The Centrality of Iraq in the Iranian Strategic Mentality, written by Firas Elias provides readers with a comprehensive insight into the Iranian strategy in Iraq and the region. Researchers, often when analyzing Iranian geopolitics, do not offer a comprehensive description of this complicated variable, unlike Elias who provides throughout this book a richly detailed analysis and description of the dimensions and geopolitical variables which play an integral role in shaping Iran’s strategy in post-2003 Iraq. The book is divided into four chapters: The first chapter provides an overview of the approaches shaping Iran’s strategy through addressing four main topics: the basic approach to understanding Iran’s strategy, its intellectual and theoretical principles; its main goals, and its key tools. The second chapter defines Iran’s significance in the Iranian strategy through analyzing Iranian hegemony and expansion; Iraq’s geostrategic position in the Iranian perception; Iran’s penetration of post-2003 Iraq; and the dimensions and goals of Iranian strategy in Iraq. The third chapter reviews the Iranian strategic output in Iraq through analyzing the main variables affecting the Iranian strategy in Iraq as follows: variables related to the internal environment in Iran and Iraq and variables related to the regional and international environment. Finally, the fourth chapter forecasts the future of the Iranian strategy in Iraq through reviewing potential scenarios. The book was published by the International Institute for Iranian Studies (Rasanah) in 2018 and written by Firas Elias, a political science and national studies researcher.

Purpose: A one-day international symposium hosted by the Marine Corps University (MCU) and the Marine Corps University Foundation to enhance the overall understanding of Iran, exploring its internal dynamics, regional perspectives, and extra-regional factors and examining its near-term political and strategic options and their potential impact on the course of action of the United States and the USMC.

This book provides the first comprehensive study of the evolution of the Iraqi military from the British mandate era to post-Baathist Iraq. Ethnic and sectarian turmoil is endemic to Iraq, and its armed forces have been intertwined with its political affairs since their creation. This study illustrates how the relationship between the military and the political centre in Iraq has evolved, with the military bringing about three regime changes in Iraq’s history before being brought under control by Saddam Hussein, up until the 2003 war. The instability that followed was partly due to the failure to create a new military that does not threaten the government, yet is still strong enough to deter rival factions from armed conflict. The reconstitution of the armed forces will be a prerequisite for an American withdrawal from Iraq, but this book argues that immense challenges lie ahead, despite the praise from the Bush administration for the progress of the new Iraqi army.

The volume deals with competition among regional and external players for the redistribution of power and international status in the Middle East and North Africa, with a focus on Russia’s renewed role and the implications for US interests. Over the last few years, a crisis of legitimacy has beset the liberal international order. In this context, the configuration of regional orders has come into question, as in the extreme case of the current collapse in the Middle East. The idea of a “Russian resurgence” in the Middle East set against a perceived American withdrawal has captured the attention of policymakers and scholars alike, warranting further examination. This volume, a joint publication by ISPI and the Atlantic Council, gathers analysis on Washington’s and Moscow’s policy choices in the MENA region and develops case studies of the two powers’ engagament in the countries beset by major crises.

"The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic marks the most significant, singular global disruption since World War II, with health, economic, political, and security implications that will ripple for years to come." -Global Trends 2040 (2021) Global Trends 2040-A More Contested World (2021), released by the US National Intelligence Council, is the latest report in its series of reports starting in 1997 about megatrends and the world's future. This report, strongly influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic, paints a bleak picture of the future and describes a contested, fragmented and turbulent world. It specifically discusses the four main trends that will shape tomorrow's world: - Demographics-by 2040, 1.4 billion people will be added mostly in Africa and South Asia. - Economics-increased government debt and concentrated economic power will escalate problems for the poor and middleclass. - Climate-a hotter world will increase water, food, and health insecurity. - Technology-the emergence of new technologies could both solve and cause problems for human life. Students of trends, policymakers, entrepreneurs, academics, journalists and anyone eager for a glimpse into the next decades, will find this report, with colored graphs, essential reading.