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Monday Briefing | Lebanon: The twilight of an impotent government
  • Commentary
  • Monday Briefing | Lebanon: The twilight of an impotent government

    This week’s briefing on recent news and upcoming events in the region featuring Paul Salem, Hafsa Halawa, Marvin G. Weinbaum, Anne-Linda Amira Augustin, and Gerald Feierstein.

    August 3, 2020

    Linking the past to the future: Economic diversification and tourism in Oman
    Photo by GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP via Getty Images
  • Analysis
  • Linking the past to the future: Economic diversification and tourism in Oman

    Oman’s new ruler, Sultan Haitham, only has a short timeframe in which to aggressively diversify the country’s economy and reduce its dependency on hydrocarbon exports. This already difficult task is further complicated by the twin challenges of the global coronavirus pandemic and low oil prices, both of which limit the government’s fiscal room for maneuver. One obvious sector that Oman should consider expanding rapidly is its tourism industry.

    July 23, 2020

    The future of Oman and its new leader
    Middle East Institute
  • Podcast
  • The future of Oman and its new leader

    Jerry Feierstein, Karen Young, and Dania Thafer join host Alistair Taylor to discuss the political, economic, and foreign policy challenges facing the sultanate and its new ruler, Sultan Haitham bin Tariq, who ascended to the throne following the death of Sultan Qaboos, Oman’s long-time ruler, in early January.

    July 23, 2020

    US-Russia rift exacerbates Afghanistan’s crisis of confidence
    Photo by MANNY CENETA/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
  • Commentary
  • US-Russia rift exacerbates Afghanistan’s crisis of confidence

    Multiple signs point to a crisis of confidence in Afghanistan. Ever since the publication of a sensational report alleging that a Russian military intelligence unit secretly offered bounties to the Taliban to kill American soldiers, there has been an intense debate about the possibility of peace in Afghanistan following the U.S. exit.

    July 10, 2020

    From Dependents To Allies: America's Gulf Relations Need Reform
  • Analysis
  • From Dependents To Allies: America's Gulf Relations Need Reform

    During three major crises, each happening under a different administration, the U.S.-Gulf partnership failed to effectively address the security concerns of the Gulf states. While no partnership is perfect, such major and persistent breakdowns in coordination among longstanding security partners are uncommon, and can be deadly if left unresolved.

    July 7, 2020

    Gulf regimes may oppose annexation, but they helped bring it about
    Photo by AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP via Getty Images
  • Analysis
  • Gulf regimes may oppose annexation, but they helped bring it about

    Leaders of Arab Gulf regimes now decry the attempt to implement the vision of the Israeli Right, which aims to prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state. But it is exactly the policies of the Arab Gulf regimes, through their normalization of ties with Israel at the expense of the Palestinians, that directly contributed to the rise of the Israeli Right and made this annexation more likely.

    June 24, 2020

    Iran’s influence in Afghanistan
    Photo by WAKIL KOHSAR/AFP via Getty Images
  • Analysis
  • Iran’s influence in Afghanistan

    Despite strong religious and cultural ties and a long shared border, Iran has a somewhat complicated relationship with Afghanistan. Since the Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan some four decades ago, Iran’s attempts to preserve its interests in conflict-ridden Afghanistan have not received much attention from the outside world, but it remains one of the most important neighboring countries for Tehran’s foreign policy.

    June 23, 2020

    Disarray in Pakistan’s health crisis
    Photo by FAROOQ NAEEM/AFP via Getty Images
  • Commentary
  • Disarray in Pakistan’s health crisis

    Mainly at issue for the country is the difficult choice of whether to prioritize saving lives or saving the economy for a Pakistan that can ill afford to ignore either.