One of the most notable political developments of the past several years has been the gradual reemergence of Russia as a rising regional military and diplomatic power in the Middle East, renewing connections that were adversely affected by the 1991 collapse the Soviet Union. Beyond... MORE

At the end of 2017, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced the defeat of Islamic State (IS) in Iraq, an achievement that has paved the way for a new challenge—that of controlling and integrating the powerful, expansive paramilitary groups of the Hashd al-Shaabi (PMU -... MORE

Two recent offensives against Islamic State (IS) in Syria have forced the group further south, squeezing its so-called caliphate into a small pocket of territory between the Syrian and the Iraqi border. More crucially, these two successful operations — one undertaken by the Syrian Democratic... MORE

Mauritania: Blasphemy Case Raises Islamist Ire Mauritania’s efforts to curtail Islamist extremism have seen success in recent years, but protesters calling for a blogger to be put to death for allegedly insulting the Prophet Mohammed show that tensions continue to simmer. The blogger in question,... MORE

Islamic State’s (IS) greatest conquest was its bold June 2014 seizure of Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city and home to approximately two million predominately Sunni inhabitants. For almost three years, IS dug in to defend this strategic stronghold and the site of the declaration of... MORE

The Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq (KRG) referendum on independence that was held on September 25 has faced extensive criticism from a range of Iraqi and international actors. Among the critics are prominent Arab Sunni Iraqi politicians concerned with the territorial integrity of the strategic... MORE

The September 25 independence referendum in Iraqi Kurdistan highlighted two important implications for the Karabakh conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan. First, official reactions from Baku and Yerevan have been noticeably cautious. Second, recent debates in Armenia and Azerbaijan have focused on whether the notional independence... MORE

Iraq: Political Differences and Outside Influences As Iraq moves into the next stage of its campaign against Islamic State (IS), political rivalries, sectarian divisions and the outside influence of regional players are conspiring to hamper efforts to tackle the terrorist group. Backed by air strikes,... MORE