Across the Muslim World, Islamism is Going out of Vogue Islamism as an ideology may be great at mobilizing people, but this doesn’t necessarily translate towards effective governance, as has been proven again and again Imran Said 21 Jan 2022 · 15 min read
Maternal Lessons in Politics from a Jewish Iraqi-American Ping Pong Champion Democratic transformation generally comes from the ground up, not from foreigners bearing guns and gifts. David Bernstein 2 Sep 2021 · 8 min read
Revisiting Kirkpatrick Constructive relationships with dictatorships will be key to protecting US interests without direct military involvements. Niranjan Shankar 24 Aug 2021 · 16 min read
The Philologist, the Iraqi Girl, and Me The comrades worked together, ate together, read together, showered together, used the latrine together, sang together to the sound of accordions late into the night. Edward Grossman 23 Jul 2021 · 18 min read
Could an Invisible Military Laser Steal Your Privacy? Face recognition gives law enforcement this unique authority, this unique power, that does pose risks to our constitutional rights, and this needs to be very closely scrutinized now. Art Keller 10 Jun 2021 · 20 min read
Will Biden Resurrect the Iran Deal? The logic of making Iran’s nuclear program less dangerous via the JCPOA agreement while leaning on the FBI to ignore the crimes of the smugglers that made Iran’s nuclear program so dangerous remains hard to fathom. Art Keller 29 Nov 2020 · 11 min read
The Coming Post-COVID Global Order The pandemic crisis is rapidly becoming a civilizational crisis. Joel Kotkin and Hügo Krüger 19 Oct 2020 · 11 min read
The End of the Islamic Republic of Iran? The regime is a victim of its own fanaticism, corruption, and incompetence. Shay Khatiri 11 Oct 2020 · 7 min read
My Military Jail-Time in Israel In combat, the IDF was more disciplined, which accounts for its battlefield successes—though these probably also owed a lot to the character and quality of the armies they had faced. Benny Morris 5 Oct 2020 · 20 min read
Saudi Arabia: The Pragmatic Case for Constructive Engagement The ideology that inspired this insurrection hasn’t disappeared. Various kings have dealt with the fire of fundamentalism either through granting concessions or enacting purges. Tal Tyagi 22 Sep 2020 · 31 min read
Lebanon's Malignant State Some 30 years after the end of its dirty civil war, Lebanon has cultivated a well-developed preference for discretion. Brian Stewart 12 Aug 2020 · 5 min read
Lessons from the Last Empire of Iran Despite the uncertainties and tensions that characterize modern political life, we would do well to remember that the future we want is never the future we actually get, and that civilisation will outlast the fragility of politics. Michael Bonner 31 Jul 2020 · 11 min read
The War of Return—A Review The War of Return is an important book and, unquestionably, a welcome corrective to the plethora of myths, lies, and misconceptions that litter the discourse on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Benjamin Kerstein 28 Apr 2020 · 19 min read
Balancing Threat in the Middle East What are the sources of Iranian and Saudi foreign policy and what prudent options there are for the West to adopt? Sumantra Maitra 18 Dec 2017 · 6 min read
No, the Syrian Civil War is Not Like Jews fleeing Nazi Persecution If one genuinely cares about the civilians who are suffering, they would want to stop the war at any cost, rather than fan the flames further. Sumantra Maitra 23 Dec 2016 · 6 min read
