Columnist

Joseph Braude

Middle East specialist Joseph Braude is the author of Broadcasting Change: Arabic Media as a Catalyst for Liberalism (Rowman & Littlefield). He is Advisor to the Al-Mesbar Center for Research and Studies and tweets@josephbraude.

Latest Articles

  • By Joseph Braude

    Washington Signals Openness to Dialogue, but Tehran Rebuffs 

    After May’s spike in tensions between Tehran and Washington, American officials have begun to sound conciliatory notes — but Iran has so far rebuffed attempts to negotiate points of contention with the U.S., leaving President Trump’s supporters and opponents divided as to what should come next....

  • By Joseph Braude

    Tension in the Gulf Appears to Peak, with Slight Indications of a Thaw

    The latest escalation in tensions between Iran and Washington is not yet over but appears to be approaching its denouement. While Iranian and American officials continue to trade stiffly-worded warnings, American officials say that the Iranian threat to U.S. troops has receded, while President ...

  • By Joseph Braude

    Democrats, Republicans at Odds Over Gulf Tensions

    Amid a rise in U.S.-Iranian military strains, Republicans have mostly rallied around Trump while progressives accuse him of riding a reckless path to war....

  • By Joseph Braude

    Iran Arouses Fear in the Arab Gulf

    In recent days, the U.S. military has dispatched a carrier group to the Gulf while drafting contingency plans for the deployment of up to 120,000 troops to the Middle East in the event of Iranian aggression. Some in Washington view these measures as a prudent exercise in pre-emptive planning,...

  • By Joseph Braude

    Under US Pressure, Iran Threatens to Reduce Commitments to JCPOA

    President Rouhani reportedly plans to announce that Iran is reducing its commitments under the JCPOA, in response to the U.S. withdrawal last year. Some Iranian officials stressed that Iran was not leaving the agreement, even as the US ratcheted up pressure on Tehran’s nuclear program. The AN...

  • By Joseph Braude

    Washington Debates Renewed Push to Designate Muslim Brotherhood a Terrorist Group

    After over a year of consideration, the Trump administration appears poised to designate the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist group. Though there is widespread political support for such a move, legal and policy analysts harbor doubts as to its prospects....

  • By Joseph Braude

    Why Trump Rejects Detente With Iran

    While the Obama administration pursued accommodation with Iran in the belief that its government was rational and deterrable, the Trump administration has opted for a path of containment predicated on a darker view of the Iranian leadership. Of the two schools of thought underlying these...

  • By Joseph Braude

    Fault Lines Emerge Within the U.S. Democratic Party

    As the contest for Democratic presidential nominee gains steam, several progressive voices within the party have floated aggressive proposals for tax increases, healthcare expansions, and realigning U.S. foreign policy. The initiatives have drawn broad and sometimes sharp criticism from more...

  • By Joseph Braude

    The Fight Against Extremism on Arab Airwaves

    The past decade has seen the proliferation of largely extremist and sectarian 24-hour religious television channels throughout the Middle East and North Africa. Numbering in the hundreds, they reach a collective viewership estimated in the tens of millions and play an outsize role in stoking vi...

  • By Joseph Braude

    Democrats and the Middle East

    Although the first Democratic primary debate is still two months away and the Iowa caucus nearly a year off, the main outlines of the Democratic party’s field are slowly coming into view. These periods in American politics — after the dust settles from the last election, but before primaries ar...

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Opinion

Hezbollah’s Lebanese Allies Can Be Contained
By Hanin Ghaddar
Iranian Oil Smuggling and Naval Piracy Fail to Blunt Sanctions
By Joseph Braude
US-Iran Tensions: From Maximum Pressure to Maximum Leverage?
By Dennis Ross
Iran Goads West into Tightening Containment
By Joseph Braude
Iran Fumes As Washington Launches Counteroffensive
By Joseph Braude
The US-Russia-Israel Summit: Can Russia Push Iran Out of Syria?
By Hanin Ghaddar