Research Fields

Despite Benjamin Netanyahu’s rhetoric about pressing ahead with a project of Israeli regional dominance, alongside political discourse centered on reshaping the Middle East and transforming Israel’s security doctrine from defense to regional influence, it is becoming increasingly clear that important reassessments are now taking place within Israel regarding the lessons drawn from the wars it has fought since October 7,…

On April 18th, 2026, “Jabhat Al Amal Al Islami” party announced its intention to rename itself as “Al Ummah” Party. When the government approved the change a few days later, what drew attention was not what the party changed, but what it chose to keep: the green color held its place at the core of the party’s visual identity, the…

Introduction: Why Has Intelligence Become an Instrument of Regional Power? The Middle East is no longer governed, as it was during the twentieth century, solely through the balance of conventional armies, the size of military arsenals, or formal diplomatic alliances. The deeper transformation witnessed across the region over the past two decades lies in the shift of the center of…

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam’s visit to Syria comes at a complex transitional moment in the region, not only because it represents the first visit of this level since the major transformations Syria has undergone, but also because it reflects the fact that Lebanese-Syrian relations are no longer merely in a formative phase. Rather, they have already entered a stage…

Sometimes, parties do not ally because they agree on the future, but because they fear the past. This is almost exactly what is happening today with Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid under the name “Beyachad/Together.” The two men, who were brought together by a short experience in government in 2021, are not returning today with a new political project as…

The historic turning point Hezbollah is experiencing today extends far beyond the scene of its ongoing, intermittent war with Israel, which has continued for nearly three years (with the exception of the ceasefire period and temporary truce, which was never a full truce but rather closer to de-escalation, particularly from the Israeli side). Another challenge, no less significant or dangerous…

The Politics and Society Institute has released a policy paper titled “Local Administration Between Form and Function: Where Does Impact Falter?”, examining the state of local governance in Jordan within the broader context of political and administrative modernization. The paper explores the persistent gap between the institutional structure of local councils and municipalities on the one hand, and their actual…

Hours of waiting at the King Hussein Bridge may prove more consequential than major political decisions. From this perspective, the significance of the recent agreement signed between the Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs and Royal Jordanian Airlines becomes clear. Signed in the presence of the Ministers of Awqaf and Transport, the five-year agreement aims to provide integrated services for…

Lebanon today does not appear to be standing at the threshold of a political settlement so much as it is embedded within an intensive phase of crisis management—one in which balances are being carefully regulated to prevent explosion, while the conditions for a genuine resolution remain absent. The intersecting political and field-level indicators suggest that the key regional and international…

What is actually advancing is a more disciplined style of decision-making organized around one overriding objective: protecting the regime. If that objective requires hardline policies, the system will produce hardline policies. If it requires negotiations, the system will produce negotiations. The overlap of authorities functions as a mechanism of survival rather than a sign of weakness. Ghalibaf’s importance lies in…