Curb Your Enthusiasm: Why the Midterms Might Not Change Much in US Middle East Policy
With less than a week before the midterm elections in the United States, the spotlight is on the economy and cultural divides. US foreign policy remains mostly on the sidelines, but this year’s inconclusive Iran war and its effect on America’s economy have shaped the broader political environment in this electoral cycle.
The Multiple Costs of the US–Iran War – From Hormuz to Europe and South Asia: The Widening Economic and Political Geography of the Conflict
Wars are decided by those who hold military power, but their costs are increasingly borne by those who have little or no voice in the decisions that start them. The US–Iran war shows this imbalance very clearly. Its economic consequences have gone far beyond the battlefield and have disrupted energy markets, trade routes, food supplies, public finances and investment in the Gulf, Europe, Africa and Asia. The most striking feature of the conflict, however, is not only the size of the damage but its very unequal distribution.
In recent weeks, the Iran-backed Houthis have fired missiles and drones deep into Saudi Arabia, striking high-profile targets, including Riyadh’s airport and Aramco’s headquarters. The attacks follow a rapid Houthi offensive in September to seize key parts of Yemen’s Red Sea coast, which Saudi-backed government forces are now trying to roll back. Fatima Abo Alasrar, an affiliated scholar at MEI and non-resident scholar at the Arab Gulf States Institute, joins hosts Alistair Taylor and Matthew Czekaj to unpack the latest phase of the conflict. They discuss what the Houthis want, Riyadh’s calculus and search for allies, and how this campaign ties into Iran’s confrontation with the United States.
Since 1967, Israeli settlements in the West Bank have been a contested feature of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The ultimate disposition of the settlements and ongoing activity related to their growth have repeatedly defied agreement in negotiations over a resolution to the conflict.
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.
The India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) is a proposed multinational infrastructure initiative aimed at upgrading connectivity between the three regions through integrated trade, energy, and digital networks. Announced at the G20 summit in New Delhi in September 2023, IMEC is envisioned partially as a counterweight to China’s international infrastructure project, the Belt and Road Initiative.
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.
MEI Senior Fellow Brian Katulis engages friends, colleagues, and policy experts in casual conversations on the most important happenings in the Middle East.
Religious & Secular Elite Cooperation: Democratization in Turkey & the Middle East
Fri, 11/9/2012 12:30 pm to 2:00 pmThe Middle East Institute’s Center for Turkish Studies and the Institute of Turkish Studies at Georgetown University are proud to present a discussion with Professor Murat Somer of Koc University in Istanbul. Somer will examine how countries with semi-democratic or authoritarian centers, such as Turkey or the Arab Spring polities, must rely on cooperation between religious and secular actors to achieve greater democratization.
Religious & Secular Elite Cooperation: Democratization in Turkey & the Middle East
Fri, 11/9/2012 12:30 pm to 2:00 pmThe Middle East Institute’s Center for Turkish Studies and the Institute of Turkish Studies at Georgetown University are proud to present a discussion with Professor Murat Somer of Koc University in Istanbul. Somer will examine how countries with semi-democratic or authoritarian centers, such as Turkey or the Arab Spring polities, must rely on cooperation between religious and secular actors to achieve greater democratization.
Religious & Secular Elite Cooperation: Democratization in Turkey & the Middle East
Fri, 11/9/2012 12:30 pm to 2:00 pmThe Middle East Institute’s Center for Turkish Studies and the Institute of Turkish Studies at Georgetown University are proud to present a discussion with Professor Murat Somer of Koc University in Istanbul. Somer will examine how countries with semi-democratic or authoritarian centers, such as Turkey or the Arab Spring polities, must rely on cooperation between religious and secular actors to achieve greater democratization.
Religious & Secular Elite Cooperation: Democratization in Turkey & the Middle East
Fri, 11/9/2012 12:30 pm to 2:00 pmThe Middle East Institute’s Center for Turkish Studies and the Institute of Turkish Studies at Georgetown University are proud to present a discussion with Professor Murat Somer of Koc University in Istanbul. Somer will examine how countries with semi-democratic or authoritarian centers, such as Turkey or the Arab Spring polities, must rely on cooperation between religious and secular actors to achieve greater democratization.
The terse announcement on Monday that Prince Muhammad bin Nayef has been promoted to minister of interior in Saudi Arabia accelerates the long-awaited rise of a new generation of leaders to positions of real power in the Kingdom. At the age of 58, Muhammad succeeds his 72-year-old uncle, Prince Ahmed bin Abdul Aziz, a son of the founding king of modern Saudi Arabia, who had become minister only in June.
What more can be done to resolve the problem in Western Sahara?
Mr. (Carne) Ross, Undersecretary General Miyet, and I have be trading opinions for six months and it is clear that Mr. Ross has no intention to propose or agree on any kind of political settlement or compromise, regardless of arguments to the contrary. It is time to quit deluding ourselves and allowing the refugees to be used as hostages in an effort to advance the cause of a few thousand Polisario rebels. Rather, we should reach out together for a common middle-ground solution.
Malala Yousufzai – Reclaiming Ideological Space in Pakistan
The attempted assassination of Malala Yousufzai by Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan on October 9, 2012, marks a milestone in the trajectory of Pakistan’s future. It has manifested the balkanization of Pakistani society along the lines of those who have been labeled in the popular vernacular in Pakistan as “liberals,” and those who claim ideological proximity with the reactionary religious ideology and demonstrate mistrust and disapproval of American policies instituted in the “War on Terror.” How this debate pans out between the two groups will mark the path to Pakistan’s future.
The oldest peer-reviewed publication dedicated to the study of the modern Middle East, MEI’s flagship journal covers politics, society, and culture in the region.
