The Syrian civil war is causing both humanitarian and political crises outside of its borders. Lebanon is a case in point, with 20% of its population now refugees from the Syrian civil war. Lebanon was brought to its knees by the presence and politics of...
Both Russian President Putin and Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan are creating and harnessing a form of “empire-ism” to build domestic support and international notice, each with different goals in mind...
The current bitter divisions between Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas and his opponents in both Hamas and Fatah, particularly former PA security chief Mohammed Dahlan, are severely limiting not only the PA’s ability to negotiate with Israel but to even begin meaningful talks...
With international help, significant measures have been taken in the Afghan election process to reduce the fraud that marred the 2009 vote. The three leading presidential candidates—Zalmay Rasoul, Ashraf Ghani, and Abdullah Abdullah—support the Bilateral Security Agreement, required by the US to maintain security assistance...
Russia is creating a Gas Bloc of former Soviet republics to maintain its sphere of influence, using pipelines instead of troops. The move is consistent with Russia's historic fear of encirclement and its desire to remain a geopolitical superpower...
Syria has attracted a great number and variety of foreign fighters, with many different motives for participating in the ongoing civil war. The threat that they may cause problems elsewhere when they leave is real, but not for all...
Boko Haram has proved that its armories include anti-aircraft missiles and armed personnel carriers and that it can field between 500 to 1000 militants in operations. Its leader, Abubakar Shekau, appeared in a video displaying these weapons after the attack on Giwa Barracks in Maiduguri,...
King Abdullah’s appointment of a deputy crown prince is unprecedented; it makes Crown Prince Salman’s ability to choose his own successor—when that time comes—more challenging...
Despite ongoing scandals and protests, Prime Minister Erdogan’s AKP party will likely do well enough in Sunday’s important municipal elections to claim victory. More than anything, Turkey’s remarkable decade-long economic growth and relative (until recently) political stability will ensure that Erdogan remains the country’s most...
President Obama will not expect a particularly warm welcome when he visits Riyadh from 28 to 30 March. Policy differences on Egypt, Iran, and Syria reflect very different views of the region and the direction it should take...
Despite an atmosphere of crisis fatigue across the Middle East, the chronic predicaments facing the region and leadership in the Arab League have not, in most cases, been dealt with, and trend lines indicate untenable situations. Though the leader of Kuwait urged action and the...
Russia has invoked its “responsibility to protect” ethnic Russians and Russian citizens outside of its own territory as part of its ostensible legal and moral justification to further its designs of increased influence on neighboring countries and former satellites...
While there have been tremendous advances in satellite coverage and aviation resources, searching any large body of water for people or debris is very much as it’s always been: human eyes straining to find a needle in a moving haystack. More than any other endeavor,...
Iran’s nuclear negotiations with the P5+1 have not brought about its reduction of material support for militant Palestinian organizations in the Gaza Strip. Iran is not currently able to prevent its Palestinian supplicants from escalating conflict with Israel, potentially increasing the chances Israel and Iran...
Coordinated and consistent efforts to disrupt and deny terrorist use of international banking and financial systems to fund their organizations and operations has been remarkably effective since 2001. Terrorist groups are adapting to these efforts, still relying on long-time support from rich donors and states...