Attiya Ahmad

In C.S. Lewis’ fantasy land of Narnia, the white witch put a spell on her realm to ensure that there would be perpetual winter and that Christmas would never come. For 34 years American-Iranian relations have been similar: a long, hard freeze unbroken by any cracks or signs of thaw.

Since the West’s economic crisis in 2008, Turkey has been less keen to join the EU, and many Turks have begun to discuss the advantages of being closer to Asia, including China, the pivotal Asian force. China has been Turkey’s third-largest trading partner for ten years now, and this standing even excludes energy imports such as oil and natural gas. While both sides are intent on deepening relations in all aspects, some obstacles must be overcome in the near future, such as the trade deficit between the two countries, which leaves Turkey indebted to the powerhouse that is China to the tune of more than $20 billion annually.

Turkey’s foreign policy under the current Justice and Development Party (AKP) government continues to attract widespread attention by scholars and policy circles alike. Over the past decade, the way Turkey has formulated and implemented its policies toward the rest of the world has transformed from a traditionally status quo-ist and reactive stance that emphasizes maintaining close relations with the West to a more assertive, multidimensional, and proactive approach with a broader geographical scope. While the process of accession to the European Union (EU) remains the main axis of its foreign policy, Turkey is now showing greater interest in regions hitherto neglected, including Asia, and this interest is materializing in the form of greater dialogue between countries, expanding economic and commercial relations, and frequent exchanges between peoples.

Three months after the ousting of President Mohamed Morsi, Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood remains in shock. In two and a half years, the group went full circle, from an outlawed organization to one that won a plurality in parliamentary elections and saw its candidate win the presidential election, to that president’s ouster a year later and the subsequent court verdict ordering the group’s shutdown. During this short journey, the Brotherhood shifted alliances.

The Middle East Institute, The Foundation for Middle East Peace, Churches for Middle East Peace, and Americans for Peace Now Present Breaking the Silence, A book discussion with Avner Gvaryahu Author of Our Harsh Logic: Israeli Soldiers’ Testimonies from the Occupied Territories, 2000-2010  Moderated byAmb.

The Middle East Institute is proud to host author and Brookings senior fellow Stephen P. Cohen for a reading and discussion of his book, Shooting for a Century: The India-Pakistan Conundrum (Brookings Institution Press, 2013). In his latest book, Dr. Cohen explores one of the most intractable conflicts in modern history and examines the parallels with the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict, observing how nuclear weapons, minority and victim psychology, and outside powers come into play in both regions. Widely regarded as one of America’s foremost experts on South Asian affairs, Dr.

The members of the Friends of Yemen, comprising over 30 governments and several international institutions, including the United Nations, World Bank, Arab League, and European Union, gathered for their sixth meeting September 25 in New York on the margins of the UN General Assembly. Chaired by the governments of Yemen, Saudi Arabia, and the United Kingdom, participants praised Yemen’s efforts to implement a political transition through inclusive and comprehensive dialogue and negotiation—a stark contrast to the course of events in better-known Syria and Egypt.

Last week, MEI scholars Allen Keiswetter, a retired Foreign Service officer, David Newton, former ambassador to Yemen, and Roby Barrett, author of Yemen: A Different Political Paradigm in Context (2011), gathered for an informal discussion about Yemen’s National Dialogue Conference (NDC), which began in March.

The openly difficult relationship between Saudi Arabia and Muslim Brotherhood chapters across the region has become a salient feature of Middle East politics since the advent of the “Arab Spring.” This mutual mistrust has increased in the wake of the Kingdom’s recent support for the military takeover in Cairo and the generals’ subsequent repression of the Brotherhood there. But how is the Islamist organization affected by this dynamic in Syria, where the Muslim Brothers and the Saudis both battle against Bashar al-Assad?

The Middle East Institute is proud to host author and Brookings senior fellow Stephen P. Cohen for a reading and discussion of his book, Shooting for a Century: The India-Pakistan Conundrum (Brookings Institution Press, 2013). In his latest book, Dr. Cohen explores one of the most intractable conflicts in modern history and examines the parallels with the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict, observing how nuclear weapons, minority and victim psychology, and outside powers come into play in both regions. Widely regarded as one of America’s foremost experts on South Asian affairs, Dr.

This article originally appeared in Foreign Policy.

The Middle East Institute is pleased to welcome Vanda Felbab-Brown, senior fellow with the Center for 21st Century Security and Intelligence in the Foreign Policy program at Brookings, independent consultant Polly Nayak, Amb. Robin Raphel, U.S. Coordinator for Non-Military Assistance to Pakistan, and Alex Thier, assistant to the Administrator for Policy, Planning, and Learning at USAID, for a panel discussion examining how the US can contribute to the stability of post-2014 Afghanistan and Pakistan through economic and development assistance.

History weighs heavily on any political movement, and the Muslim Brotherhood in Syria is no different. Over eight decades, the group has adapted to survive. This malleability has kept the Brotherhood, or Ikhwan, alive as an independent organization, but historical experiences have changed it in profound ways and are helping to marginalize it during the current crisis.