Influence Before Oil: How Iraq Bargains with a Pipeline that May Never Be Built
Prospect of new Mediterranean export routes redraws Baghdad’s relations with Ankara, Erbil, and Washington.
-
-
Locked Out: France and the New Rules of Diplomacy in Lebanon
Lebanon-Israel talks expose Paris’ limited influence in a more coercive regional order.
-
Signed, Not Settled: Why Lebanon’s Deal with Israel Won’t Hold
An unrealistic and constitutionally suspect deal paves the way for the next war.
-
A Play for Time: The Theatre of Lebanon-Israel Negotiations
In talks scripted by Washington, Lebanon tries to improv its way to sovereignty.
-
Capable or Credible: Building Lebanon’s Leverage in Negotiations with Israel
Many claim the Lebanese government has no hand to play in negotiations, but leverage is more than a question of hard power.
-
Lebanon Cannot Be Bombed Into Sovereignty
A sovereign Lebanon and a demilitarised Hezbollah cannot happen without a credible political transition.
-
Disarm for Dollars: Trump’s ‘Cash-for-Peace’ Deal May Leave Ordinary Lebanese out in the Street
US ties aid for Lebanon to a demilitarized Hezbollah and detente with Israel, kicking financial reforms to the curb.
-
Mission Control: Damascus’ Home Front Strategy in Joining the Anti-ISIS Coalition
Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa attempts to toe the line between international interference and domestic fragility.
-
Crude Contest: The Peril and Promise in Syria’s Oil Standoff
How the Damascus-SDF impasse over oilfield control could define Syria’s postwar recovery
-
Back Against the Wall: Syria Stares Down a New Regional Order
The US and Israel press Damascus to trade sovereignty for stability
