Middle East

The “Day After” in Gaza: Bridging the American and Israeli Visions

The divisions between Israel and the United States over the Gaza War seem to have deepened in the aftermath of the release of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plan for post-war Gaza. The plan did not include a reference to...

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The Realignment of the Middle East

    Executive Summary In the Middle East, reality can change in the blink of an eye. Misconceptions and misrepresentations that dominate the public discourse have it that the region has been embroiled in war since time immemorial. Still,...

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Prisoner Exchanges and Hostage Diplomacy in US Foreign Policy

Evan Gershkovich was in Yekaterinburg in March 2023 reporting for The Wall Street Journal when he was arrested by Russia’s Department for Counterintelligence Operations (DKRO) and charged with espionage. This marked the first time a journalist from the United...

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The October 7 Massacre and the War in Gaza: Impact on Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates

During a recent visit to the Gulf, an Emirates-based analyst told me, “Everyone is asking: ‘Is there a future for the Abraham Accords?’ There is a difference between ‘in a coma’ and dead. They are not dead.” The October...

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The Re-emergence of the Palestine Question in World Politics

The events of the past two months have catapulted the Palestinian question back onto to front pages. It took a level of mass violence—over 17,000 Palestinians and 1,200 Israelis killed at the time of this writing—to bring the world’s...

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Why Are the Houthis Attacking Now

On the November 19, forces from Yemen’s rebel Houthi movement launched one of their boldest international attacks to date when they seized the vehicle carrier GALAXY LEADER in a commando-style raid in the Red Sea. Flying in on an...

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Britain Missing in Action on India-Middle East-Europe Corridor

During the G20 summit in September 2023, the United States and its closest allies and partners—the European Union, France, Germany, India, Italy, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates—announced the formation of the India-Middle East Europe Corridor (IMEC). The...

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The End of De-Escalation in the Middle East?

The Hamas incursion from Gaza into Israel and the subsequent attack on Israel’s Southern District that began on October 7, 2023, led to the death of more than 1,500 Israelis and foreigners. The atrocities, widely reported as Israel’s 9/11,...

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Between Swords of Iron and the Al Aqsa Deluge: The Regional Politics of the Israel-Hamas War

Until October 7, it seemed there was a positive dynamic in the Middle East. A slew of detentes took place in the region in the past two years: between Turkey and Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and...

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Peshmerga Reforms: Navigating Challenges, Forging Unity

The Peshmerga—“those willing to face death”—a term resonating with Kurdish valor, traces its origins to the twentieth-century struggle for Kurdish rights in Iraq. Amidst this fight, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) emerged...

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