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Barak Barfi

Barak Barfi

28 commentaries

Barak Barfi is a former research fellow at New America and a former visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution.

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  1. Syria’s House of Cards
    barfi28_AnadoluGettyImages_hafez_alassad_statue_downed Anadolu/Getty Images

    Syria’s House of Cards

    Dec 9, 2024 Barak Barfi explains why Bashar al-Assad’s government collapsed so quickly, placing most of the blame on Assad himself.

  2. Trumpian Turmoil Is Coming to the Middle East
    barfi27_MANDEL NGANAFP via Getty Images_trumpnetanyahu Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images

    Trumpian Turmoil Is Coming to the Middle East

    Nov 13, 2024 Barak Barfi thinks that the regional leaders who are cheering now may soon be pining for a less capricious leader.

  3. What Will Follow Hamas’s War?
    barfi26_MOHAMMED DAHMANMiddle East ImagesAFP via Getty Images_gazahamasisrael Mohammed Dahman/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images

    What Will Follow Hamas’s War?

    Oct 9, 2023 Barak Barfi foresees an Israeli ground invasion of Gaza and prolonged occupation of the enclave.

  4. The Hollow Saudi-Iranian Agreement
    barfi25_ ATTA KENAREAFP via Getty Images_china saudi iran ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images

    The Hollow Saudi-Iranian Agreement

    Mar 14, 2023 Barak Barfi sees a newly announced Chinese-brokered deal as more glitter than gold.

  5. Biden’s Return to Realism in Saudi Arabia
    barfi24AMER HILABIAFP via Getty Images_saudi us AMER HILABI/AFP via Getty Images

    Biden’s Return to Realism in Saudi Arabia

    Jul 15, 2022 Barak Barfi explains why embracing the status quo in the Middle East, while far from ideal, is the right call for the US.

  1. leonard106_ Andrew HarnikGetty Images_trump Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
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    Trump at Davos

    Mark Leonard thinks there will be no return to the postwar global order of universally shared rules and institutions.
  2. krueger83_Sean GallupGettyImages_manmohan_singh Sean Gallup/Getty Images
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    Manmohan Singh and the Making of the Indian Miracle

    Anne O. Krueger highlights the qualities that enabled the late leader to transform his country and lift its global standing.
  3. mueller56_SOPA ImagesGettyImages_covid_prostest SOPA Images/Getty Images
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    Confronting the Pandemic’s Toxic Political Legacy

    Jan-Werner Mueller supports calls for countries to carry out independent inquiries into how the COVID-19 crisis was handled.
  4. james226_Jabin Botsford The Washington Post via Getty Images_trumpaltmanellison Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images
    1

    How Trump’s Anti-Globalism Could Backfire

    Harold James thinks the new administration's approach could jeopardize the foreign capital flows that America depends on.
  5. toni4_Dominika ZarzyckaSOPA ImagesLightRocket via Getty Images_cop30 Dominika Zarzycka/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
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    How to Make COP30 a Climate Turning Point

    Ana Toni sees the main task in Belém, Brazil, as accelerating the implementation of existing agreements.
  6. roach174_Christopher FurlongGetty Images_trump Christopher Furlong/Getty Images
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    Trump’s Trade Scam

    Stephen S. Roach

    Donald Trump’s second administration is starting where his first ended – with distortions and convoluted logic. Perhaps most notable is his ludicrous proposal for an "External Revenue Service," which, contrary to the president’s claims, would collect tariff revenues from domestic importers, not from foreign producers.

     points out that the new “External Revenue Service” would target domestic importers, not foreign producers.
  7. mackintosh8_Murat TanerGettyImages_fed_building Murat Taner/Getty Images
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    The Fed Is Running Scared of Trump

    Stuart P.M. Mackintosh

    The US Federal Reserve’s leadership constantly stresses the importance of “data dependence.” Yet, in order to appease Donald Trump, the Fed has decided to ignore a huge – and rapidly growing – pile of data showing that climate risks pose a grave threat to economic and financial stability.

     observes that political pressure is already undermining independent, data-driven decision-making.
  8. buchholz22_Kayla BartkowskiGettyImages_tiktok_ban Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images
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    Beware the TikTokalypse

    Todd G. Buchholz thinks calls to reverse the app’s ban or forced sale are based on a misunderstanding of its security risks.
  9. slaughter108_Iranian PresidencyAnadolu via Getty Images_BRICS Iranian Presidency/Anadolu via Getty Images
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    Middle Powers and the Art of the Deal

    Anne-Marie Slaughter foresees the world under Donald Trump becoming like a bazaar, to the benefit of multi-aligned countries.

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