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Monday Briefing | Lebanon: The twilight of an impotent government
  • Commentary
  • Monday Briefing | Lebanon: The twilight of an impotent government

    This week’s briefing on recent news and upcoming events in the region featuring Paul Salem, Hafsa Halawa, Marvin G. Weinbaum, Anne-Linda Amira Augustin, and Gerald Feierstein.

    August 3, 2020

    Are Turkey and Russia bracing for conflict in the South Caucasus?
  • Analysis
  • Are Turkey and Russia bracing for conflict in the South Caucasus?

    On July 12, the Armenian and the Azerbaijani armed forces started a border skirmish. Fighting went on for several days, leaving at least 16 dead in its wake. Remarkably enough, the two sides are facing off outside the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh, the usual flashpoint. This time around the flare-up took place well to the north, where Armenia’s Tavush region meets Azerbaijan’s Tovuz district. It is little wonder then that the crisis caught Turkey’s attention.

    Monday Briefing: Red lines and rising tensions in Libya
  • Commentary
  • Monday Briefing: Red lines and rising tensions in Libya

    In this week’s Monday Briefing, MEI experts Mirette F. Mabrouk, Robert S. Ford, Nazila Fathi, and Marvin G. Weinbaum provide analysis on recent and upcoming events including rising tensions in Libya, economic turmoil and anti-regime protests in Iran, and the Jordanian high court’s decision to dissolve the Muslim Brotherhood.

    The eastern Mediterranean heats up as conflicts over energy move onshore
    Photo by Mustafa Kamaci/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
  • Analysis
  • The eastern Mediterranean heats up as conflicts over energy move onshore

    Not too long ago, the Mediterranean was described as “NATO’s lake” — a sleepy backwater in a world dominated by conflict. Today, Israel’s quarrels with Lebanon, Palestine, and Syria are viewed — and minimized — as legacy conflicts, overshadowed by a new and unstable strategic environment centered upon competing visions of offshore energy and security in the eastern Mediterranean.

    July 14, 2020

    أردوغان و "الحرب الرمزية" على آيا صوفيا
  • Commentary
  • أردوغان و "الحرب الرمزية" على آيا صوفيا

    بقلم  سيرين سيلفين كوركماز

    “في غياب سياسات ملموسة للتعامل مع المشاكل الاقتصادية والسياسية التي تواجهها البلاد، يجد أردوغان الخلاص في الشعبوية”.

    أصدر الرئيس رجب طيب أردوغان مرسوما يوم الجمعة يأمر اسطنبول بتحويل متحف آيا صوفيا التاريخي إلى مسجد. آيا صوفيا الكاتدرائية البيزنطية التي اكتمل بناؤها عام 537 تم تحويلها إلى مسجد من قبل السلطان محمد الثاني بعد الفتح العثماني عام 1453. وفي عام 1934، في عهد الرئيس مصطفى كمال أتاتورك، تم تحويلها إلى متحف بموجب مرسوم حكومي.

    July 13, 2020

    US-Russia rift exacerbates Afghanistan’s crisis of confidence
    Photo by MANNY CENETA/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
  • Commentary
  • US-Russia rift exacerbates Afghanistan’s crisis of confidence

    Multiple signs point to a crisis of confidence in Afghanistan. Ever since the publication of a sensational report alleging that a Russian military intelligence unit secretly offered bounties to the Taliban to kill American soldiers, there has been an intense debate about the possibility of peace in Afghanistan following the U.S. exit.

    July 10, 2020

    A way forward for the United States and Turkey
  • Analysis
  • A way forward for the United States and Turkey

    Turkish-US relations, while fraught with tension, must also align with a mutual interest in stability in the Middle East and preventing the spread of weapons of mass destruction.

    July 8, 2020

    كيف تبدو الأردوغانية حقا؟
  • Commentary
  • كيف تبدو الأردوغانية حقا؟

    “إن قرار المحكمة التركية الصادر في 3 يوليو/تموز القاضي بإدانة عضوين سابقين بمنظمة العفو الدولية/
    الفرع التركي، بتهم الإرهاب هو أحدث مؤشر على أن التعسف ربما يكون السمة البارزة لنظام أردوغان الجديد”

    حاول المراقبون للشأن التركي منذ فترة طويلة العثور على مصطلح يصف بدقة “تركيا الجديدة” تحت فترة حكم الرئيس رجب طيب أردوغان. 

    Iran’s influence in Afghanistan
    Photo by WAKIL KOHSAR/AFP via Getty Images
  • Analysis
  • Iran’s influence in Afghanistan

    Despite strong religious and cultural ties and a long shared border, Iran has a somewhat complicated relationship with Afghanistan. Since the Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan some four decades ago, Iran’s attempts to preserve its interests in conflict-ridden Afghanistan have not received much attention from the outside world, but it remains one of the most important neighboring countries for Tehran’s foreign policy.

    June 23, 2020