Research & Commentary Results

President Donald Trump’s joint address to Congress on March 4 doubled down on his disruptive and contentious domestic policy agenda. Foreign policy, including Trump’s approach to the Middle East, was mostly an afterthought. Though he said little about Middle East policy in his speech, Trump’s team is taking an irregular approach on the twin issues of Israel-Arab ties and Iran that may not produce the stability and prosperity it seeks.

In a historic call last week, Abdullah Öcalan, the jailed Kurdish militant leader, asked fighters with his Kurdistan Workers’ party (PKK) to lay down their arms. The announcement is part of recently launched talks between Öcalan and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s nationalist coalition. Ending a 40-year war that left 40,000 people dead is something to be celebrated. But consider why the PKK emerged in the first place and optimism quickly fades. 

Why, then, does Öcalan think it is time for the PKK to lay down its arms?

Ibrahim Dalalsha, founder and director of Horizon Center for Political Studies and Media Outreach, and Shira Efron, research director at the Israel Policy Forum, join host Brian Katulis to discuss policy developments in the devastating war between Israel and Hamas, and how Israelis and Palestinians can work together toward a peaceful resolution of conflict.

معرض "المنمنمات القصوى" (Maximal Miniatures)، وهو مجموعة منسقة معروضة في معرض MEI حتى 23 مايو 2025، يهتم بالطرق التي أعاد بها الفنانون المعاصرون ابتكار فن المنمنمات الفارسية مع طرح أسئلة جديدة في أذهانهم.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has sought to position Turkey as an energy hub, connecting gas producers to its east and south and markets to the west. Turkey’s geographical position and infrastructure give it an advantage. But becoming an energy center also requires Ankara to dust off a long-abandoned foreign policy approach: “zero problems with neighbors” and the West. Amid changing regional dynamics, Ankara sees an opportunity to achieve that and revive its plans to become an energy hub.

تشهد الدول المجاورة لأفغانستان عملية إعادة هيكلة جوهرية لنظامها الأمني. وتواصل الدول الإقليمية الرئيسية، وهي باكستان وأفغانستان وإيران والصين، تعديل خططها الدفاعية وشراكاتها الأمنية لمواجهة التهديدات المتزايدة التي يشكلها الإرهاب المحلي والعابر للحدود. وفي الوقت نفسه، تبحث هذه الدول الأربع عن سبل جديدة لملء الفراغ الذي خلفه انسحاب الجيش الأمريكي من أفغانستان في جنوب آسيا.

Some analysts try to explain Trump’s Middle East rhetoric as an effort to provoke a new type of conversation and to break the mold. But one unconventional source that helps explain Trump’s tactics is pro wrestling, in which the actions are understood to be illusory but still prompt a response from all sides.

The Middle East Institute (MEI) is deeply saddened by the passing of Ambassador (ret.) Frank Wisner, a valued member of our International Advisory Council (IAC), on Feb. 24, 2025.

جنازة نصر الله هي واحدة من أكثر اللحظات أهمية بالنسبة للبنان والمشرق العربي. هل سيشكل استعراض القوة هذا بداية حملة إيران لتخريب النظام الأمريكي الناشئ؟ يعتمد الكثير على ما ستفعله الولايات المتحدة بعد ذلك. يقدم فراس مكساد من معهد الشرق الأوسط (MEI) رؤى وتوصيات.

On a recent trip that I took across Syria, one thing was palpably clear: Syrians were universally elated to be free from the iron grip of Bashar al-Assad’s regime. For now, that euphoria is inspiring and sustaining a semblance of hope and national unity that had all but vanished throughout the past 13 years of brutal civil conflict.

With the signing of a presidential memorandum on Feb. 4, the administration of Donald Trump has returned to a “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran, but circumstances have changed drastically since the policy of intensified sanctions was originally crafted during his first term. Regional geopolitics will present the White House with a new set of variables, while changes in the petroleum markets will affect how the administration approaches sanctions on oil exports.

This massive distraction of the Trump administration’s Gaza non-plan and the even more serious move of dismantling America’s ability to shape and influence events abroad together carry three risks for the Middle East.

ركز نائب الرئيس في خطابه في قمة باريس للذكاء الاصطناعي على السرعة وتحرير القوانين ومساعي أمريكا للسيادة التكنولوجية العالمية.

ينضم الشاعر والمنتج والمؤلف الشهير كوامي ألكسندر، الذي تصدرت مؤلفاته قائمة أكثر الكتب مبيعًافي نيويورك تايمز،إلى المضيفة الضيفة لين سنيج لمناقشة قوة سرد القصص والتقاطع بين الفن والتغيير الاجتماعي. يسترجع ألكسندر تجربته الأخيرة في التحدث في معرض الرياض الدولي للكتاب 2024 في المملكة العربية السعودية، ويشاركنا أفكاره حول المشهد الأدبي في المملكة، والرغبة المتزايدة في قراءة القصص العالمية، وكيف يمكن للكتب والشعر أن يكونا جسورًا بين الثقافات.