Responding to Natural Disasters in the MENA Region and Asia: Rising to the Challenge?
A “disaster” refers to a sudden, calamitous event that disrupts the functioning of a community or an entire society. Natural disasters range from earthquakes, tsunamis, and landslides to droughts, floods, and storm surges. Some disasters result from a complex combination of natural and man-made causes, and are typically characterized by extensive violence and mass displacement.
Climate Change, Sea Level Rise, and Sustainable Urban Adaptation in Arab Coastal Cities
This article highlights how the lesser-known issue of sea level rise makes Arab states increasingly vulnerable to climate change. Using the city of Doha as a case study to highlight how sea level rise represents a critical threat to many Arab coastal cities and a national security challenge to Gulf Arab nations, this article underscores the need for greater anticipation in the region’s urban planning of the risks posed by climate change and sea level rise.
In this week’s Monday Briefing, MEI experts Ahmad Majidyar, Mirette F. Mabrouk, and Hassan Mneimneh provide analysis on recent and upcoming events including the 40th anniversary of Iran’s Islamic Revolution, a proposal for constitutional amendments in Egypt, and Iraqi PM Abdul-Mahdi’s first 100 days in office.
Challenges abound as the Islamic Republic turns 40
This February marks the 40th anniversary of Iran’s 1979 revolution and the birth of the Islamic Republic, but for those in power in Tehran, celebrating the victories of the past is easier than dealing with the problems of the present. Challenges abound on all sides.
Iran and the Gulf states 40 years after the 1979 revolution
Geopolitically, the Iranian Revolution did more to transform the Middle East than any other event in the second half of the 20th century. It aimed to restructure not only Iran’s society and political system, but also others across the Islamic world. Refusing to align with either the United States or the Soviet Union in the Cold War, the newly established Islamic Republic sought to create a new geopolitical order in the Persian Gulf and greater Middle East based on a mantra of “neither East nor West.”
Why Assad’s alliance with Iran and Hezbollah will endure
This article was published by IranSource on February 6, 2019.
The Tehran-Damascus-Hezbollah trilateral partnership has been decades in the making. It pre-dates the Syrian civil war, has strengthened as a result of the war and will likely endure in the post-war years.
As Iraqi Kurds gain more autonomy than ever in modern history, they seem to be losing their cultural heritage. This is exemplified best by the disappearing tradition of Kurdish carpet weaving.
Renouncing al-Qaeda and the prospects for engagement
Hayat Tahrir al-Sham’s (HTS) recent seizure of the northern Syrian province of Idlib once again brings to the fore the debate over HTS’ renunciation of al-Qaeda (AQ). But can a group renounce AQ? If so, how should Western countries react, if at all?
MEI’s Robert Ford and Charles Lister join host Alistair Taylor to discuss the announced US withdrawal from Syria, the rush to fill the power vacuum that has ensued in its wake, and what the policy means for Syrians and the fight against ISIS.
Growing ties with Russia could strain Saudi-US relations
With more of their geopolitical goals aligning, ties between Riyadh and Moscow are growing closer, and the kingdom plans to invest billions of additional dollars in Russian petroleum and other projects.
The Islamic State in India: Upgrading Capabilities?
The Islamic State (IS) is generally considered to be a very modest threat to Indian national security when compared to Kashmiri separatists, Naxalites, and the North East insurgencies. Yet, paradoxically, of all such violent non-state actors it has been IS that has garnered the most national attention in recent years. In December 2018 and January 2019, it was reported that Indian authorities had disrupted terrorist plots by two IS-inspired groups. This article discusses these incidents and what they reveal and might portend.
In this week’s Monday Briefing, MEI experts Randa Slim, Paul Salem, Ahmad Majidyar, and Marvin G. Weinbaum provide analysis on recent and upcoming events including President Trump’s comment about keeping U.S. troops in Iraq “to be able to watch Iran,” Pope Francis’s trip to the UAE, the EU’s maneuvers to defy U.S. sanctions on Iran, and intra-Afghan talks in Moscow.
Iraq: Stuck in the middle again
Randa Slim Senior Fellow, Director of Conflict Resolution and Track II Dialogues program
The Global and Regional Geopolitics of Civil War in the Middle East
Power dynamics between the major global and regional powers have indirectly influenced the civil wars currently plaguing the Middle East. The distribution of power caused by end of the Cold War facilitated the creation of two opposing camps that later competed for regional primacy in the civil wars of Iraq, Syria, and Yemen.
There is no doubt that minors are fighting in the ranks of the YPG, a Syrian Kurdish militia that controls most of the country’s northeast, but just how widespread is this phenomenon?
President Donald Trump’s announcement that he would withdraw U.S. troops from Syria came as a surprise to all parties involved, sparking particular concern among America’s Syrian Kurdish allies. This sudden and unexpected decision has been widely criticized not only by allies but also those inside the White House, with many analysts arguing that the U.S. withdrawal will expose the Syrian Kurds to an attack by Turkey. This move may push the YPG to seek the protection of Moscow following the US’s withdrawal in order to secure stability and dialogue with the government in Damascus.
