How should the US balance democratic principles with the need to confront groups that shift between ballots and bombs?

Calls to ban the Muslim Brotherhood are gaining renewed momentum in Washington, reviving a debate that has long divided policymakers over how democracies should handle sprawling Islamist movements with both political and violent wings.

The Brotherhood, founded in Egypt in 1928, has proven adept at shifting between ballots and bombs. It has won elections, including briefly holding power in Cairo after the Arab Spring, but has also produced violent offshoots and backed militant groups. Hamas, a Palestinian branch, has been designated a US foreign terrorist organization since 1998.

Robert Silverman, a former senior Foreign Service officer and now editor-in-chief of the Jerusalem Strategic Tribune, addresses this challenge in his latest piece, “Effectively Banning the Muslim Brotherhood.” Speaking on the In the National Interest podcast,........

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