With Pakistan caught up in four wars during the past nine years — the Afghanistan war, the War on Terror, the insurgency in the tribal areas, and the wave of terrorism unleashed by the Tehrik-i-Taliban (TTP) and the Punjabi Taliban in the rest of the country — it has often been said that the country is facing an existential threat. If this was a cliché before, it is no more so after the catastrophic floods. Pakistan had been living dangerously in the past, but the wars and floods threaten to wash away its future.
Introduction to The State of the Arts in the Middle East: Volume V
This edition of MEI Viewpoints features essays that shed light on the relationship between artistic production and changing societal conditions and norms. Clayton Keir discusses “rap” music in Iran – its integration of Western and Persian cultural influences, politics, and popularity. Brigid Maher reflects on the making of Veiled Voices, her award-winning documentary film that profiles three female Muslim religious leaders from Egypt, Lebanon, and Syria.
Introduction to The State of the Arts in the Middle East: Volume VI: Creative Arab Women
Creative Arab Women is the sixth edition of the MEI Viewpoints series on the State of the Arts in the Middle East. The 14 essays in this collection offer a glimpse into the rich and varied cultural output of Arab women in the region and the diaspora. Partly reminiscences and partly calls to action, they are essays of survival and empowerment that add a deeply personal dimension to the subject of the role of Arab women as cultural producers. MEI is grateful to Dr.
The Middle East Institute is proud to host journalist and author Nicholas Blanford. With fears running high of a fresh war between Hezbollah and Israel, Blanford will discuss the prospects of a second encounter between these two enemies. He will examine the military developments undertaken by Hezbollah and Israel since the July 2006 conflict and analyze how the next war might be fought on the ground. Blanford will also explore the political implications of such a conflict on the region.
The Middle East Institute is proud to host Salman Taseer, the Governor of Pakistan's Punjab province. He will examine Pakistan's accomplishments over the past year and its looming challenges.
Children can learn many lessons from playing sports: leadership, self-confidence, and the concept of working toward a common goal are a few such lessons. These are all skills that, when applied in life off the field, can augment the potential for success there as well.
Tradition Trumps Sport: A Female Wrestler Retreats
The 20th century has yielded new and expanding arguments for increasing sports opportunities for women and girls. From Title IX to the Women’s Sports Foundation, the importance of women’s access to sports has received a great deal of attention from academia, the media, and the non-profit circuit. While I agree that women should have access, and that our opportunities lag far behind those of men, I do not agree with the social and political promises of change made by some of these programs.
Lebanon and Syria: The Challenge of an Evolving Relationship
The Middle East Institute is proud to host Andrew Tabler and Mona Yacoubian for a discussion about the current state of Lebanese-Syrian relations. Bitterly strained by the 2005 assassination of Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, Lebanese-Syrian relations started to mend following French mediation leading to the exchange of ambassadors between Beirut and Damascus in 2009. Prime Minister Saad Hariri's visit to Damascus at the end of 2009 marked yet another phase in this evolving relationship.
Transnational Networks and Local Challenges: Iraqis in Cairo
Originally posted March 2010
It is estimated that over four million Iraqi refugees have fled to neighboring countries in the region since the 2003 war began. While migration continued after the war, the peak of this influx was witnessed particularly in and after 2006 due to the acceleration of violence in central and southern Iraq. More particularly, the majority of these refugees fled due to direct threats to their lives and their immediate families.
Iranian Migrants in the Arab Countries of the Persian Gulf
This essay examines migration from the Iranian coastal region of the Persian Gulf to the nearby Arab countries. At the center of this research are questions of cross-border relationships, the construction of transnational spaces in border migration, and strategies for maintaining networks in both the home and host countries.
This Commentary first appeared as an op-ed on BitterLemons-International.org, October 22, 2009
Syria could not be more ecstatic at the row that has recently developed between Turkey and Israel. Turkey, once among Israel's staunchest allies, now sees eye-to-eye with Syria regarding the difficulties in dealing with Israel and Israel's abusive treatment of Palestinians.
