The government of the brittle, one-party state remains dug in against a determined but fractured opposition. Expert Joshua Landis discusses the fault lines in the Syria uprising.

Severe political constraints on Israeli and Palestinian leaders cloud the prospects for progress in direct talks due to start later this week, says CFR’s Steven A. Cook.

Nathan J. Brown, an expert on Arab and Palestinian politics, says despite the major split in Palestinian ranks between Fatah and Hamas, it is “unlikely in the extreme” that some kind of peace arrange…

Scott Lasensky, who specializes in Syria and other Middle Eastern areas for the U.S. Institute of Peace, says Syria has mounted a major crackdown to try to silence the growing number of intellectuals…

Steven A. Cook, a Middle East expert, says he sees no chance the United States would break away from Israel and deal directly with Hamas in the Israeli-Palestinian peace dialogue, even if it might he…