Research & Commentary Results

Originally posted June 2011

Originally posted June 2011

If there is a Horizontal Line that runs from the MAP off your body straight through the Land shooting up right through my heart Will this Horizontal Line when asked know how to find Where you end where I begin

— Tori Amos^[1]

In the wake of the recent Nuclear Security Summit in Washington DC, Turkish-Iranian relations once again came under scrutiny. As the US and the EU have intensified their efforts to impose sanctions on Iran through the UN Security Council, Turkey’s role in this issue has come into question. Notwithstanding Turkish temporary membership in the Security Council, the Turkish position will be critical for any effective implementation of sanctions.

*This article originally appeared in the Project Syndicate online on May 23, 2011.

As the Arab Spring enters its fourth month, it faces challenges but also presents opportunities. Despite setbacks in Libya, Yemen, and Syria, the democratic wave has already begun to change the Middle East’s political landscape.

The Middle East Institute's Center for Turkish Studies is proud to host Mr.Taha Ozhan, Director General of the Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research (SETA Ankara), for a discussion on Turkey's upcoming elections on June 12.

*A longer version of this article was first published in Volume 11 of Current Trends in Islamist Ideology.

The popular uprisings against authoritarian regimes in Tunisia, Yemen, Jordan and Egypt herald the beginning of a new political era in the Middle East. At the center of this new political order is a generation of young Arabs, educated, highly marginalized, and numerous. The members of the so-called Arab “youth bulge” are demanding neither the unification of the Arab world as espoused by the pan-Arabists of the 1960s, nor an Islamic state of the 1980s, but rather a dignified life, social justice, and freedom.

Soil and groundwater salinity has emerged as the most significant agricultural problem facing the Sultanate of Oman. Scant rainfall, coupled with high temperature, is always conducive to the accumulation of salts in soils. These conditions are predominant in Oman. Secondary soil salinity has increased at a very rapid rate due to the persistent use of saline groundwater, which, over time, has become more concentrated due to increased pumping by farmers in the Batinah region – the country’s most important agricultural area.

Oman is an arid country where the pressure on freshwater reserves is as severe as that of any other arid or semi-arid country in the world. Increasing water availability by treating and reusing wastewater, particularly for irrigation, is a government policy in Oman. Identification of alternative sources of water and development of appropriate technology to harness them in order to reduce pressure on freshwater reserves and production capacity in Oman is a priority.

This Commentary first appeared in the American Interest's Middle East Blog on January 13, 2011.

This Commentary first appeared as an op-ed in Foreign Policy's Middle East Channel on December 21, 2010