New Lines Institute

Last updated
New Lines Institute for Strategy and Policy
AbbreviationNew Lines Institute
Formation2019;6 years ago (2019)
FounderDr Ahmed Alwani
Type Foreign policy think tank
87-4112195
Headquarters1660 L Street NW, Suite 450
Location
Publication
New Lines Magazine
Website newlinesinstitute.org

The New Lines Institute for Strategy and Policy, known as New Lines Institute for short, is an American non-partisan think tank focused on international affairs. [1] It was founded in 2019 by Dr Ahmed Alwani, and was named one of the "best new think tanks" in the University of Pennsylvania's annual ranking of global think tanks in 2020. [2]

Contents

The New Lines Institute gained notoriety in March 2021 following extensive media coverage of a report on the treatment of the Uyghur population in China. [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] The report was the first of its kind on the topic, and was identified by the Uyghur Tribunal as one of the main sources of evidence on which it had based its final judgment in December 2021. [9]

New Lines institute publishes New Lines Magazine , a global affairs magazine edited by Syrian-born American author and journalist Hassan Hassan. [10]

History

The New Lines Institute for Strategy and Policy was founded in 2019 by Iraqi-American entrepreneur Dr Ahmed Alwani as a non-partisan think tank based in Washington D.C. [1] [10]

The institute specializes in international affairs. It describes its purpose as to "shape U.S. foreign policy based on a deep understanding of regional geopolitics and the value systems of those regions." [11]

In October 2020, New Lines Institute launched New Lines Magazine, a global affairs magazine that aims to look at foreign affairs stories from a local perspective. [10] [12]

Research

New Lines Institute's research work focuses on "issues at the intersection of U.S. foreign policy and global geopolitics." [1]

Genocide of the Uyghurs

In March 2021, New Lines Institute's research on the treatment of the Uyghurs in Xinjiang province [13] was the first to establish the legal case for labelling China's actions as genocide. [3]  Vox senior reporter Sigal Samuel described this work as the culmination of three years of reporting on the Uyghurs. [3]

The research received considerable media coverage at the time, [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] and two of the report's authors were invited to give evidence at the Uyghur Tribunal in September 2021. [9] The Tribunal itself credited New Lines' report as one of the main sources of evidence in its final judgment in December 2021. [9]

The trade of captagon in Syria

In April 2022, New Lines Institute exposed how the Syrian economy was reliant on the trade of illegal captagon, which was being exploited by Syrian actors aligned with the Assad regime. [14] The research was eventually picked up by mainstream media, [15] [16] before being used as a key piece of evidence to inform the Illicit Captagon Trafficking Suppression Act 2023 in the U.S. [17] It has been credited by Rep. French Hill, who sponsored the Act, for bringing President Bashar Al-Assad's trade of captagon in Syria to public attention. [18]

New Lines Magazine

New Lines Magazine is an international affairs magazine published by the New Lines Institute. Founded and edited by Syrian-born American author and journalist Hassan Hassan, the magazine launched in 2020. [10] It describes itself as "a local magazine for the world". [12]

Recognition & awards

In 2020, the institute was named one of the "best new think tanks" of 2020 in the University of Pennsylvania's annual ranking of think tanks, the Global Go To Think Tank Index. [2]

New Lines Magazine won two awards in 2023 for its investigation of a massacre in the Syrian district of Tadamon. It won an award in the 'Popular features' category at the One World Media Awards [19] and the Chair's Award at The Drum's Online Media Awards. [20]

Political stance

The On Think Tanks trade body describes New Lines Institute as a "nonpartisan think tank in Washington D.C." [1]

Funding

New Lines Institute says it receives funding from the Washington Institute for Education and Research, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation registered in the District of Columbia for charitable and educational purposes. [21] [22]

The institute says it accepts research grants and charitable donations from US individuals, registered US legal entities, and the US government, but not from non-US governments or entities. [21]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "On Think Tanks | New Lines Institute for Strategy and Policy". On Think Tanks. Retrieved 6 August 2025.
  2. 1 2 "2020 Global Go To Think Tank Index Report". ScholarlyCommons | University of Pennsylvania. 28 January 2021. Retrieved 6 August 2025.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Samuel, Sigal (10 March 2021). "China's genocide against the Uyghurs, in 4 disturbing charts". Vox . Retrieved 6 August 2025.
  4. 1 2 Westcott, Ben, and Wright, Rebecca (9 March 2021). "First independent report into Xinjiang genocide allegations claims evidence of Beijing's 'intent to destroy' Uyghur people". CNN . Retrieved 6 August 2025.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  5. 1 2 Anderson, Becky (9 March 2021). "Report: China responsible for 'ongoing genocide' of Uyghurs | CNN". YouTube . Retrieved 6 August 2025.
  6. 1 2 Falconer, Rebecca (9 March 2021). "Report: "Clear evidence" China is committing genocide against Uyghurs". Axios . Retrieved 6 August 2025.
  7. 1 2 Davidson, Helen (10 March 2021). "China breaching every article in genocide convention, says legal report on Uighurs". The Guardian . Retrieved 6 August 2025.
  8. 1 2 Editorial Board (14 March 2021). "Opinion: U.S. sanctions for the Uyghur genocide are hurting China. But they aren't enough". Washington Post . Retrieved 6 August 2025.
  9. 1 2 3 "Uyghur Tribunal Judgment 2021" (PDF). Uyghur Tribunal . 9 December 2021. Retrieved 6 August 2025.
  10. 1 2 3 4 Tameez, Hanaa (4 January 2023). "How New Lines Magazine built a home for long-form international reporting". Nieman Journalism Lab (Harvard University) . Retrieved 6 August 2025.
  11. ↑ "About". New Lines Institute. Retrieved 6 August 2025.
  12. 1 2 "Introducing New Lines". New Lines Magazine. Retrieved 6 August 2025.
  13. ↑ "The Uyghur Genocide: An Examination of China's Breaches of the 1948 Genocide Convention". New Lines Institute. 9 March 2021. Retrieved 6 August 2025.
  14. ↑ Rose, Caroline, and Söderholm, Alexander (5 April 2022). "The Captagon Threat: A Profile of Illicit Trade, Consumption, and Regional Realities". New Lines Institute. Retrieved 6 August 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  15. ↑ Alkhaldi, Celine (11 April 2023). "A little-known drug brought billions to Syria's coffers. Now it's a bargaining chip". CNN . Retrieved 6 August 2025.
  16. ↑ "What is Captagon, the addictive drug mass-produced in al-Assad's Syria?". Al Jazeera . 9 May 2023. Retrieved 6 August 2025.
  17. ↑ "Markup of Various Measures Before the Committee on Foreign Affairs Representatives 118th Congress, 1st Session". U.S. Congress . 7 November 2023. Retrieved 6 August 2025.
  18. ↑ "Rep. Hill Remarks on H.R. 6265 | Congressman French Hill". YouTube. 19 September 2022. Retrieved 6 August 2025.
  19. ↑ "2023 Winners - One World Media". One World Media. 21 June 2023. Retrieved 6 August 2025.
  20. ↑ Sutcliffe, Chris (21 June 2023). "Celebrating New Lines Magazine's award-winning investigation, and the power of investigative journalism". The Drum Awards. Retrieved 6 August 2025.
  21. 1 2 "Funding". New Lines Institute. Retrieved 6 August 2025.
  22. ↑ "Home - WIER | Washington Institute for Education and Research". WIER | Washington Institute for Education and Research. Retrieved 6 August 2025.
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