Countering Terrorism

Al-Qaeda appears set to make a comeback in Pakistan, with battle-hardened militants returning from Syria and Iraq returning to the country.

The Syrian Crisis has now definitively entered a new phase, in which the shifting priorities of external states are driving the creation of an interim set of pre-settlement conditions. Since the Saudi-led intervention in Yemen in March 2015 and Russia’s military intervention in September 2015, the geopolitical dynamic has been evolving in a direction that has undermined the Syrian opposition’s struggle against the Assad regime. Two years later, that anti-Assad struggle has never looked weaker or more vulnerable. Whatever nuanced statements one might hear these days from officials in Washington, London, Paris, Riyadh or Ankara, the reality is that none of those governments now seek the removal of Assad, nor do they even see that as possible.

Women lead movements against the fundamentalist armed forces imposing harsh Islamic regulations.

In this week's Monday Briefing, MEI experts Randa Slim, Charles Lister, and Mabrouka M'Barek analyze the progress of ongoing negotiations over peace in Syria, rising tensions in Idlib province, and Tunisia's lobbying efforts to ensure continued U.S. aid.

This essay explores the counter-radicalization landscape in Indonesia with reference to the current challenge posed by Islamic State (ISIL). The author argues that rather than adopting “ISIL-specific” strategies, the Indonesian state should engage more comprehensively with the problematic of counter/de-radicalization policy and, more controversially, the nascent mainstreaming of extremism.

The seventh paper in our Regional Cooperation Series analyzes the various modes of military cooperation among regional states in the current conflicts, and whether there is any grounding for a long-lasting, strategic regional military alliance.

A U.N.-run airport inside Gaza might be the most effective option in addressing the Strip's acute humanitarian crisis, while simultaneously assuaging the security concerns of Israel and Egypt.

The sixth paper in the Regional Cooperation Series proposes new approaches for reforming and improving internal security cooperation across the region to create a more stable environment for ordinary citizens and their governments.