This text has been translated by AI and may contain errors.

Afghanistan-Pakistan

Countries

  • Afghanistan
  • Pakistan
    • The Mecca Joint Défense Agreement: A New Geometry of Middle Eastern Power?
  • Analysis

    • The Mecca Joint Défense Agreement: A New Geometry of Middle Eastern Power?

    On August 7, 2026, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan signed the Mecca Joint Défense Agreement, a collective-defense pact widely compared to NATO’s Article 5. This essay argues that the comparison is misleading. Mecca borrows NATO’s language of solidarity without yet possessing NATO’s institutional machinery, and the Houthi offensive against Saudi Arabia in September 2026 provided an early and revealing test of what the agreement actually means in practice. Neither Pakistan nor Turkey automatically entered the fight on Saudi Arabia’s behalf, and Washington, despite an initial reluctance to strike directly, remained indispensable through intelligence support and a major proposed F-35 sale. Drawing on realist alliance theory — Hans Morgenthau, Kenneth Waltz, Stephen Walt, Glenn Snyder, and Steven David — and on the precedent of the Central Treaty Organization (CENTO), the essay contends that the Middle East is not dividing into rival blocs but moving from hierarchy toward a looser, overlapping geometry of hedged partnerships, in which American exclusivity is eroding considerably faster than American primacy.

    The Mecca Alliance Meets the Red Sea – Saudi Arabia’s New Defense Pact Faces Its First Major Test
  • Commentary

    • The Mecca Alliance Meets the Red Sea – Saudi Arabia’s New Defense Pact Faces Its First Major Test

    When Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan agreed to a mutual defense pact in August, it was principally seen as a political commitment. The “Mecca alliance,” as it was dubbed, stipulated that an armed attack on one would be treated as an attack on all three, accompanied by deeper military cooperation.

    The Case for a Middle Course in Afghanistan
  • Commentary

    • The Case for a Middle Course in Afghanistan

    I was a teenage Afghan refugee in Pakistan’s tribal areas when the Twin Towers fell. Almost nobody around us understood the politics of what had happened, but we knew that something had changed for good. Afghanistan, which until then had been our private tragedy and our first exile from Taliban rule, had suddenly become the world’s concern, with the United States leading the response.

    Featured Experts

    The Latest

    Filter by
    1194 Results
    It’s time to reappraise the United States’ Afghanistan policy
    Photo by Haroon Sabawoon/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
  • Analysis

    • It’s time to reappraise the United States’ Afghanistan policy

    In his book Obama’s Wars, Bob Woodward describes a meeting about Afghanistan in the White House. He writes how Gen. David Petraeus said, “I understand the [Afghan] government is a criminal syndicate,” to which then-Vice President Joe Biden asked, “If the [Afghan] government is a criminal syndicate, a year from now, how will troops make a difference?” Mr. Biden’s question remains unanswered.
    Biden, of course, is now the president. I wonder if he remembers his unanswered question from all those years ago. Despite the many years of tragic, seemingly endless war in Afghanistan, Mr. Biden’s question remains relevant today. I’ll take a shot at answering it: No number of troops could make a difference. The root of the problem is Washington’s willingness to partner with thieves and warlords.

    March 8, 2021

    Nasir Shansab

    The role of US special forces in the war in Afghanistan
    Middle East Institute
  • Podcast

    • The role of US special forces in the war in Afghanistan

    Jessica Donati, foreign affairs reporter for the Wall Street Journal, joins host Alistair Taylor to discuss her new book, Eagle Down: The Last Special Forces Fighting the Forever War.

    February 19, 2021

    The Turkey-Pakistan entente: Muslim middle powers align in Eurasia
  • Analysis

    • The Turkey-Pakistan entente: Muslim middle powers align in Eurasia

    In the 1950s, at the onset of the Cold War, Pakistan and Turkey were part of the Central Treaty Organization or CENTO, a pro-Western bloc of Muslim-majority states. Today, the two countries — both with troubled relations with the United States — are Muslim middle powers with a growing entente in a multipolar Eurasia. In recent years, cooperation between Pakistan and Turkey has strengthened not just in the defense, diplomatic, and economic realms, but also in the cultural space, causing geopolitical ripple effects in the Himalayas, the Arabian Peninsula, and the South Caucasus.

    January 29, 2021

    Arif Rafiq

    Monday Briefing: Biden administration sends mixed signals on Afghanistan
    Photo by WAKIL KOHSAR/AFP via Getty Images
  • Commentary

    • Monday Briefing: Biden administration sends mixed signals on Afghanistan

    Contents:

    Biden administration sends mixed signals on Afghanistan

    Marvin G. Weinbaum
    Director, Afghanistan and Pakistan Studies

    Rethinking relations with Pakistan
  • Analysis

    • Rethinking relations with Pakistan

    The incoming Biden administration has a full plate as it seeks to reinvigorate American foreign policy engagements around the world. The need to reimagine future U.S. engagement with South Asia may not be among the highest priorities for policy makers. Yet, this region, home to nearly a quarter of the world’s population, presents perennial challenges as well as new threats that U.S. policy makers cannot afford to ignore.

    Afghan talks resume amid violence and controversy
    Photo by ZAKERIA HASHIMI/AFP via Getty Images​​​​​​​
  • Commentary

    • Afghan talks resume amid violence and controversy

    Peace talks between the Kabul government and the Taliban resumed in Doha on Jan. 5 amid a sharp resurgence in violence and controversy over a video shared on various social media platforms by pro-Taliban elements.

    January 6, 2021

    Vinay Kaura

    Key dates in the MENA region in 2021
    The Dubai Skyline at sunrise on August 24, 2018 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates
  • Analysis

    • Key dates in the MENA region in 2021

    This calendar lists key dates in the MENA region in 2021, broken down by month. It is subject to change and will be updated over the course of the year.

    January 6, 2021

    Load More

    Read the Middle East Journal

    The oldest peer-reviewed publication dedicated to the study of the modern Middle East, MEI’s flagship journal covers politics, society, and culture in the region.

    Read Now