Lebanon's grassroots solar boom has mostly benefited those who own their homes and can afford the investment—installations have plateaued at <25% of households. A new report by @erverd.eurosky.social offers a case study of one way the boom could become more equitable: tcf.org/content/repo...

Since Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz on March 2, Western hawks have revived colonial-era schemes to build pipelines from the Gulf to Israel. These fantastical proposals won’t work, and cannot solve the growing energy crisis. New report from CI fellow Zack Cuyler.

Syrian truckers successfully fought to shield their industry from the economic liberalization agenda of Ahmed al-Sharaa's government. Now, the Syrian business community is crying foul. The story underlines the tense challenges facing Syria’s new leaders. New report from @abujamajem.com

America’s war economy helps no one. Short term: ends lives, undermines democracy, makes daily life unaffordable. Long term, even worse: pitches world into recession and dystopia. New Order from Ashes episode from @eamonka.bsky.social and @tcambanis.bsky.social youtube.com/playlist?lis...

@centuryintl.bsky.social colleague @eamonka.bsky.social lays out how Trump's war on Iran – in addition to being monstrous and wrong – will also incur all kinds of second-order economic costs, making Americans' lives materially worse: tcf.org/content/comm...

The Iran War’s Forever Costs Will Far Exceed the Immediate Pain for Consumers

The most headline-grabbing economic effects of the Iran war are immediate, directly felt in consumers’ daily life: Pump prices are up 35 percent, and the

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The pain that consumers are feeling from the Iran war is real, and likely to get worse. But those short-term costs are only the tip of the economic iceberg, writes CI editor-in-chief @eamonka.bsky.social in a new commentary.

Rural Lebanon’s near-total transition to solar is inspiring for emerging economies, writes CI contributor Camillo Stubenberg in a new report. But it also carries warnings: left unmanaged, Lebanon’s unlikely solar revolution could harden into another tale of haves and have-nots.

Lebanon’s energy crisis spurred a stunning revolution in rural solar energy. But cities are still chugging diesel. Broadening the benefits of solar requires good state policy, argues CI contributor Camillo Stubenberg.

With Iranian drones hitting Iraqi targets and local militias choosing sides, CI fellow @sajadjiyad.bsky.social 's warnings from our recent roundtable on the Iran war are looking grimly prescient.

So far, a combination of diplomacy and Houthi interest calculations have kept the Yemeni militants out of the Iran war, writes @peterjsalisbury.bsky.social. But if they enter the fray, it could have serious implications for global shipping.

America won’t be able to control when the Iran war ends, writes @tcambanis.bsky.social. But leaders should use all means to block funding for America’s continuing participation. Meanwhile, the most vulnerable—in the US and worldwide—will suffer from eroded security and spiking energy prices.

The "forever war" paradigm doesn't really describe the Iran war, writes @abujamajem.com. This U.S.–Israeli attack is something more acute, and immediate—this is a war of aggression, chaotic and wild.

Israel has shifted from managed containment to comprehensive destruction writes @yaelmiz.bsky.social. Long-term consequences will be devastating.

Hezbollah escalated a war with Israel that had never ended, despite a nominal ceasefire. Renewed fighting will punish Lebanese civilians, but will probably also further weaken Hezbollah. @abujamajem.com in new roundtable tcf.org/content/comm...

The predictable regional fallout has begun from America's reckless war of choice against Iran. New roundtable from @tcambanis.bsky.social @peterjsalisbury.bsky.social @sajadjiyad.bsky.social @yaelmiz.bsky.social @abujamajem.com tcf.org/content/comm...

Lebanon’s grinding energy crisis has benefited generator owners, smugglers, and large fuel importers. But in a new report based on three years of fieldwork, @charlielawrie.bsky.social identifies a more basic, root cause of the crisis: the country’s structural dependency on fossil fuel.

Only int'l cooperation can stop the Houthi arms program. But US disengagement & regional tensions make a coalition unlikely. Now, there’s growing danger the Houthis are exporting their deadly capabilities to war zones in Africa. - @peterjsalisbury.bsky.social @veenaa.bsky.social + Henry Thompson

In a decade, Yemen’s Houthis have transformed from low-tech insurgent group to regional power that can fire missiles up to 2,600km. Our new report shines a light on the inner workings of the Houthis’ startling expansion. By @peterjsalisbury.bsky.social @veenaa.bsky.social + Henry Thompson

No one has been able to constrain the Houthis. Why? Using OSINT research, our report reveals how the Houthis built an astonishing arsenal in secret using a complex web of global supply chains. By @peterjsalisbury.bsky.social @veenaa.bsky.social and Henry Thompson & w support from @XCEPT_Research

The settlement enterprise is not separate from the Israeli state—it is the Israeli state. So argues @yaelmiz.bsky.social in a new commentary. (1/5)

Sanctions Can’t Solve the Israeli Settlement Problem

Burned houses and mosques, kidnappings, pogroms, masked thugs attacking unarmed olive harvesters: in the last few years such Israeli settler violence has

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In the first year of Trump 2.0, the United States went from being a passing if imperfect democracy to sliding into authoritarianism: new Century Foundation findings from @nateschenkkan.bsky.social @tcambanis.bsky.social tcf.org/content/repo... (1/5)

Century’s New Democracy Meter Shows America Took an Authoritarian Turn in 2025

At a time when experts are warning of unprecedented democratic backsliding in the United States under the second Trump administration, how should people

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Syria’s new president, former rebel leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, is big on inclusive rhetoric. But when it comes to his reconstruction agenda, the reality is falling far short of the marketing—new commentary from @freddydeknatel.bsky.social tcf.org/content/comm... (1/3)

Syria’s Reconstruction Risks Cutting Out the Syrian People

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The Trump administration announced staggering cuts to global U.S. development assistance earlier this year, but the specifics of those cuts by program area and region have been hard to assess, since the administration has also shut down data reporting websites. (1/4)

The Foreign Aid Wipeout: A Shadow Revolution in America’s Middle East Policy

Since January, Donald Trump has fundamentally reshaped U.S. foreign assistance, ostensibly to align with his “America First” foreign policy. The

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Political prisoner or terrorist? The question lies at the heart of the latest diplomatic challenge between Lebanon and Syria, as the latter tries to repatriate thousands of its nationals held in Lebanese prisons. (1/3)

Lebanon and Syria’s Detainee Dilemma

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Ironically, cooperation between Saudi Arabia and the Emirates could be essential to ending the wars in the Horn of Africa and the Sahel that the two Gulf powers have helped fuel—new report from Anna Jacobs (1/5)

The Horn of Africa Needs an End to the Gulf’s Proxy Wars. Cooperation Is Key.

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American interest in Iraq’s November 11 parliamentary elections is mostly focused on whether Iraqis will choose pro-Iran representatives. That’s a mistake, @sajadjiyad.bsky.social argues in a new commentary. (1/3)

Apathy and Skepticism Cloud Iraq’s Upcoming Election

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There was a brief moment after Bashar al-Assad’s regime collapsed last December when the impossible felt possible in Syria. That moment, @anasjoudeh.bsky.social argues in a new commentary, has, sadly, evaporated. (1/5)

A Catch-22 of Suspicion Imperils Syria’s Transition to Democracy

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A popular story holds that colonial borders are the source of problems in the Middle East. The narrative is promoted by everyone from the Islamic State to American politicians—neoconservative and liberal and otherwise. (1/5)

Beyond Bad Borders: How Nationalism, Imperialism, and Power Politics Shaped the Modern Middle East

In 2014, the Islamic State swept across large swaths of Iraq and Syria, soon emerging as the obligatory lede for every article about the Middle East and

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22 years after Saddam’s fall, Iraq is being pulled toward two starkly different possible futures: a central government that serves its populace—or state capture by armed groups and special interests. (1/5)

Integrate, Normalize, or Fight: Choices Facing the Shia Armed Factions in Iraq

Iraq’s two-decade-long state-building project is facing a precarious moment. On the one hand, the country is closer than ever to having a functioning

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In foreign policy as in domestic, Trump’s opponents have so far failed to do much more than chase at his heels with reactive objections as he plows ahead with reckless gambits. (1/5)

Progressives Can Lead With a Just Foreign Policy. First, They Must Confront Their Mistakes.

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