

The balance of power in the Middle East is shifting, and Turkey's changing role and rising influence with other countries provides both a risk and an opportunity for Washington.

With its increased regional and global influence, Turkey is in a position to seize a leading role in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and to challenge Iran for leadership of regional public opinion.

Carnegie experts respond to Israel's raid on a flotilla of humanitarian aid ships bound for Gaza, warning that it threatens to destabilize relations between key actors in the region.

Turkey is an increasingly important player in the Middle East. It has embraced modern economic realities and has created a space for the coexistence of democracy, secularism, Islam, science, individuality, and community all in the same society.

If Iraq can overcome the many risks and challenges that lie ahead of it and emerge as a stable democratic nation, it could become an engine for change in the Arab and Muslim world.

In an increasingly interconnected world, the collapse of one society has immediate economic, political and security repercussions on societies around it. Preventing such collapses requires a global development strategy that reflects the key challenges of the new century, including resource scarcity.

While officials are quietly suggesting that indirect peace talks between Syria and Israel may resume, escalating tensions between Israel, Syria, and Lebanon are sparking concerns about the possibility of a regional war.

Lebanon’s domestic and regional politics remained relatively calm in 2009, but with Hezbollah’s refusal to disarm and Syria’s continuing determination to ferry arms into Lebanon, the nation lacks full sovereignty and remains vulnerable to sudden shocks.

The trouble in northern Yemen should serve as a wakeup call to the global community to help Yemen deal with the political, security, and economic crises it faces, before the confrontation escalates and further destabilizes the region.

A unity government has been formed in Lebanon following the electoral defeat of the Hezbollah-led coalition in June. However, in order to stabilize the fragile country, the new government must succeed in instituting economic, political, and security reforms.