The “Arab Spring” a Decade On

The 10 years of the so-called “Arab Spring”—the last of which is the year of COVID-19—have brought many Arab countries to the edge of the abyss. The worst may be yet to come if President-elect Joe Biden takes expected steps that would be in the interests of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Arab, Russian, and Pakistani Protesters Learn the Lessons of 2011

Demonstrators in Sudan, Algeria, and nations beyond the Middle East such as Pakistan and Russia are applying lessons learned from the 2011 popular Arab revolts as the Sudanese military uses an apparent Saudi-United Arab Emirates template to crack down.

The “Arab Spring” and the New Regional Chessboard

The "Arab Spring" phenomenon has created new strategic conundrums in the Middle East, as well as new opportunities for diplomatic ties and cooperative schemes. The volatility it has generated is likely to increase, with both positive and negative results.

Easter in Winter: The “Arab Spring” Seven Years Later

The time has come to stop peddling misleading and empty political metaphors and to refrain from predicating alternative futures on facile inferences that serve only to add confusion to ambiguity.

A New “Arab Spring” in the Persian Gulf?

The winds of war blowing between Saudi Arabia and Qatar, as well as Iranian subversion, are destabilizing the Persian Gulf principalities. To make matters worse, the economic situation, which has worsened in recent years because of ill-advised decisions, is stoking fears of popular uprisings and widespread disturbances. These internal crises could lead to a new “Arab Spring” in which some of the Gulf monarchies might fall. The main winner would be Tehran, for which the current crisis, along with the boycott imposed on Qatar, has opened a path to a takeover of Bahrain – and Iran has already, in effect, taken over Baghdad, Damascus, Beirut, and Sana’a.

Perfect Storm: The Implications of Middle East Chaos

The storms now convulsing the Middle East are civilizational shifts of historical proportions. Anyone from the outside trying to influence these regional upheavals in a positive direction will find the task very difficult. Israel must focus narrowly on the greatest threat looming in its vicinity -- the Iranian drive for nuclear weaponry.

Obama: The Reluctant Realist

Contrary to the assertion that Barack Obama’s foreign policy lacks direction or ideological basis, Prof. David argues the president’s foreign policy can be explained as adhering very closely to traditional realist theory.

Welcome Back to Mubarak’s Egypt

The latest chapter in the Egyptian Revolution is nothing more than a return to the military dictatorship of Hosni Mubarak. Egypt’s troubles may only be beginning.

2011 Arab Uprisings and Israel’s Security

Dramatic events have unfolded in the Middle East since the beginning of 2011. This unstable environment indicates trouble for Israel. What follows is an assessment of the implications of the changing regional environment for Israel’s national security.

The Palestinians Are Part of the Old Arab Order

The Palestinians are part of the old Arab order because time and time again they have aligned themselves with the worst dictators of the Arab world, and their own governments in the West Bank and Gaza are cut from the same cloth as the regimes of the old Arab order.