Section: Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies (Israel)
Coronavirus Delivers Another Devastating Blow to the Iranian Regime
Coronavirus patients at the Imam Khomeini Hospital in Tehran, Iran, photo via Wikimedia CommonsBESA Center Perspectives Paper No. 1,507, March 27, 2020 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: The coronavirus pandemic has hit Iran hard, and not only on the health front. The virus is the latest in a succession of blows to the Iranian regime’s domestic status,...
Coronavirus in the Middle East: Unlearned Lessons and Missed Opportunities
Disinfection of Sadeghiyeh, Iran, against coronavirus, photo via WikipediaBESA Center Perspectives Paper No. 1,490, March 18, 2020 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: There is little indication that Middle Eastern rulers are learning any lessons from the devastating coronavirus. Nor is there any suggestion that they are willing to see the pandemic as an...
The Long-Term Political Fallout of Coronavirus
3D medical animation still shot showing the structure of a coronavirus, image via Wikimedia CommonsBESA Center Perspectives Paper No. 1,488, March 17, 2020 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: As the coronavirus spreads, so does its likely political fallout. For authoritarians and autocrats, this is likely to be a mixed bag. Some will benefit from invasive tracing...
Russia’s Shift from “Greater Europe” to “Greater Asia”
Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping, photo via Office of the President of RussiaBESA Center Perspectives Paper No. 1,483, March 15, 2020 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Though analysts tend to portray Russia’s foreign policy as truly global (that is, independent of Europe, the US, and China), the country is plainly tilting toward Asia. The Russian political...
Russia’s Troubles in 2020 Will Be Close to Home
Нижний Новгород. Митинг против коррупции – Anti-corruption rally in Nizhny Novgorod, photo via WikipediaBESA Center Perspectives Paper No. 1,468, March 4, 2020 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: From a foreign policy standpoint, Russia should be fairly secure this year. In the Middle East, its main competitors will remain divided; while on a global scale,...
A Fragile Anti-US Alliance: Russia Accuses China of Technology Theft
Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping, photo via Office of the President of RussiaBESA Center Perspectives Paper No. 1,467, March 4, 2020 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: The relationship between Russia and China is based on shared short-term strategic interests, but their differences lie just beneath the surface. Occasionally they erupt into the public eye, as...
The Inherent Threat of the Nuclear Launch Button
John F. Kennedy in the Oval Office during the Cuban Missile Crisis, public domain photo via Wikimedia CommonsBESA Center Perspectives Paper No. 1,459, February 26, 2020 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Though the Cold War ended long ago, there remains a danger that a nuclear launch might be initiated. This could occur as a result of human decision-making,...
Turkey’s “Defense Line”: An Ideological Front
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Resmi Hesabi, Flickr, public domainBESA Center Perspectives Paper No. 1,448, February 14, 2020 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Turkey’s latest moves in Libya and the eastern Mediterranean should be viewed in the context of the recent Kuala Lumpur Summit, which announced the emergence of a new ideological bloc to counter Saudi...
The “Deal of the Century” Is a Stimulus, Not a Blueprint
Donald Trump, Jared Kushner, and Benjamin Netanyahu, GPO photo by Kobi Gideon via Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs Flickr CCBESA Center Perspectives Paper No. 1,446, February 11, 2020 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: President Trump’s peace plan must be understood as a systemic impetus toward a new breakthrough rather than as a practical blueprint for...
Could Chernobyl Syndrome Take Hold in Iran?
Wreckage from Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752, photo by Mehr News Agency via Wikimedia CommonsBESA Center Perspectives Paper No. 1,434, February 3, 2020 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: The display of fundamental incompetence, followed by denial and a cover-up, that accompanied the recent shooting down of a Ukrainian passenger airliner by Iran are...