Trump’s Family Business Deals Risk Further Undermining the Credibility of US Middle East Policy
President Trump’s family businesses are once again in the spotlight as a new financial disclosure showed they earned $2 billion in income in 2025 — a dramatic increase on the year before, with much of it coming from Gulf entities, raising emoluments concerns. Mounting perceptions of corruption, combined with unresolved crises in Iran and Israel-Palestine, are eroding trust among key partners in the Middle East. With the 2026 midterms approaching, these entanglements could represent a major political vulnerability and further undermine America’s already-strained standing in the region.
After the US-Israel-Iran war — and the strikes that followed the cease-fire — the Gulf states find themselves dangerously exposed. Host Alistair Taylor is joined by MEI Associate Fellow Gregory Gause to discuss the war’s impact on the Gulf, their partnership with the United States, and whether the turmoil of recent months will push Gulf leaders to reassess their alliances and international engagement.
The Houthis are a political-military faction and Zaydi religious movement founded in northwestern Yemen in the 1980s. A key member of Iran’s Axis of Resistance with links to other militant organizations in the Arabian Peninsula and the Horn of Africa, the group has continued to pose a threat to Western interests on a global scale.
تقدم هذه الوثيقة المعلوماتية لمحة عامة عن كيفية التوصل إلى اتفاقيات أبراهام، والمصالح الأمريكية المعنية، وعواقبها الاقتصادية والاستراتيجية، وآفاق التوسع في المستقبل.
After a decade of post-Arab Spring isolation, Turkey’s leaders have recognized that their ambition to position the country as an agenda-setter on the world stage requires active engagement in all directions. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s consolidation of executive authority has centralized foreign policy decision-making and tied it to his domestic political priorities, transforming the country’s revisionist approach to one shaped primarily by personal and pragmatic interests.
مع دخول نزاع الصحراء الغربية عقده الخامس، لا يزال النزاع الإقليمي دون حل وغير معروف إلى حد كبير. تحلل إنتصار فقير من معهد الشرق الأوسط (MEI) التاريخ المعقد للصحراء الغربية والمطالبات المتنافسة من قبل المغرب والجمهورية العربية الصحراوية الديمقراطية. وتبحث في التطورات الأخيرة، مثل اعتراف الرئيس ترامب بسيادة المغرب على الإقليم وانهيار وقف إطلاق النار الذي دام 30 عامًا، بالإضافة إلى الأسئلة الجوهرية التي لا تزال دون إجابة بعد نصف قرن.
المدونات الصوتية
التركيز على الشرق الأوسط
البودكاست الأسبوعي الرائد لمعهد الشرق الأوسط حول السياسة الخارجية الأمريكية والقضايا السياسية والاجتماعية المعاصرة في الشرق الأوسط.
Could South Korea “Save” America’s Relations with Pakistan?
This piece was originally published by The Diplomat on December 21, 2012
Assertions and opinions in this publication are solely those of the above-mentioned author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Middle East Institute, which expressly does not take positions on Middle East policy.
This piece was originally published by Foreign Policy Blogs on December 20, 2012
Assertions and opinions in this publication are solely those of the above-mentioned author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Middle East Institute, which expressly does not take positions on Middle East policy.
Migration Agreements between Italy and North Africa: Domestic Imperatives versus International Norms
The upheavals which spread across North Africa in 2011 changed the political map of the region. With the downfall of longstanding rulers, the European Union has sought to re-launch a policy dialogue informed by an awareness of human rights issues and to support the process of democratic transition in its Mediterranean neighbors.
The Syrian Opposition Will Benefit from Integrating Its Civilian-Military Chain of Command
Assertions and opinions in this publication are solely those of the above-mentioned author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Middle East Institute, which expressly does not take positions on Middle East policy
Most Asian countries are success stories today. To varying degrees, they have emerged from the colonial experience and/or from destructive wars as far stronger and much more inclusive economically, socially, and politically. I suspect that many Arabs gravitate to Asia partly because they represent both the achievements and the possibilities of modernization.
This article was originally published in the December, 2012 issue of Current History
Assertions and opinions in this publication are solely those of the above-mentioned author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Middle East Institute, which expressly does not take positions on Middle East policy
This article was first published by Reuters on December 12, 2012
Assertions and opinions in this publication are solely those of the above-mentioned author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Middle East Institute, which expressly does not take positions on Middle East policy
Whither Mohammed Morsi and His Muslim Brotherhood?
This article was first published by The Huffington Post on December 10, 2012
Assertions and opinions in this publication are solely those of the above-mentioned author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Middle East Institute, which expressly does not take positions on Middle East policy
Razzouk discusses the notable lack of cultural exports from the Middle East towards Southeast Asia, and the role of the Sana Gallery in promoting art from the region in Singapore.
China and the Middle East: Rising Power and a Region in Turmoil
China and the Middle East: Rising Power and a Region in Turmoil Featuring:Dr. Yitzhak Shichor, Professor of political science and Asian studies, University of Haifa Dr. Dawn Murphy, Princeton-Harvard China and the World Postdoctoral Fellow Moderated by: Sam Chester, Masters candidate in China and the Middle East studies, Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies Tuesday, December 4, 201212:00-1:30pm Middle East InstituteBoardman Room1761 N Street, NWWashington D.C., 20036 This program features three experts on China’s relations with the Middle East.
China and the Middle East: Rising Power and a Region in Turmoil
China and the Middle East: Rising Power and a Region in Turmoil Featuring:Dr. Yitzhak Shichor, Professor of political science and Asian studies, University of Haifa Dr. Dawn Murphy, Princeton-Harvard China and the World Postdoctoral Fellow Moderated by: Sam Chester, Masters candidate in China and the Middle East studies, Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies Tuesday, December 4, 201212:00-1:30pm Middle East InstituteBoardman Room1761 N Street, NWWashington D.C., 20036 This program features three experts on China’s relations with the Middle East.
China and the Middle East: Rising Power and a Region in Turmoil
China and the Middle East: Rising Power and a Region in Turmoil Featuring:Dr. Yitzhak Shichor, Professor of political science and Asian studies, University of Haifa Dr. Dawn Murphy, Princeton-Harvard China and the World Postdoctoral Fellow Moderated by: Sam Chester, Masters candidate in China and the Middle East studies, Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies Tuesday, December 4, 201212:00-1:30pm Middle East InstituteBoardman Room1761 N Street, NWWashington D.C., 20036 This program features three experts on China’s relations with the Middle East.
China and the Middle East: Rising Power and a Region in Turmoil
China and the Middle East: Rising Power and a Region in Turmoil Featuring:Dr. Yitzhak Shichor, Professor of political science and Asian studies, University of Haifa Dr. Dawn Murphy, Princeton-Harvard China and the World Postdoctoral Fellow Moderated by: Sam Chester, Masters candidate in China and the Middle East studies, Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies Tuesday, December 4, 201212:00-1:30pm Middle East InstituteBoardman Room1761 N Street, NWWashington D.C., 20036 This program features three experts on China’s relations with the Middle East.
تُعد المجلة الرئيسية لمعهد الشرق الأوسط أقدم مطبوعة محكّمة مكرّسة لدراسة الشرق الأوسط الحديث، وتغطي المجلة الرئيسية في المعهد السياسة والمجتمع والثقافة في المنطقة.
