Skip to Content

Research & Commentary Results

Filter by
1971 Results
Key takeaways from Mohammed bin Salman’s Fox interview
Photo by LUDOVIC MARIN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
  • Commentary
  • Key takeaways from Mohammed bin Salman’s Fox interview

    Saudi Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman’s interview on Wednesday night with Bret Baier of Fox News didn’t break news or produce controversy. But that wasn’t the point of his appearance on one of America’s top networks.

    September 22, 2023

    The war next door: Omani foreign policy toward Yemen
    Photo Handout/Saba News Agency via Getty Images
  • Analysis
  • The war next door: Omani foreign policy toward Yemen

    Over the past decade of turmoil, conflict, and external military intervention in Yemen, Oman’s foreign policy has emerged as the Gulf exception. Muscat has pursued a unique role, driven by both pragmatic concern and opportunity. It has harnessed its relations with most of the actors involved, including armed non-state actors, and sought to access new economic opportunities as part of its policies of strategic hedging, omni-balancing, and undeclared alignment.

    September 21, 2023

    How northern Syria’s triple water crisis is exacerbating its people’s woes
  • Analysis
  • How northern Syria’s triple water crisis is exacerbating its people’s woes

    As the humanitarian, political, and economic challenges in Syria are occurring simultaneously with increasingly hot and dry summers, conflict- and climate-related factors have compounded, resulting in the emergence of a so-called “triple water crisis.”

    September 19, 2023

    A mixed report card: The Abraham Accords at three
    Photographer: Yuri Gripas/Abaca/Bloomberg via Getty Images
  • Analysis
  • A mixed report card: The Abraham Accords at three

    As the original Abraham Accords signatories — Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain — observe the third anniversary of their September 2020 agreement, there is a sufficient basis to evaluate whether the Abraham Accords are real, hype, or something in-between. Much like the case a year ago, the results so far remain mixed.

    From normalization to non-aggression: The next step in Iran-Saudi ties
    Photo: ATTA KENARE/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES
  • Analysis
  • From normalization to non-aggression: The next step in Iran-Saudi ties

    The groundbreaking March 2023 normalization deal between Saudi Arabia and Iran could potentially reshape the political landscape of the Middle East. It has already paved the way for de-securitization and the resumption of diplomatic relations. However, critical security issues remain unresolved, casting doubt on the long-term sustainability of the process. Capitalizing on this rare opportunity, Riyadh and Tehran should move forward to finalize a comprehensive non-aggression pact as the foundation for their future security relations.

    September 15, 2023

    After an uprising and violent crackdown, Syria’s Deir ez-Zor is at a critical juncture
    Photo by DELIL SOULEIMAN/AFP via Getty Images
  • Analysis
  • After an uprising and violent crackdown, Syria’s Deir ez-Zor is at a critical juncture

    On Sept. 8, the Kurdish-led SDF, a key U.S. ally, announced the end of its “Operation Security Enhancement” in Deir ez-Zor in northeast Syria. While framed as an operation targeting ISIS sleeper cells and criminals, it aimed at quashing an armed uprising led by Arab tribesmen, particularly members of the Akidat tribe. While multiple factors may have contributed to fueling the uprising, the importance of the region’s longstanding grievances cannot be overstated.

    September 14, 2023

    Deir ez-Zor torn between Arab tribes’ struggle for independence and the SDF’s efforts to subdue them
    Photo by Bekir Kasim/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
  • Analysis
  • Deir ez-Zor torn between Arab tribes’ struggle for independence and the SDF’s efforts to subdue them

    On Sept. 8, the Syrian Democratic Forces were able to enter the villages and towns of Deir ez-Zor’s eastern countryside, stretching from al-Tayyanah to al-Baghouz, regaining control of all of the areas that had witnessed an uprising against their forces beginning on Aug. 27. But what sparked the fighting in the first place, how did things play out, and what might it mean for the region going forward?

    صراع ديرالزور بين دفاع العشائر عن الاستقلالية ومخطط "قسد" للإخضاع
    Photo by Bekir Kasim/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
  • Commentary
  • صراع ديرالزور بين دفاع العشائر عن الاستقلالية ومخطط "قسد" للإخضاع

    تمكنت قوات سوريا الديمقراطية في الثامن من أيلول/سبتمبر، من الدخول إلى قرى وبلدات ريف ديرالزور الشرقي الممتد من بلدة الطيانة حتى الباغوز، بذلك أعادة السيطرة على جميع المناطق التي شهدت حالة تمرد ضد قواتها، التي بدأت في السابع والعشرين من شهر آب/ أغسطس الماضي.

    Hydrogen as a fuel of the future: Moving the GCC’s climate mitigation agenda forward
    Tasneem Alsultan/Bloomberg via Getty Images
  • Analysis
  • Hydrogen as a fuel of the future: Moving the GCC’s climate mitigation agenda forward

    Hydrogen has been touted as an energy solution for the future and a leading mitigation technology against climate change. Among the states of the GCC, it has come to be seen as central to their energy transition strategy and a means to retain the region’s hegemonic position within global energy relations.

    September 5, 2023

    Deir ez-Zor’s tribes reach a breaking point
    Rami Alsayed/NurPhoto via Getty Images
  • Analysis
  • Deir ez-Zor’s tribes reach a breaking point

    Years of simmering tensions between the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and local populations in northeast Syria have exploded this week into still-expanding battles across much of Deir ez-Zor. Conflict resolution requires the international coalition to engage with the Kurdish administration on deep political and administrative reforms. However, the violence in Deir ez-Zor may demand a more creative and locally driven approach to the northeast to foster a more resilient governance and security structure.

    September 1, 2023

    After Prigozhin: The future of Wagner and Russian gray zone activities in MENA
    Contributor/Getty Images
  • Analysis
  • After Prigozhin: The future of Wagner and Russian gray zone activities in MENA

    As the Wagner Group has an entrenched military presence in Syria, Libya, and Sudan, the evisceration of its senior leadership will have serious repercussions for Russia’s influence in the MENA region. Wagner’s military contractors are unlikely to depart, since they guard strategically valuable oil and mining facilities; but they are likely to now be swiftly integrated into the regular Russian Armed Forces.

    August 31, 2023

    A dangerous escalation in Syria’s Deir ez-Zor
    Photo by Rami Alsayed/NurPhoto via Getty Images
  • Commentary
  • A dangerous escalation in Syria’s Deir ez-Zor

    The SDF has always been a diverse coalition of localized actors. Over the past eight years, it has managed to contain these persistent frictions, but that may now be coming to an end. In the past three days, at least 50 people have been killed in fighting between Arab tribal fighters and the SDF in the region where Syria’s Khabur and Euphrates rivers meet. The catalyst for this fighting occurred late on Aug. 27, when Ahmed al-Khubayl, the leader of the SDF’s Deir ez-Zor Military Council, was lured north to Hasakah for a purported meeting, only to be arrested alongside his brother and four other commanders.

    Saudi Arabia’s Deterrence Options Against Iran
    Photo by Ryan Olson/Bloomberg via Getty Images
  • Analysis
  • Saudi Arabia’s Deterrence Options Against Iran

    Of all the challenges to Saudi Vision 2030, arguably none is greater than Iran’s threat to Saudi national security. To succeed, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman must protect the kingdom, which will require not only fortifying its defenses against further Iranian and Houthi attacks but also establishing a level of deterrence against Tehran.

    August 28, 2023