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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. ruto6_LUIS TATOAFP via Getty Images_africafloods Luis Tato/AFP via Getty Images

    A New Deal for Developing Countries

    William Ruto explains what climate-vulnerable Africa will need to strengthen their resilience and sustain economic growth.
  2. mazzucato78_James Glossop - WPA PoolGetty Images_starmerinvestment James Glossop/WPA/Pool/Getty Images

    Good Growth Requires Getting Public-Private Partnerships Right

    Mariana Mazzucato worries that a recently unveiled industrial strategy is not structured properly.
  3. delong266_Michael SwensenGetty Image_musk Michael Swensen/Getty Images

    American Idiots

    J. Bradford DeLong considers the implications of Donald Trump and friends' effort to orchestrate an unnecessary government shutdown.
  4. fischer223_Alexander KoernerGetty Images_bundeswehr Alexander Koerner/Getty Images

    Putin’s Setbacks Are Cold Comfort for Europe

    Joschka Fischer considers the implications of Russia's loss in Syria and Donald Trump's imminent return to the White House.
  5. brown115_WAKIL KOHSARAFP via Getty Images_afghanistanwomen Wakil Kohsar/AFP via Getty Images

    Gender Apartheid Is a Crime Against Humanity

    Gordon Brown urges global policymakers to address the Afghan regime’s egregious violations of women and girls' rights.
  6. Matt Gush/Getty Images

    The US Economy’s Trust Deficit

    Michael Spence considers the causes and consequences of Americans’ declining faith in media and government.
  7. halland9_FREDRIK VARFJELLNTBAFP via Getty Images_norwaynaturalgas Fredrik Varfjell/NTB/AFP via Getty Images

    Norway Is a Ukraine War Profiteer

    Håvard Halland & Knut Anton Mork

    The Norwegian finance ministry recently revealed just how much the country has benefited from Russia's invasion of Ukraine, estimating its windfall natural-gas revenues for 2022-23 to be around $111 billion. Yet rather than transferring these gains to those on the front line, the government is hoarding them.

    argue that the country should give its windfall gains from gas exports to those on the front lines.
  8. gahnberg1_NurPhotoGettyImages_china_mobile_changing_piles

    Navigating the Risks of Digital Public Infrastructure

    Carl Gahnberg calls for guardrails and policy guidelines to prevent governments from abusing the policy paradigm.
  9. gill10_Nhac NguyenGettyImages_vietnam_street_vendor Nhac Nguyen/Getty Images

    Services Are the New Road to Development

    Indermit Gill & Aaditya Mattoo explain why developing countries need a new paradigm to replace the old manufacturing-led model.

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