Afkār is a publication of the Middle East Council on Global Affairs, providing short-form analyses, insights, and perspectives on regional issues and developments from the Council's experts and outside contributors. Afkār is published in English and Arabic, and is edited by Omar H. Rahman.
Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia have presented an early test for the joint defense pact signed over the summer. But turning a political declaration into an operational security arrangement may take years of careful development.
The upcoming Palestinian legislative elections take on a different meaning in Lebanon’s refugee camps. They present a dual test: one for the legitimacy of Palestinian representation, and another for the future governance of the camps, which the Lebanese state is currently discussing.
The Houthi takeover of Yemen’s west coast has transformed Bab al-Mandab into a new source of regional leverage. An international push to restore maritime security could contain the immediate crisis while entrenching the very gains that produced it.