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Civil War

Sudan’s War Without Borders: How Global Powers Turned Darfur into a Proxy Battleground

Sudan’s War Without Borders: How Global Powers Turned Darfur into a Proxy Battleground

DEEP DIVE — Entire cities in the Darfur region of Sudan have been burned and razed, millions have fled their homes, and unspeakable terror and [...] More

The Latest

How Valuable are the Indicators?

A few years ago, my colleagues and I published an article on forecasting instability in nations around the world. Two things stood out in that paper. [...] More

Syria: Power-sharing, Partitioning, and the Fight Against ISIS

Syria: Power-sharing, Partitioning, and the Fight Against ISIS

President Barack Obama is meeting today with his National Security Council at CIA headquarters to discuss efforts to combat the Islamic State (also [...] More

Hearing the Wake Up Call

When I landed in Damascus in late 2005 as a foreign correspondent, I went looking for the most popular place where young Syrians spend their time. I [...] More

A Post-Conflict Scenario

Well into its sixth year, it is easy to conclude that there is no end in sight to the devastating Syrian civil war. Warring parties still have plenty [...] More

The Syrian Question

Syria is Russia’s only real ally in the Middle East. A stable and friendly Syria is in Moscow’s best interests. Stability in Syria is also in the [...] More

Russia Makes Moves in the Middle East

Russia Makes Moves in the Middle East

Russia is playing a game of Bismarckian realpolitik in the Middle East – political maneuvering based on current conditions, rather than on [...] More

Imposing its Own Vision

Since 2012, there has been a period of diplomatic activity by the Kremlin in the Middle East which is unprecedented since the fall of the USSR. [...] More