Issue Brief

Oct 2, 2017

The roots and evolution of Iran’s regional strategy

By Suzanne Maloney

Understanding what drives Iran’s regional policies is crucial to confronting its challenges. In her new paper, entitled The Roots and Evolution of Iran’s Regional Strategy, Suzanne Maloney, deputy director of foreign policy and senior fellow for Middle East policy at the Brookings Institution, explores how the Islamic Republic operates throughout the Middle East, and the […]

Iran Politics & Diplomacy

Report

Sep 14, 2017

Revolution unveiled: A closer look at Iran’s presence and influence in the Middle East

By Phillip Smyth, Tim Michetti, and Owen Daniels

Revolution Unveiled: A Closer Look at Iran’s Presence and Influence in the Middle East, by Phillip Smyth, Tim Michetti, and Owen Daniels, pieces together snapshots of Iran’s influence in the region using photographic analysis, geolocation, social media monitoring, and other methods. Through four case studies, this report systematically examines new or lesser-known methods Iran employs […]

Iran Middle East

Report

Mar 22, 2017

From the Gulf to the Nile: water security in an arid region

By Peter Engelke and Howard Passell

Fresh water is fundamental to human health, social development, peace, and economic growth everywhere in the world. Yet in a great many places, and for a great many people, clean freshwater is scarce. Current trends on both the supply and demand sides strongly suggest that clean freshwater availability will become more challenging in more places […]

Issue Brief

Oct 14, 2016

History’s lessons for resolving today’s Middle East conflicts

By Mathew J. Burrows

In the spirit of the adage that “those who don’t know history are destined to repeat it,” History’s Lessons for Resolving Today’s Middle East Conflicts, by Mathew J. Burrows, examines past precedents for resolving highly complex conflicts, by delving into seven historic examples of peacemaking.

Conflict Middle East

Regional Security Initiative

Apr 18, 2016

After hub-and-spoke: US hegemony in a new Gulf security order

By Bilal Y. Saab

The era of Pax Americana in the Gulf, and perhaps in the broader Middle East, is changing. Regional transformation and chaos resulting from the Arab uprisings, the rise of ISIS and its global terrorist reach, shifting US priorities around the world, and the rise of other outside powers in the Gulf have contributed to an […]

Middle East Security & Defense

Regional Security Initiative

Jul 6, 2015

The new containment: Changing America’s approach to Middle East security

By Bilal Y. Saab

Securing the Middle East after an Iran nuclear deal is the next big challenge for both the region and the international community. The United States and its allies have engaged in tireless diplomacy with Iran over the past few years to produce an agreement that would limit Tehran’s nuclear program for the next decade and […]

Middle East Security & Defense

Regional Security Initiative

Apr 1, 2015

Brainstorming the Gulf: Innovation and the knowledge economy in the GCC

By Peter Engelke

In Brainstorming the Gulf: Innovation and the Knowledge Economy in the GCC, the report’s author, Peter Engelke, Senior Fellow for the Foresight, Strategy, and Risks Initiative in the Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security, highlights the successes that Gulf states have enjoyed to date and addresses the major hurdles to sustaining and expanding these successes.

Entrepreneurship Middle East

Regional Security Initiative

Mar 23, 2015

Artful balance: The future of US defense strategy and force posture in the Gulf

By Bilal Y. Saab and Barry Pavel

A strategic review of US defense strategy and force posture in the Gulf is long overdue. In Artful Balance: Future US Defense Strategy and Force Posture in the Gulf, Bilal Y. Saab, Resident Senior Fellow for Middle East Security at the Atlantic Council’s Brent Scowcroft Center on International Security, and Barry Pavel, Vice President and […]

Maritime Security Middle East

Issue Brief

Nov 18, 2014

Mitigating the security risks posed by a near-nuclear Iran

By Matthew Kroenig

Deal or no deal, Iran will still pose a destabilizing nuclear security threat, writes Senior Fellow Matthew Kroenig As worldwide attention focuses on the international negotiators rushing to finish a nuclear deal with Iran before a self-imposed November 24 deadline, we are in danger of overlooking the fact that Iran’s extant nuclear capability already presents […]

Iran National Security

Issue Brief

Oct 2, 2014

ISIS war game: The coming stalemate

By Bilal Y. Saab and Michael S. Tyson

On September 22, the Atlantic Council’s Brent Scowcroft Center on International Security conducted a war game to examine the type of strategic interaction that might ensue between the US-led coalition and Islamic State in Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) fighters over the next six months. The latest issue brief from the Brent Scowcroft Center on International […]

Iraq Syria
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