This Commentary first appeared as an op-ed on ForeignPolicy.com’s Middle East Channel, April 30, 2010.
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.
The Middle East Institute is proud to host Carol Prunhuber, Sharif Behruz and Idris Ahmedi and for a lecture about the political, social and human rights status of Iran's Kurds, one of the country's largest ethnic groups. Iran's Kurdish population has long pushed for autonomy, and in 1979 Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini declared a "holy war" against the Kurds in Iran seeking self-rule. Since then the relationship between Iran's Kurds and the Islamic Republic has been characterized by frequent military crackdowns.
The Middle East Institute is proud to host Kandahar-based writers and researchers Alex Strick van Linschoten and Felix Kuehn for a discussion about the state of the Taliban in Afghanistan and the current situation in Kandahar. Strick van Linschoten and Kuehn translated and edited My Life with the Taliban, an account of the inner workings of the organization from the perspective of former Taliban minister and ambassador to Pakistan, Mullah Abdul Salam Zaeef, who was arrested following the overthrow of the Taliban and spent four years in Guantanamo Bay.
The Middle East Institute is proud to host MEI scholar Andrea Rugh for a discussion about Middle Eastern culture and her most recent book, Simple Gestures: A Cultural Journey Into the Middle East. Since US involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan, the importance of culture has become all too clear. Yet, although most scholars agree on its importance, few address culture in ways that provide better understanding to audiences who might benefit, such as policy makers, the media and the American public.
The Middle East Institute is proud to host Iranian scholars Ali Alfoneh and Alex Vatanka for a discussion about the ongoing unrest in Iran and the implications for the stability and future of the Islamic Republic. With the Green Movement having proved its staying power, some scholars and analysts are starting to predict the beginning of the end for the regime of Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, while others dismiss the idea as wishful thinking and argue that the Islamic Republic is here for the long-term.
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.
Originally posted December 2009
In his book From My Memories, Khaled Sediq recounts the following incident from the mid-1960s regarding a visit by him and some other members of his family to Mohammad Zahir, King of Afghanistan from 1933 to 1973:
Finally, after uttering some conventional statements, such as, Afghanistan belongs to you and you belong to Afghanistan, he also added: ‘Even though unpleasant events have happened, yet, I have forgotten about them, you, too, try to forget.’[1]
The Middle East Institute is proud to host Dr. Mark Katz, professor at George Mason University, for a discussion of current relations between Iran and Russia. The Obama Administration has attempted to improve US relations both with both countries. However, neither Tehran nor Moscow has responded favorably toward the new administration's initiatives. While Tehran and Moscow continue to distrust Washington, they also distrust each other.
When social order is politically disturbed in a society like Afghanistan, inter- and intra-group dynamics set forces in motion that cannot be harnessed once unleashed. While group dynamics dictate, for instance, that majorities behave as an integrative and cohesive force as their sense of loyalty lies in the wellbeing of the collective whole, a minority’s interests may on occasion diverge in the pursuit of greener pastures across the fence, allowing themselves to be used as vulnerable pawns by others.
Originally posted December 2009
This is the sixth and final volume in the 1979-2009 special series of MEI Viewpoints.
This Commentary first appeared as an op-ed in the McClatchy-Tribune on October 14, 2009.
This Commentary was originally published as an op-ed in The Washington Times on October 11, 2009.
This Commentary first appeared as an op-ed in ForeignPolicy.com, September 18, 2009
Iran’s political system has not yet developed stable party structures. Most parties are still loose coalitions of individuals and interest groups that combine their own interpretation of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini’s legacy with their personal interests. As party affiliation remains relatively weak, members of one party often have run as candidates for another party or are on several electoral lists. Similarly, unregistered parties or electoral platforms also field candidates for both presidential and parliamentary elections on an ad hoc basis.