Research Library

This research paper examines how underlying shifts in security dynamics in the Persian Gulf may evolve as regional states respond to the perception of receding U.S. leadership by further diversifying security relationships and internationalizing what until the 2010s had been a solidly Western-centric web of partnerships. DOI: https://doi.org/10.25613/n8xe-hj20

A quantitative study examines how heightened geopolitical risk, coupled with lower oil prices, hampers the economic potential of mega construction projects in Arab Gulf states.

This brief assesses the consequences of the Trump administration’s new policy on Israeli settlements in the West Bank, particularly within the context of past legal arguments and the stances of six previous U.S. presidential administrations.

In late November, Hong Kong's high court ruled that a government ban on face masks was unconstitutional. This brief analyzes Beijing's subsequent response that, if enforced, may signal the extension of unchecked central dictatorship over Hong Kong’s political apparatus.

The authors examine the varied approaches used by the U.S. and Iran during the ongoing nuclear negotiations, with particular emphasis on how each side approaches the Israeli-Palestinian arena and Iran’s entrenchment in Syria and Lebanon.

The authors explain why unilateral annexation of the West Bank by Israel would have pernicious and lasting consequences, leading Israel to an unprecedented crisis of delegitimization, enhanced demonization and isolation.

The authors examine the recent attacks on oil infrastructure in Saudi Arabia and other Persian Gulf nations to shed light on the current state of U.S.-Gulf strategic relations and the potential directions of its evolution in coming years.

Recent developments in the oil kingdoms of the Middle East demonstrate that rentier governments are engaging their citizens with energy policymaking in ways that do not follow rentier state theory, writes fellow Jim Krane.

This report analyzes political and religious authority in Saudi Arabia under the regime of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

David Buckley offers brief reflections on distinct approaches to religion in U.S. diplomacy, particularly at the State Department, and the implications they may have for religious tolerance abroad. His post is the first of 12 prepared for an April 2019 workshop on “Religion, Reverence and Tolerance” organized by the Baker Institute for Public Policy and the Boniuk Institute for Religious Tolerance at Rice University.  Baker Institute Blog: https://bit.ly/2z6CGZo