Trends in Qatar Stand-Off

By Rami G. Khouri / August 5, 2017

Is Qatari diplomacy and policy outperforming the Saudi Arabian-UAE-led camp in the Gulf’s ongoing confrontation?

Lessons from Jerusalem Confrontation

By Rami G. Khouri / July 31, 2017

The power of sustained, mass, non-violent protest by Palestinian civilians, with a precise focus and specific demands, caused Israel to drop all the new “security” measures it said were needed at the Al-Aqsa compound.

After Raqqa’s Fall

By Nabeel Khoury / July 31, 2017

The Syrian Al-Assad regime’s survival owes a lot to its foreign patrons, as well as U.S. incompetence.

The Real Debate That Islamism Should Spark

By Rami G. Khouri / July 20, 2017

Is Islamism a dangerous trend of the future in Muslim-majority societies, or a natural passing phase only?

One Step Forward for Lebanon’s Elections

By Anthony Elghossain / July 13, 2017

While the new Lebanese electoral law introduces a few reforms, it entrenches sectarianism and favors big parties and established politicians.

U.S. Role in Resolving Qatar Crisis Grows

By Rami G. Khouri / July 13, 2017

All parties in the Qatar crisis are learning important lessons about the business of statecraft, which will benefit them all in the long run.

Understanding Sectarianism in the Middle East

By Ussama Makdisi / July 12, 2017

Sectarian violence in the Arab and Muslim worlds is exacerbated by the role foreign powers play in the region, as well as local power rivalries.

From Cairo to Tokyo

By Jessie Steinhauer / Summer 2017

Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike recalls her time as a student in Cairo and how it influenced her life in politics.

Trump versus Globalization

By Cathleen Cimino-Isaacs and Gary Clyde Hufbauer / Summer 2017

As a presidential candidate, Donald Trump campaigned on promises that would reverse years of trade liberalization. Whether or not he triggers a global trade war, his policies are undermining America’s standing as the preeminent world leader.

The Case for Open Markets

By Dany Bahar / Summer 2017

Is the free trade party over? Competition certainly has its losers. But the widespread discontent with globalization misses a crucial point: only more trade, not less, will reverse the slowdown in world productivity.

Anti-Trade Alliance

By Pietra Rivoli / Summer 2017

Who’s afraid of globalization? Everybody from Donald Trump to Bernie Sanders, it seems, and environmentalists and factory workers in between. An unlikely coalition of skeptics from across the political spectrum is driving the anti-trade movement.

Speed Bumps on the Silk Road

By Rebecca Liao / Summer 2017

China has unveiled a “win-win” policy paper to guide its approach to the Middle East. Its $1 trillion One Belt One Road infrastructure initiative will extend all the way to North Africa. But can trade buy Beijing political clout in the region?

Made in Palestine

By Marda Dunsky / Summer 2017

Expansion of Israeli settlements, restriction on access to water, and land confiscation are displacing Palestinians from agricultural livelihoods they have known for centuries. But olive tree growers and backyard gardeners are refusing to surrender their heritage. This is a story of farmers under occupation.

Is There Hope for Iraq?

By Muhamed H. Almaliky / Summer 2017

Defeat of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria will offer Baghdad a fresh state-building opportunity to correct the mistakes following the ouster of the Saddam Hussein regime in 2003. As Sunnis, Shiites, and Kurds pursue their own interests, a serious effort toward communal understanding is the key to progress.

Rise of the Militiamen

By Renad Mansour / Summer 2017

The end of the strongman era in Iraq has led to the rise of paramilitaries representing sects and ethnicities. Popular Mobilization Units have become part of the state’s official security structure. Although the PMUs have been instrumental in the fight against ISIS, their more powerful militias pose a stark challenge to the country’s future stability.

Scramble for Syria

By Mohammad-Reza Djalili and Thierry Kellner / Summer 2017

Iran’s support for the Al-Assad regime in Damascus has long provided it with a foothold in Lebanon, Palestine, and the rest of the region. But with its deepening role in the Syrian civil war, Tehran is losing hearts and minds in the Arab World.

Fury in the Philippines

By Richard Javad Heydarian / Summer 2017

When President Rodrigo Duterte unleashed a deadly war on drug traffickers, criticism by the Obama administration highlighted growing tensions in the century-old U.S.-Philippine alliance. Will Duterte’s budding friendship with a new American president head off Manila’s tilt to China?

Changing Criminal Policies

By Rami G. Khouri / June 21, 2017

The current group of global leaders seem only able to perpetuate destructive, often criminal, public and private policies that generate the fear, hate, and violence they seem unable to understand or counter.

Michel Aoun’s Double Game

By Bachir El Khoury / June 21, 2017

Lebanon’s president navigates the treacherous waters of the cold war between Iran and Saudi Arabia.

1967 War’s Real Legacy in Egypt

By Tarek Osman / June 18, 2017

The defeat in the 1967 war with Israel deeply altered Egypt’s position in the Arab World.

A Decisive Year for Iraqi Kurds

By Mohammed A. Salih / June 5, 2017

The risks are high, but an independent Kurdish state is within reach of a fractious leadership.

Behind Putin’s Iron Curtain

By Dimitar Bechev / June 1, 2017

Russia needs the West—but the realpolitik driving its foreign policy demands it be treated as an equal.

Three New Trends in Iran’s Politics

By Shireen T. Hunter / May 31, 2017

The country’s ruling establishment, guardians of the 1979 Islamic revolution, confront a changing society.

Empty Promises in Riyadh

By Nabeel Khoury / May 29, 2017

The Trump administration pageant moves to the Middle East.

Trump’s Middle East Fantasies

By Rami G. Khouri / May 17, 2017

Based on the outlines of Trump’s apparent goals, all his goals are rehashed versions of past policy failures.

Will Trump Help South Sudan?

By Steven C. Roach / May 10, 2017

Resolving the conflict in Africa’s youngest country brings to the fore contradictions in President Trump’s foreign policy.

Woes of Arab Youth

By Elena Habersky / Spring 2017

Study reveals unemployment as number one problem

Ripples of the 1967 War

By Ahmad Samih Khalidi / Spring 2017

By crushing the Arab armies, Israel paradoxically resurrected the Palestinian national movement. But fifty years after Israeli forces captured the West Bank and Gaza Strip, the bitter struggle over Palestine continues, and continues . . .

Winds of Change

By Nabil Fahmy / Spring 2017

The Middle East is reeling from domestic battles between progressive and repressive visions, the impact of globalization, and an exploding youth bulge. Now the reemergence of Russia, the rise of China, and the election of a nonconformist American president also require the Arab World’s urgent attention.