Research & Commentary

Over the past decade, the two main pillars of Lebanon’s stability have been the country’s army and its banking sector. Today one of those pillars — the banking sector — has all but fallen and Lebanon is standing on one leg: its army.

The Turkish leader tried to mold a generation of pious followers. Instead, the country’s youth could bring about his final defeat.

Throughout Donald Trump’s presidency, the U.S. has largely retreated from a leadership role in the MENA region, resulting in Washington mostly outsourcing its Libya foreign policy to Egypt, Russia, and Washington’s partners in NATO and the GCC. Yet the U.S. diplomatic establishment is growing frustrated with the beleaguered North African country’s ongoing turmoil, as Washington increasingly sees Egypt and the UAE as undermining American interests in Libya.

This article analyzes the coverage by Arabic-language Chinese state media of the Chinese Islamic Association’s activities following three key dates during Beijing’s increased securitization in Xinjiang. The article sheds light on the three-pronged approach that the state-led Chinese Islamic Association has used to craft the Xinjiang narrative for an Arabic-speaking audience: defending the uniqueness of Chinese Islam and warning of the threat of foreign influence; engaging in “Hajj diplomacy”; and conducting exchanges with Muslim leaders and Islamic institutions.

Russia’s response to Turkey’s Hagia Sophia decision may be as historic as the decision itself.

The road to accountability in Syria will undoubtedly be long, difficult, and imperfect. However, in recent years and even months, there have been tangible steps taken toward criminal accountability, particularly in Europe.

Lebanon is on the brink of collapse due to its domestic economic and political crises, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Another failed state in the Middle East would negatively impact strategic U.S. interests in the region. Lebanon requires a thorough reorientation towards stability and renewed socio-economic sustainability which entails fundamental domestic reforms and targeted international support led by the U.S.

Where most of the international community sees R2P as a mechanism for protecting human rights when a state cannot or will not ensure them, Russia’s take on the same concept focuses on the protection of national sovereignty at any cost. However, Moscow’s commitment to the notion of sovereignty has been selectively applied to the states of the Middle East and the Black Sea.

Not too long ago, the Mediterranean was described as “NATO’s lake” — a sleepy backwater in a world dominated by conflict. Today, Israel’s quarrels with Lebanon, Palestine, and Syria are viewed — and minimized — as legacy conflicts, overshadowed by a new and unstable strategic environment centered upon competing visions of offshore energy and security in the eastern Mediterranean.

This week’s briefing on recent news and upcoming events in the region featuring Seren Selvin Korkmaz, Marvin G. Weinbaum, Mirette F. Mabrouk, Robert S. Ford, and Nilsu Goren.

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.

Alex Vatanka, Nazila Fathi, and Amin Mohseni join host Alistair Taylor to discuss the social, economic, and political challenges facing Iran, ranging from the COVID-19 and economic crises to the new Parliament and next year’s presidential election.

ضيفة الحلقة الدكتورة رندى سليم، وتناقش القوة الحقيقية للميليشيات المدعومة من إيران في العراق، إذا ما كانت الولايات المتحدة قادرة على المساعدة في تقليص نفوذ هذه الميليشيات، وهل يوجد مواقف مختلفة من دعم هذه الميليشيات داخل النظام الإيراني، ومقارنة الوضع في لبنان مع الوضع في العراق، وموقف حزب الله.

As in other countries, not all announced investments come to fruition. But the ratio in Syria is particularly staggering. Of the 118 projects approved by the Syrian Investment Agency in 2018, only 46 percent have taken any serious steps toward implementation as of early 2020.