Marc Lynch Since Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel, the Middle East has been rocked by mass protests. Egyptians have demonstrated in solidarity with Palestinians at great personal risk, and Iraqis, Moroccans, Tunisians, and Yemenis have taken to the streets in vast numbers. Meanwhile, Jordanians have broken long-standing …
Read More »Balancing the Big Two
A significant number of intellectuals, and social and political scientists believe that the present era is characterized by an imminent confrontation between the United States and China. The political competition for global leadership between these two nations cannot avoid clashing due to their enormous economic potential and military …
Read More »U.S. Presidential Elections Loom Over the Iranian Rial
Tehran’s inflation troubles present a critical vulnerability for the clerical regime. On March 25, 2024, as Iranians celebrated Nowruz (Persian New Year), the black market rate of the Iranian rial plunged to a record low. Despite sanctions relief and infusions of cash, the Islamic Republic’s corruption, mismanagement, and …
Read More »Iran’s Attack on Israel was Enabled by North Korean Missile Technology
Bruce Bechtol Iran last weekend launched a large-scale overnight air strike on Israel. More than 300 drones, cruise missiles, and ballistic missiles targeted the country. While the attack was quite large, it was also ineffective. According to spokespersons for the U.S. and Israeli militaries, 99% of the …
Read More »Time for the IMF to Get Back to Basics
Daniel Runde As the IMF’s managing director, Kristalina Georgieva, heads for her second term, she must refocus her institution’s attention on four key issues. Kristalina Georgieva, the current Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), will finish her first five-year term on September 30, 2024. She is …
Read More »Addressing Jordan’s Internal Challenges for Stability and Progress
Eng. Saleem Al Batayneh In Jordan, our collective memory is rich with events that have shaped our nation. The plethora of topics and titles that emerge from our surroundings make it easy to find inspiration for discourse and analysis. However, what sets our Jordanian situation apart is that …
Read More »China’s Economic Slowdown is Strengthening its Defense Industrial Base
Nathan Sher As Beijing deprioritizes the real estate sector, it is doubling down on investment in science, technology, and national defense. In 2023, China’s economy grew at the slowest pace since 1990, apart from two years during the COVID-19 pandemic when the country was closed to the outside …
Read More »The Widening Willpower Gap
Konner Fiddler The weakness of adversary powers relative to the United States should not deceive us from their very clear advantage in willingness to execute decisive, if risky, strategies. On an unusually warm October day in 1937, President Franklin D. Roosevelt took center stage to dedicate the new …
Read More »How Foreign Governments Interfere in U.S. Politics
Paul Pillars From TikTok to AIPAC, intense partisanship provides a channel for foreign states to interfere in U.S. politics and policy. The Chinese ownership of the video app TikTok—targeted by a bill that the House of Representatives passed with a large bipartisan majority—might indicate a severe concern about …
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