In The News

Foreign Recruits Are Islamic State’s Cannon Fodder

Eli Lake February 24, 2015
Military forces fighting the Islamic State militants are reporting the terrorist group’s extensive use of foreign recruits, about 20,000 in all. Iraqi and Syrian Arabs are more likely to win safer, higher-ranking positions in the terrorist organization, while foreigners – especially the unskilled – are sent to the front lines of combat or dispatched as suicide bombers, reports Eli Lake, a...

History Without Borders

Peter C. Perdue February 24, 2015
The conflicts of the modern world are deeply rooted in centuries of history. Historians and social scientists could do more to develop research across disciplinary, regional and national boundaries, argues Peter Perdue, professor of history at Yale University. “Everyone knows that we live in a globalized world, but the history profession stands out among academic disciplines for defining its...

What ISIS Really Wants

Graeme Wood February 23, 2015
Among Islamic State terrorists’ bizarre beliefs: The end of the world is near, and Muslims should embrace fear of God and rigid IS beliefs. As self-appointed caliph Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi claims to lead all Muslims. Despite roots with Al Qaeda, he and other leaders became frustrated with priorities that did not include a caliphate controlling the Muslim world. IS now hold strands of territory and...

Alienated Muslim Youth Seek Purpose, Thrills in Joining Jihad

Joji Sakurai February 19, 2015
Adolescents grapple to find an identity during a stage of human development described by psychologist Erik Erikson. Those who don’t succeed in feeling good about their role in society blame others and may hold a grudge against their community. They also make ideal targets for recruiters of criminal and extremist groups. “Religious fervor rarely has much to do with what draws people to join such...

Israelis Wonder If Netanyahu Risks Too Much in Obama Tussle

Batsheva Sobelman and Laura King February 11, 2015
Governments establish protocols and rules on procedures for official events and diplomacy to establish order and avoid unpleasantness. Leaders in democracies are often cautious during election seasons. Any appearance of efforts to influence election results of another nation often backfire. Israelis and American Jews are expressing concerns about Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu plans...

The Fight Against ISIS After the Death of Jordan’s Pilot

Aaron David Miller February 6, 2015
The civilized world is repulsed by the war crimes committed by the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq: rape and coerced marriages for young girls; numerous beheadings of aid workers, journalists as well as the organization’s own foot soldiers who question orders; the execution of a young Jordanian pilot by burning him alive. Writing for the Wall Street Journal, Aaron David Miller suggests the war...

Tunisia Remains Arab Spring’s Lone Success Story

Chris Miller February 5, 2015
The wave of protests that swept through the Middle East in 2011, known as the Arab Spring, rocked governments and ended a handful of dictatorships. Citizens of those countries anticipated a new era in the region’s politics amid the power of activism. “All of the revolts of 2011, except for Tunisia’s, have ended in tragedy,” notes Chris Miller, PhD candidate at Yale University and research...