The Uprising in Iran: The Meaning of Mashad, A Shift in Slogans, and the Role of Reza Pahlavi
The Meaning of Mashhad Reports from Mashhad, Iran’s second-largest city and one of the regime’s most important religious strongholds, mark a qualitative shift in Iran’s unrest. Over one million people reportedly rallied, regime forces withdrew, and the city briefly fell under protester control. Since the beginning of the uprising, more than 1,000 protests have been documented […]
The Prospects for a Democratic Transition in Venezuela
On January 7, Secretary of State Marco Rubio outlined a three-phase plan for Venezuela. The first phase focuses on oil. Owing to sanctions, much of Venezuela’s oil production is effectively frozen. Under this plan, American companies would help rehabilitate oil production and facilitate sales, while profits would be managed in a way intended to benefit […]
Israel in 2026: A New Consensus on Security
After two years of war, Israel has entered an election year in 2026, but security issues will not be paramount in upcoming elections. A new consensus across Israeli society has emerged on security that is being operationalized and implemented. Israel’s Pre-October 7 Security Thinking In September 2023, Israel’s strategic agenda recognized Iran as the primary […]
Prospects for Syria-Israel Relations
Prospects for more normal if not formally peaceful relations between Syria and Israel were diminishing in recent months. Thus it was positive that Syrian and Israeli officials met in Paris on January 5-6 to discuss security arrangements. These talks were mediated by US officials. President Trump says he wants Israel to “get along” with Syria. […]
Iran’s Unresolved Cultural Void
In Iran, the streets pulse with courage and moral clarity in protest against the clerical regime, yet they also reveal something else: raw anger can topple regimes but cannot construct the cultural foundations of a successor order. This moment could mark a pivot for the civilization of Iran. Can resistance mature into a durable culture […]
The Shoe Drops in Venezuela
On the morning of January 3, the world woke up to the successful US operation to seize Nicolás Maduro, head of the regime ruling Venezuela. No one should mourn his departure. But it remains uncertain whether the US move will trigger regime change and a democratic transition or alternatively a deal with regime successors. Latin […]
Israel’s Legal Rights to Self-Protect and to Punish Terrorists
By the fundamental principle known formally under international law as a jus cogens (“compelling law”) rule, each state is required to assist other states imperiled by terror-violence. The most important historical figures in creating and explaining this requirement were the Swiss jurist Emmerich de Vattel and the English jurist William Blackstone. Blackstone’s Commentaries became the […]
The Middle East at a Moment of Strategic Choice
Some media commentators were quick to dismiss Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s meeting this week with President Donald J. Trump, depicting it as driven by domestic politics, legal pressures, or media optics. But that is a mistake. This meeting comes at a time of profound regional fragility and converging pressures. On one front lies Iran’s aggressive […]
The Timely Death of a US Navy Frigate Program
In late November, Secretary of the Navy John Phelan canceled the increasingly challenged Constellation-class frigate program. The Constellation was to be built as a modified version of the European multipurpose frigate, designed by Naval Group (a French company) and Fincantieri (an Italian company with shipyards in Wisconsin). Only two of the planned six frigates, already […]
The Roller Coaster Ride of Argentina’s Jews
Argentina’s Jewish community, the largest in Latin America and the sixth largest in the world, shared in the country’s rise to prosperity in the late nineteenth and first part of the twentieth century, giving rise to the image of horse-riding Jewish gauchos on Argentina’s central grasslands. But the other seminal image of Argentina’s Jews comes […]
Israel Recognizes Somaliland; Will the US Be Next?
On December 26, 2025, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar announced on X that Israel has recognized Somaliland, becoming the first country in the world to officially do so. “Over the past year, based on an extensive and ongoing dialogue, relations between Israel and Somaliland have taken shape,” he wrote. “Today we signed an agreement on mutual recognition […]
The Future of Gaza
Palestinian activist Samer Sinijlawi details the reforms needed for a better future for Palestinians in Gaza.
