Middle East and North Africa, U.S. Foreign Policy Cyrus Moghadam, Staff Writer Middle East and North Africa, U.S. Foreign Policy Cyrus Moghadam, Staff Writer

The Irreversible Decline of the Islamic Republic’s Guardianship of the Jurist Model of Shia Politics

Clerical rule in Iran faces insurmountable challenges in sustaining its legitimacy and will find itself at a critical juncture with the inevitable death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The United States should acknowledge and act on this development to weaken the Islamic Republic’s model of clerical politics.

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U.S. Foreign Policy, Russia and the Post-Soviet Space Chris Riehl, Former Staff Writer U.S. Foreign Policy, Russia and the Post-Soviet Space Chris Riehl, Former Staff Writer

Russians View Biden’s Presidential Victory As Inconsequential for Bilateral Relations

While most Russians were optimistic in 2016 that Trump’s presidency could improve U.S.-Russian relations, new public opinion data shows that most Russians now believe that neither Trump nor Biden would improve relations with Moscow, and therefore, the 2020 U.S. Presidential Election is irrelevant from a Russian perspective.

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