Iran’s Election: Reality Versus the Dominant Narrative

/ Essays

The primary discourse on Iran’s politics obscures its nuanced reality through binary and inaccurate labels of “moderate” and “hardliner”; examining this framework reveals a deep Western insecurity about Iran’s and the Global South’s rising power




The Saudi Gambit in Washington

/ Essays

Saudi Arabia is in a position to become a major international player but to sustain such a role it needs to consolidate its leadership in the Middle East.
The Arab Summit, which concluded in Jeddah last weekend, may well have just confirmed the Kingdom’s leadership of the Arab World. But now Riyadh needs to transform that into a regional leadership role.
Such a regional undertaking requires—in addition to taking the lead on the political settlement of the various crises that have plagued the region—the sagacious management of its relationships with both the United States and Israel.  » Read more about: The Saudi Gambit in Washington  »


Iran-Saudi Arabia: A Regional Transformation?

/ Essays

The expected resumption of diplomatic ties between Saudi Arabia and Iran has the potential to reshape the dynamics of the Middle East by bringing an end to proxy wars and creating opportunity for regional stability.
















Re-Engineering Regional Security

/ Midan

In the last half-century, Egypt has had to negotiate its way through the Arab–Israeli peace process, regional nuclear proliferation, and domestic political transition. What has it taught us?








Reinventing Peace in Syria

For Syria, and the rest of the world, the era of liberal peacebuilding has passed. But there are other ways to make peace, which call for a return to basics and a new kind of “software”


An Iran Strategy Worth Fighting For

/ Tahrir Forum

U.S. and Saudi confrontations with Iran are causing proxy-warfare in weak or failing Arab states and escalating tensions in the Gulf, but there might still be a chance for diplomatic progress with the right combination of measures targeting Gulf-specific, regional, and international issues.






A Different Kind of Rationality

/ Tahrir Forum

Iran continues its military presence in Syria even after the fight is won—a move which is underpinned by the Islamic Republic’s core deterrence and defense foreign policy against possible Israeli or US military action.


Preserving Kurdish Autonomy

/ Tahrir Forum

Divisions among the states vested in Syria are opening possibilities for Syria’s Kurds to secure greater protection for their autonomy.


Pompeo’s “Real New Beginning”?

In a speech which may have policy implications for the Trump Administration’s Middle East policy, the United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo lays out plans for the region at the American University in Cairo.







Arabs Rising to the Occasion?

/ Tahrir Forum

Former secretary general of the League of Arab States, Amre Moussa, offers eight recommendations for establishing a new regional order that would see Arab countries end instability and regain control of their futures.


The Widening Saudi–Iran Divide

The conflict between Saudi Arabia and Iran marks a deepening division between regional powers and international hegemons in the Persian Gulf. The Saudis and Iranians have to learn to cooperate or risk further confrontation.



A Wiser U.S. Policy for Iran?

/ Tahrir Forum

As U.S.-Iranian tensions rise, the Trump administration should adopt a political-military strategy that will counter the causes and effects of Iranian aggression.  




How a Nuclear Deal Helps Democracy in Iran

/ Tahrir Forum

The debate on the Iran nuclear deal has largely ignored the effects that an accord might have on politics and society within the country. An Iranian scholar considers what the future might hold.