The Promise and Perils of the “Policy Dial” in Syria

Calibrated sanctions relief is replacing “maximum pressure” in post-Assad Syria. Can incremental engagement survive strongmen, regional war, and distracted donors?

Three Years Later

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

The Industrialization of Suez is a U.S.-China Convergence Point

As Egypt continues to absorb the economic and humanitarian costs of wars in almost all directions, improving industrialization capacity at Suez could be its stabilizer, mitigating its chronic external financing pressure.

The Mecca Pact and Beijing’s Multipolarity Trap: Why China Should Worry About a Deal It Appears to Welcome

By Jagannath Panda / Summer 2026

For Beijing, the new Muslim alliance may be a case of “be careful what you wish for”.

Deterring Iran: New Avenues for the GCC

By Omar Al-Ubaydli / Summer 2026

In the span of 50 years, Iran has developed a unique threat profile—bolstered by resilient military, economic, and social structures—which now requires tailored long- and short-term deterrence interventions.

The Arrogance and Limits of American Power in the Latest Gulf War

By Alaa Elhadidi / Summer 2026

With waning confidence in American influence and power to maintain peace in the region, Arab middle powers are moving toward a security equation characterized by multi-lateralism and regional defence pacts.

The New Gulf Realignments: Saudi-UAE Competition and the Evolution of Regional Order

By Abdelrahim Shalaby / Summer 2026

The GCC is transforming, and the relationship between Riyadh and Abu Dhabi is guiding the change.

The Iran War and the Limits of Great Power

By Caroline Dibble and Gedaliah Afterman / Summer 2026

As American military power and Chinese geoeconomics fall short, regional players are searching for greater agency.

Libya’s Managed Chaos: Why the ‘Failed State’ Narrative is a Lie

By Youssef Mohammad Sawani / Summer 2026

For over a decade, international commentary on Libya has been trapped in a patronizing loop. It’s time to emerge from that narrative.

Europe’s Credibility Crisis in the Middle East

By Klara Vlahčević Lisinski / Summer 2026

Europe talks about rules but follows power. When power shifts, Europe shifts with it, belatedly and uncertainly.

Will Washington and Beijing Nationalize AI Labs?

By Paul Triolo / Summer 2026

Both countries are increasing government oversight on artificial intelligence, but whether (or when) they enact total state control depends on their own perceptions of risk and potential leaps in AI development.

Local Mediation in Southwestern Yemen Alleviates Life Under Siege

By Maeen Al-Obaidi / Spring 2026

For the residents of Taiz under one of the longest military blockades in history, life became a daily struggle of days-long journeys searching for food, water, and vital medical supplies. This is the story of one Yemeni woman whose name became synonymous with bringing the warring parties together.

Reconciling a Fractured Sudan

By Nureldin Satti / Spring 2026

To address Sudan’s problems, the efforts of the Sudanese people and international mediators must be synchronized.

The Complexity of Mediating the Libyan Quagmire

By Abdussalam Elbelazi / Spring 2026

Mediators in Libya hoping to create a mechanism to establish an egalitarian and inclusive state often find themselves challenged by factional politics, foreign interventions, and a heritage of repressive authoritarianism.

Empowering Peacemakers: The Pathways to Hope Project

Spring 2026

How can we build peace in a region embroiled in conflict? The project’s team shares more about their mission to strengthen mediation efforts.

The War in Sudan Is Fought Over the Bodies of Women

By Tahani Abbas / Spring 2026

Women should play more than symbolic roles in any peacemaking efforts in Sudan; they must be allowed genuine political participation to protect themselves and build a more inclusive country.

Sudan’s Water Crisis Worsened by War, But There is Hope

By Lama Elhatow / Spring 2026

As Sudan continues to face numerous obstacles, including a lack of multilateral governance for hydrological stability, water remains a potential entry point for cooperation domestically, regionally, and internationally.

Between Ambition and Abandonment: Lessons from Mediating the Syria Conflict

By Ramzy Ezzeldin Ramzy / Spring 2026

The ruins of failed negotiations, committees, and conferences on the Syrian issue can offer guidance to future peacemakers.

Prologue

Spring 2026

This special issue is dedicated to highlighting the work of the Peacemakers.

One Alliance, Two Wars: Why Israel and America Diverge on Iran

By Jagannath Panda / Summer 2026

While strategically interdependent, their ambitions and long-term mapping of Iran strategy do deviate, ultimately drawing red lines between them

The Axis of Resistance and Shifting Gulf Alliances—with Dr. Hamidreza Azizi: CR Amplified ep. 9

By Abigail Flynn / Summer 2026

How has the recent U.S.-Israel war on Iran shifted the balance of power in the Middle East? Dr. Hamidreza Azizi joins CR Amplified to discuss the restructuring of the Axis of Resistance, the fracturing alliances of the Gulf States, and Iran’s long-term strategy for regional deterrence

It All Started with “Standing with the People of Iran”

By Kourosh Ziabari /

The international community must move beyond the tantalizing rhetoric of solidarity and vows of support to something actionable—an extension of pathways to global integration for Iranians

Iran and Egypt Now Have An Opportunity to Rebalance the Middle East

By Nanis Fahmy and Seyed Hossein Mousavian /

As the war continues, cooperation between Tehran and Cairo could build a foundation for a more stable regional arrangement

The Iran War Isn’t About China, But Beijing May Still Benefit

By Gedaliah Afterman /

As the United States finds itself embroiled in another war in the Middle East, its ability to pressure China in the region and in Asia may be waning

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.

Of Bombs and Regime Change: Experts Weigh the Israel-U.S. Strategy on Iran

Both the Americans and Israelis have for decades sought to topple the Islamic Republic. With Khamenei assassinated by Israeli bombing, is the end game near?

When European Semi-Fascism and Israeli Occupation Converge

By Erwin van Veen / Winter 2026

Semi-fascist parties in Europe support the exclusionary politics of Israel’s ultra-nationalists and ultra-religionists, raising concerns about their own plans once in office

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

Iran at a Strategic Breaking Point

By Ramzy Ezzeldin Ramzy /

The war in June and recent nationwide protests could shape not only Iran’s future but also broader debates on sovereignty, intervention, nuclear proliferation, and the prospects for fundamental political change

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.

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

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?

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

Journalism in Peril: The Gaza Genocide as a Global Test of Press Freedom

By Mohamed Salama and Mona Raafat Alsaba and Saif Shahin and Shahira S. Fahmy / Fall 2025

In Gaza, it isn’t only civilians that are being laid to ruin; the freedom to tell the story of its people is being muzzled by successive Israeli strikes targeting and killing Palestinian journalists

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

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

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