Research & Commentary Results

Turkey’s municipal elections are in fact not local but a national referendum on the continued rule of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. With his complete domination of every aspect of Turkey’s politics and media, as well as military, judicial, and educational institutions, it would be foolish to underestimate his ability to emerge a winner on March 31.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has wrapped up another round of checkbook diplomacy, showering up to $100 billion on Pakistan, India, and China during his visit to the three countries in late February. The trip was important for another reason as well: It showcased a new Saudi strategy of playing a more assertive foreign-policy role far beyond the Middle East.

In this week’s Monday Briefing, MEI experts Randa Slim, Robert S. Ford, Marvin G. Weinbaum, James P. Farwell, Emadeddin Badi, Guney Yildiz, and Jean-François Seznec provide analysis on recent and upcoming events including Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s visit to Baghdad, reconstruction efforts in Syria, the crackdown on militant Islamists in Pakistan, Iran’s cyber attack capabilities, upcoming elections in Libya, Turkish-Egyptian tensions, and Qatar’s $12B loan from bond markets.

Disagreements between Baghdad and the Kurdistan Regional Government over oil policy have been one of Iraq’s most stubborn problems. Resolving this issue would allow for better development of natural resources, generate more revenue that’s badly needed for reconstruction, and might potentially deflate competing claims to disputed territories.

In this week’s Monday Briefing, contributors Mirette F. Mabrouk, Gerald Feierstein, Marvin G. Weinbaum, Przemysław Osiewicz, Grace Wermenbol, and W. Robert Pearson provide analysis on recent and upcoming events including the EU-Arab League summit, the progress in US-Taliban talks, challenges to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s power, consequences of the Kashmir attack, and Turkey’s next steps in Syria.

In this week’s briefing, MEI experts Gerald Feierstein, Charles Lister, Marvin G. Weinbaum, and W. Robert Pearson provide analysis on Saudi-Pakistan relations, Turkish politics in the lead-up to March municipal elections, and the question of what to do with ISIS prisoners after the group’s territorial collapse.

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.

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.

Turkey’s “Middle Corridor” (MC) and China’s “Belt Road initiative” (BRI) are two grand schemes that envisage trans-continental integration. These two ambitious initiatives have been developed independently of one another. However, are they compatible?

The launch of King Salman Energy Park, a new megaproject intended to reinforce Saudi Arabia’s position as a global energy hub, reflects a more cautious approach to economic development in the kingdom and foreshadows a less ambitious economic agenda in 2019.

As the conflict in Syria concludes, the next phase will center on rebuilding and will require hundreds of billions of dollars in investment. For now though, sanctions imposed by the U.S., U.K., and EU block money from flowing in.

The reopening of the Naseeb-Jaber border crossing offers an opportunity to address the pressing political, economic, and humanitarian challenges confronting Jordan.

In this week’s Monday Briefing, MEI experts discuss recent and upcoming events including the Iraq-Kurdistan pipeline deal, how the YPG partnership affects US-Turkey ties, and the new Russia-Turkey gas pipeline.

The American decision to reimpose sanctions may result in a new wave of tensions between the U.S. and EU as European companies have benefited significantly from growing trade with Iran.

Now that armed conflict has ended in most provinces, the war is no longer an excuse for Syria’s growing wealth divide, and discontent is on the rise in government-controlled areas.