The Potential to Increase the Terrorist Threat
The Cipher Brief sat down with Michele Dunne, Director and Senior Fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace’s Middle East Center, to discuss the […] More
Middle East
Trump So Far: The Middle East View
When Donald Trump was elected as the 45th U.S. President, there was reason for some comfort amongst the United States’ traditional Arab allies in the […] More
Principles to Guide U.S. Military Engagement in the Middle East
Some of the most significant challenges the Trump administration will face are in the Middle East. These include the threat of salafi-Jihadist terrorism, Iran’s efforts […] More
Cybersecurity in the Gulf: The Middle East’s Virtual Frontline
Cybersecurity is often discussed in relation to the major global powers: China’s economic espionage, Russian influence operations, and U.S. dragnet global surveillance to thwart terrorism. […] More
Cross-border Cooperation: A Game-Changer for Gulf Cybersecurity
Recent years have witnessed a series of increasingly audacious and unprecedented cyber attacks, leading up to the recent accusations of Russian hacking throughout last year’s […] More
Cyber: Iran’s Weapon of Choice
Cyber is emerging as Iran’s weapon of choice for dealing with both domestic and foreign opponents. For more than a decade, the Islamic Republic has […] More
Dealing with the Influx of Mideast Refugees
Europe is facing its biggest refugee crisis since the second world war, with a large number of refugees coming from the Middle East, particularly Syria […] More
Sisi, the IMF, and Egypt's Crumbling Economy
When the Arab Spring reached Egypt in January 2011, sparking unprecedented mass protests in Tahrir Square and across the country, calls for democratic reform and […] More
Trump Triumph Prompts Concern in the Arab World
The Arab world woke up to a new U.S. President-elect after an election race many had closely followed. The Cipher Brief’s Executive Editor, Fionnuala Sweeney […] More
A Bigger Problem than War: Water Security in the Middle East
Water scarcity is potentially a very stressful issue in Middle East, the most water-contested region in the world. According to World Resources Institute (WRI) rankings, […] More
Corralling the Cartel: OPEC and Oil Prices
Since oil prices plummeted in the last quarter of 2014, oil-producing countries have struggled to adapt to the new low-price environment. From reforms to slashed […] More
Saudi Arabia and Iran Trade Politics for Oil
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) came to a surprise agreement at informal talks this September to reduce global oil production by between 200,000 […] More
"Grave Threats": American Security and the Next U.S. President
From Syria, to climate change, North Korea, and the largest global refugee flows in history, the next President will face a uniquely challenging set of […] More
You Can’t Put Syria's Pieces Back Together Again
Fighting in Aleppo has intensified with a Russian-backed government offensive to capture the rebel-held sector of Syria’s largest city. The United States and its allies […] More
Climate Change Jeopardizes National Security
This July was the hottest month on record, that is, since the late 1800s (when recording keeping began), according to NASA, the National Oceanic and […] More
Record-Breaking Heat
Instability in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) is at its worst in recent memory. While political volatility has been something of a constant […] More
Tunisia: From Revolution to Governance
Today, Tunisia’s Parliament meets to hold a vote of confidence in the new unity government of Prime Minister Youssef Chahed. In a moment that seems […] More
Biden in Turkey: An Attempt to Mend Fences
U.S. Vice President Joe Biden’s trip to Turkey on Wednesday marked the first time a senior White House official has called on the country’s president […] More