Where it stands, and how to move forward.

Gaza’s health crisis grows more dire. Despite the successful first round of polio vaccinations and a short-lived surge of humanitarian aid preventing an imminent decline into famine in May, the conditions in Gaza have deteriorated significantly in recent months. What role is growing lawlessness in the embattled enclave playing and what additional steps can be taken to protect convoys?    

Six months since the creation of the international coalition against the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS), the military campaign is entering a new phase following the gruesome murder of a Jordanian pilot and the defeat of IS in Kobane last month.

The steady decline of global oil prices since June 2014 is shifting economic, political, and strategic calculations of key Middle East actors, and adding a new element of uncertainty at a time of increased regional conflict and polarization.

Carnegie scholars assess the Middle East in the year ahead, including potential game changers that could have a big impact for the future of the region.

The outcome of the battle for Kobane will have significant implications for the fight against the Islamic State and developments in Turkey, Syria, and Iraq moving forward.

The growing strength and influence of ISIS is rooted in a deep-seated regional disagreement over the nature of the threat posed by jihadist extremists. Until the fight against ISIS is decoupled from the sectarian fires engulfing the region, efforts to make progress against the group will flounder.

The recent popular uprisings in the Arab world sought to dismantle authoritarian political regimes and address profound societal inequities. However, they also triggered fundamental questions about the relationship between citizens and the state, as well as the rights and obligations of citizenship.

Throughout the Middle East, the overthrow of Egypt’s Mohamed Morsi has heightened Islamist-secularist tensions and pushed actors toward zero-sum politics.

Turkey’s political landscape has been shaken by developments at home and in the region over the last six months, shifting the country’s democratic path onto a new course.