Strategic Studies Institute

Middle East & North Africa Studies

Added June 10, 2013

Type: Monograph

The Future of the Arab Gulf Monarchies in the Age of Uncertainties. Authored by Dr. Mohammed El-Katiri.

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This monograph assesses the challenges facing the Arab Gulf’s rulers, and proposes meaningful political reform as a means of mitigating these challenges.

Added May 17, 2013

Type: Letort Papers

The Challenge of Drug Trafficking to Democratic Governance and Human Security in West Africa. Authored by David E. Brown.

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International criminal networks—some with links to terrorism—represent an existential threat to democratic governance of already fragile states in West Africa, and are using drugs to buy political power, fray West Africa’s traditional social fabric, and create a public health crisis. Drug trafficking represents the most serious challenge to human security in the region since resource conflicts rocked several West African countries in the early 1990s; international aid to the subregion’s “war on drugs” is only in an initial stage, and progress will be have to be measured in decades, not years.

Added May 13, 2013

Type: Monograph

War and Insurgency in the Western Sahara. Authored by Staff Researcher.

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Home to the largest functional military barrier in the world, the Western Sahara has a long history of colonial conquest and resistance, guerrilla warfare and counterinsurgency, and evolving strategic thought. This monograph explores the past, present, and future of the region, including its relationship to developments in Morocco, Algeria, and elsewhere in North Africa.

Added April 11, 2013

Type: Monograph

Egypt's New Regime and the Future of the U.S.-Egyptian Strategic Relationship. Authored by Gregory Aftandilian.

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This monograph, completed in August 2012, analyzes the developments in Egypt from January 2011 to August 2012 and addresses the following questions that are pertinent to U.S. policymakers: How does the United States maintain good relations and preserve its strategic partnership with Egypt under Cairo’s new political leadership and the changing political environment in the country? How does it do so while adhering to American values such as supporting democracy even when those coming to power do not share U.S. strategic goals?

Added March 20, 2013

Type: Monograph

Governance, Identity, and Counterinsurgency: Evidence from Ramadi and Tal Afar. Authored by Dr. Michael Fitzsimmons.

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Western thinking on counterinsurgency seems to be that success in countering insurgencies depends on a perception of legitimacy among local populations. However, it may be more correct to consider the identity of who governs, rather than on how whoever governs governs.