Skip to main content
Access provided by

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.

Sort by: Show:
  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. reynolds1_Bill PuglianoGettyImages_trump_industrial_policy Bill Pugliano/Getty Images
    0

    Trump’s Industrial Policy Is More Continuity Than Disruption

    Elisabeth Reynolds thinks that rebuilding America’s manufacturing base has become a central pillar of the US economic agenda.
  2. bp oligarchy Photo by JULIA DEMAREE NIKHINSON/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
    3

    Oligarchy in America

    Though Donald Trump attracted more support than ever from working-class voters in the 2024 US presidential election, he has long embraced an agenda that benefits the wealthiest Americans above all. During his second term, however, Trump seems committed not just to serving America’s ultra-rich, but to letting them wield state power themselves.

  3. elerian177_WPA PoolGettyImages_reeves_speech WPA Pool/Getty Images
    2

    Give the UK Growth Agenda a Chance

    Mohamed A. El-Erian sees promise in the current government’s economic-policy plan despite its imperfections.
  4. tharoor199_ Sonu MehtaHindustan Times via Getty Images_shahieidgah Sonu Mehta/Hindustan Times via Getty Images
    1

    Islam on Trial in India

    Shashi Tharoor warns that efforts to replace centuries-old mosques with Hindu temples could trigger communal violence.
  5. reichlin39_da-kukGetty Images_dollarcrypto da-kuk/Getty Images
    2

    Will Crypto Save the Dollar?

    Lucrezia Reichlin asks whether the Trump administration's stablecoin strategy can preserve the greenback's global hegemony.
  6. op_pei3_Hulton-Deutsch CollectionCORBISCorbis via Getty Images_zhouenlai Hulton-Deutsch Collection/Corbis via Getty Images
    0

    The Tragedy of Zhou Enlai

    Minxin Pei

    The reputation of China's longest-serving premier has fared far better than that of the Maoist regime he faithfully served. Zhou's political survival skills enabled him to survive many purges, and even to steer Mao away from potential disasters, but he could not escape the Chairman's cruelty, even at the end of his life.

     reflects on the complicated life and legacy of the renowned diplomat who was Mao Zedong’s dutiful lieutenant.
  7. velasco156_Alex WroblewskiGettyImages_dnc_harris_buttons Alex Wroblewski/Getty Images
    2

    How Liberals Lost America

    Andrés Velasco attributes Donald Trump’s return to power to Democrats’ embrace of both moral neutrality and moral preachiness.
  8. halland10_TERJE PEDERSENNTBAFP via Getty Images_norwayukraineaid Terje Pedersenntb/AFP via Getty Images
    1

    Norway Should Cede Its War Windfall to Ukraine

    Håvard Halland & Knut Anton Mork say that the government's justifications for its war profiteering are disingenuous and short-sighted.
  9. bhide11_Anthony KwanGettyImages_deepseek Anthony Kwan/Getty Images
    2

    Is DeepSeek Really a Threat?

    Amar Bhidé explains what a purported Chinese AI breakthrough does and does not mean for the industry.

Edit Newsletter Preferences

Set up Notification

To receive email updates regarding this {entity_type}, please enter your email below.

If you are not already registered, this will create a PS account for you. You should receive an activation email shortly.