Politics & Diplomacy

Why the Islamic Republic of Iran keeps taking hostages

By John Limbert

After forty years, the evidence should be clear to even the most benighted. The hostage-taking of 1979-1981 was an unmitigated disaster for Iran and its people.

Iraqi protestors unite behind demands, not sectarian identities

By Rana Abdulhadi

Protests in Iraq are not new. At several times during the past few years, the Iraqi people have taken to the streets against corruption, unemployment, and poor public services.

Will protests herald a new era in Iraqi politics?

By Dara Salam

The defining feature of the protests in Baghdad which started on October 1 and spread to other cities in southern Iraq is that they were neither led nor called for by a religious authority (also known as the marja’iya) or another leader. When the first wave of protests began in multiple cities, the protesters’ message […]

With Abdul-Mahdi offering to resign, what’s next for Iraq?

By Middle East programs

Atlantic Council experts react to the announcement of the Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi resigning. Abbas Kadhim is the Director of the Iraq Initiative at the Atlantic Council. “In his address to the Iraqi people on October 31, President Barham Salih referred to Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi’s offer to resign if the two major parliamentary blocs […]

Another one to watch

By Melinda Haring

Ukraine needs more people with rich experience like Leonid Antonenko's to dig into the data and speak out.

Present at the Re-Creation: A Global Strategy for a World at Risk

How can the rules-based international system be re-created for the 21st century? Can and should the US re-build a liberal, rules-based international system? What goals should the US, and its allies, pursue in a changed world, where emerging risks and enduring challenges persist? Those were some of the key questions which animated the event Present […]