Research & Commentary Results

Originally posted August 2010

Is Libya Really on the Path to Democracy? Christopher Blanchard, Karim Mezran, Daniel Serwer, David Mack

Is Libya Really on the Path to Democracy? Christopher Blanchard, Karim Mezran, Daniel Serwer, David Mack

Is Libya Really on the Path to Democracy? Christopher Blanchard, Karim Mezran, Daniel Serwer, David Mack

Is Libya Really on the Path to Democracy? Christopher Blanchard, Karim Mezran, Daniel Serwer, David Mack

This Analysis was first published as part of the Hudson Institute’s Current Trends in Islamist Ideology series on June 1, 2012

Originally posted August, 2010

This Opinion was first published in The National Interest on July 12, 2012

After an eighteen-month free fall, there is tangible improvement in the tumultuous U.S.-Pakistan relationship and an opportunity to leverage these gains for a durable peace in Afghanistan. Backtracking from a messy divorce, both Washington and Islamabad have forsaken their previous approaches of unrelenting maximalism, each making necessary compromises to make the partnership work.

This Opinion first appeared in Foreign Policy’s “Middle East Channel” on July 17, 2012

Sheikh Ahmad al-Assir, a self-proclaimed religious authority with a bushy long beard, is no stranger on the Lebanese scene. His latest incarnation, from his mosque in the coastal town of Sidon, is as a firebrand political Salafist whose objectives transcend the confines of Lebanon.

The appointment of a political figure as ambassador often signals the level of importance attached to bilateral relations, more so if the person in question was a career military officer and current cabinet minister. This was the case in February 2012 when Israel named Matan Vilnai as its next ambassador to China. Beijing was more than happy to accept the appointment of then-Israeli Minister of Home Front Defense, seeing it as a signal for further improvement.

Originally posted September 2010