Rebalancing Power in the Middle East

To secure its counterterrorism efforts, Washington appears to be shifting away from its maximum isolation strategy toward more limited engagement with Damascus.

Progress on long-delayed elections suggests a new appetite for cooperation between the territories’ political rivals, along with a new role for Ankara, amid warming Israeli-Arab Gulf relations.

Israel would likely try to derail any diplomatic progress between a potential Biden administration and Tehran by escalating its attacks against Iranian forces across the Middle East.

The need to save money amid the pandemic may push the Moroccan government to postpone next year’s ballot, which would raise the risk of political backlash and social unrest.

For the first time, the U.S. has sanctioned Lebonese leaders with only indirect ties to the Iran-backed group, undercutting the potential for political and economic reforms that require Hezbollah's support.

In this episode of the Essential Geopolitics podcast, Stratfor’s Middle East and North Africa analyst, Emily Hawthorne, talks with Emily Donahue about Lebanon's escalating political, humanitarian and economic crises in the wake of the Beirut explosion.

In this podcast, Emily Donahue speaks to Ryan Bohl about what to expect in the Middle East and the rest of the world following the UAE-Israel normalization.

For Israel, the benefits of a stronger regional alliance to counter Iran will likely outweigh the cons of granting the UAE previously denied access to advanced weaponry.