Hayat Tahrir al-Sham Advances: The Latest Round of Escalation in the Syrian Conflict
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Emerging Dynamics: Japan-Taiwan Relations in the Era of Chinese Dominance
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Domestic and Regional Politics in Turkey’s Proposed Kurdish Peace Process
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Promoting Evidence-based Policy and Good Governance

Terrorism & Extremism

Dec 4 , 2024

Research

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs, commonly known as drones) have proved to be game changers in modern warfare and violent conflicts. Their deployment in the war between Ukraine and Russia, the Karabakh conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia, and the Libyan Civil War has demonstrated their effectiveness in high-definition surveillance, precision strikes,

Middle East

Dec 3 , 2024

Op-Ed

While the Israeli-Hamas conflict and, more recently, the Israeli-Hezbollah conflict, have dominated discussions on the Middle East for much of the past year, the focus of attention is now (re-)shifting to Syria, where the armed group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) launched a widely unexpected and remarkably effective offensive on Aleppo,

Democracy & Human Rights, Middle East

Dec 3 , 2024

Policy Brief

A supposed Kurdish peace initiative that was floated in Turkey presents an intricate strategic landscape, promising to shape regional and domestic political dynamics. While Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan consolidates power domestically across the judiciary, media, and government institutions, often at the expense of democratic freedoms, former U.S. President Donald

Cyber Security & Info Technologies

Nov 21 , 2024

Policy Brief

Introduction Artificial Intelligence (AI) is an object of serious policy interest. Unlike other policy challenges on Americans’ plates, however, AI is lucky to have thus far avoided significant politicization. The dispassion is to its benefit. Indeed, a degradation of general political discourse hides a surprising fact: the first Trump and

Democracy & Human Rights

Nov 20 , 2024

Webinar

Orion Policy Institute will host a live webinar on Thursday, December 12 between 10 AM – 11:30 AM (EST) titled, “The Arab Spring Uprisings: Where Are We Now?” RSVP here. The panelists will be: 1. Dr. Sahar Khamis, Associate Professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Maryland.

Africa

Nov 13 , 2024

Op-Ed

In recent years, Russian mercenaries in West Africa have gained considerable notoriety for, on the one hand, propping up post-coup military juntas and, on the other hand, suffering setbacks when supporting those juntas’ counter-insurgency efforts. For example, 87 Russian fighters who were part of Africa Corps (formerly known as Wagner

Terrorism & Extremism

Dec 4 , 2024

Research

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs, commonly known as drones) have proved to be game changers in modern warfare and violent conflicts. Their deployment in the war between Ukraine and Russia, the Karabakh conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia, and the Libyan Civil War has demonstrated their effectiveness in high-definition surveillance, precision strikes,

Democracy & Human Rights, Middle East

Dec 3 , 2024

Policy Brief

A supposed Kurdish peace initiative that was floated in Turkey presents an intricate strategic landscape, promising to shape regional and domestic political dynamics. While Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan consolidates power domestically across the judiciary, media, and government institutions, often at the expense of democratic freedoms, former U.S. President Donald

Cyber Security & Info Technologies

Nov 21 , 2024

Policy Brief

Introduction Artificial Intelligence (AI) is an object of serious policy interest. Unlike other policy challenges on Americans’ plates, however, AI is lucky to have thus far avoided significant politicization. The dispassion is to its benefit. Indeed, a degradation of general political discourse hides a surprising fact: the first Trump and

Sudanese women protesting

Democracy & Human Rights

Oct 1 , 2024

Research

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Sudan’s modern history has been marked by protracted civil wars and non-democratic governance systems. Behind the conflicts between armed groups and militaristic rules, women and children have borne the brunt. Yet another conflict over the control of the state erupted in April 2023, leading to the largest refugee and displacement

Middle East

Sep 16 , 2024

Policy Brief

At the end of August, Egypt began sending equipment, ammunition and a small number of soldiers to Somalia, with the aim of reaching ten thousand troops in the coming months. Egypt intends to be the main force in the peacekeeping mission announced by the African Union to replace the current

Middle East

Aug 28 , 2024

Policy Brief

Iran-Turkish relations undermine U.S. foreign policy objectives in the Middle East. Turkey and Iran have mutually beneficial ties despite their regional rivalries and competition. Their partnership encompasses three objectives: energy security, international trade, and sanctions evasion. In 1934, the Shah of Iran and the Turkish President met to discuss an

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