Trump’s Doomed Quest for a Middle East Strategic Alliance

by Daniel Brumberg American efforts to foster Middle East alliances have long run into roadblocks, not least of which is the clashing interests of the region’s key states. The animating logic of any alliance is that states will subordinate their… Continue Reading →

Hariri’s Focus: Economy Not Hezbollah

by Ghassan Michel Rubeiz After a nine-month deadlock, the Lebanese have a new but predictable cabinet of ministers. Rotation of leadership is rare in the Middle East. Both Prime Minister Saad Hariri (a pro-Saudi Sunnite leader) and Gebran Bassil (the… Continue Reading →

Avoiding War With Iran

by Seyed Hossein Mousavian In his State of Union, President Trump focused his comments about the Middle East on Iran, the fight against the Islamic State (ISIS or IS), and the U.S. troop withdrawal from Syria. Despite his negative rhetoric… Continue Reading →

Kuwait and the China-U.S. Geopolitical Rivalry

by Theodore Karasik and Tristan Ober Countries worldwide are eyeing Kuwait’s economic diversification agenda, the New Kuwait, as a geopolitical investment opportunity. Most recently, German and Austrian ministers expressed their countries’ interests in being involved more deeply in the Arab… Continue Reading →

Connecting Palestinian Rights to U.S. Civil Rights

by Mitchell Plitnick Earlier this month, New York Times columnist Michelle Alexander ignited a controversy by stating her support for Palestinian rights. In her piece, “Time to Break the Silence on Palestine,” Alexander used the act of confronting her own… Continue Reading →