A Credit Strategy for Syria’s Reconstruction
With sanctions repealed, Syrian policymakers must ensure that growing volumes of credit reach beyond the narrow political and commercial networks that have generally dominated Syrian finance. That will require a credit strategy aimed at sectors and regions historically excluded from formal finance. Syria’s specialized state banks offer an imperfect but ready-made mechanism to do so.
The “Anti-Strategic President” Needs to Revive a Policy Process to Resolve Iran
President Donald Trump’s disdain for strategy extends to process: mass National Security Council firings and reliance on a tiny circle of advisors have left the interagency policy process dormant amid the Iran war. The result is improvised, damaging moves like the Strait of Hormuz toll scheme. Reviving a professional, deliberative policy process is essential.
Israeli Settlements in the West Bank
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
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
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.
Turkish Foreign Policy
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.
المدونات الصوتية
التركيز على الشرق الأوسط
البودكاست الأسبوعي الرائد لمعهد الشرق الأوسط حول السياسة الخارجية الأمريكية والقضايا السياسية والاجتماعية المعاصرة في الشرق الأوسط.
إزالة الحافة من الشرق الأوسط
براين كاتوليس، زميل أول في معهد الشرق الأوسط كاتوليس يشارك الأصدقاء والزملاء وخبراء السياسة في محادثات غير رسمية حول أهم الأحداث في الشرق الأوسط.
إعادة التفكير في الديمقراطية
زميل أول في معهد الشرق الأوسط غونول تول تستضيف كبار العلماء وقادة الفكر حول اتجاهات الديمقراطية العالمية وحالة النظام الدولي الليبرالي.
Monday Briefing: UAE hosts regional summit, but without Saudi, Kuwaiti attendance
اقرأ تقرير MEI الأسبوعي الذي يتضمن تحليلات الخبراء للتطورات الإقليمية الرئيسية للأسبوع المقبل.
Kurdistan gas and diversification
The issue of diversification is difficult but urgent, given increasingly tight global climate policies, the advances of non-fossil technologies, and the limited lifespan of the KRI’s oil resources. Harnessing the region’s natural gas productively is the first step to a cleaner and more diversified economy.
The French cultural center shuttered: What does cultural isolation mean for Iranians?
The general policy of the Islamic Republic is to constrain, as much as possible, its citizens’ exposure to foreign cultures and prevent their engagement with the outside world, which explains why cultural ties, even with neighboring or friendly countries, are so limited.
A new momentum: Recalibrating Germany's foreign policy toward the Gulf monarchies
Facing the profound challenge of trying to diversify its energy supply while a destabilizing war rages on in Ukraine, Germany has looked to several Gulf monarchies to forge new energy partnerships. Notwithstanding heated domestic debates over controversial topics such as their human rights record, Berlin should consider a more comprehensive strategic approach toward the Gulf monarchies that encompasses issues beyond energy supply, such as joint efforts in regional integration and development.
Israelis’ evolving pushback to democratic erosion under Netanyahu
A movement of Israelis who resist the new Netanyahu government is crystallizing and taking initial steps to push back against democratic erosion. It will need to evolve quickly and effectively to make an impact and could benefit from some international helping hands along the way.
The Iran protests and US policy on Tehran’s nuclear program
When the Iranian government faces intense Western criticism, such as over its brutal suppression of the protest movement and its recent executions, it frequently resorts to specific actions, one of which is hostage-taking. Nevertheless, perhaps the most important “hostage” Tehran counts on to influence the positions of Western powers is not their imprisoned citizens, but rather Iran’s nuclear program.
Turkish-Syrian Re-engagement: Drivers, Limitations, and US Policy Implications
A little over two weeks ago, the defense and intelligence chiefs of Turkey and Syria met face-to-face in Moscow — the first such meeting in over a decade. On the surface, this latest flurry of engagement with Assad’s regime is a major development. Were Turkey to decisively shift its Syria policy, the effects would be dramatic. Beyond the hype and speculation, Turkey’s decision to participate in the Moscow meetings is not altogether surprising and it does not represent a wholesale policy reversal. What has changed more recently is Turkey’s impending elections — and with them Erdoğan’s political calculations.
Weekly Briefing: Ball is in Turkey’s court on US sale of F-16s
تحليل إقليمي متخصص من قبل باحثي ومساهمي معهد الشرق الأوسط.
US-Lebanon Relations: Setting a New International Framework for a More Responsive Government
Lebanon is on a tragic trajectory, never before seen in its history. The next few months, with or without needed reforms, will shape its path for years to come.
Climate-induced migration in the GCC states: A looming challenge
Gulf states are collectively investing billions of dollars in developing renewable energy. Yet climate change patterns in neighboring regions, combined with rising average temperatures, could eventually trigger more serious climate migration problems for the Gulf countries themselves.
The Gulf states: Beneficiaries of the Russia-Europe energy war?
The Gulf states are often overlooked as indirect beneficiaries of the Russia-Europe energy war. In what ways and to what extent have they leveraged it? Are these benefits sustainable?
Eastern Mediterranean gas discoveries, progress, and what to watch in 2023
The challenge of developing export strategies for the offshore natural gas resources concentrated in the Eastern Mediterranean predates the Russo-Ukrainian war. Yet over the course of 2022, Europe’s intensifying energy crisis created a new and more immediate incentive to solve those export challenges, despite a great deal of work still to be done.
Rome’s Economic Rebalancing in the Maghreb
For the past ten years, Italy and Morocco have been two of the most economically dynamic countries in the Mediterranean basin. Morocco’s rise as a manufacturing and distribution hub for companies seeking to nearshore operations close to mature European end-markets, as well as emerging African end-markets, has created new potential synergies for a deeper Italy-Morocco commercial partnership.
Monday Briefing: Assad’s narco-state enriches itself as Syrians face a spiraling economic and humanitarian crisis
اقرأ تقرير MEI الأسبوعي الذي يتضمن تحليلات الخبراء للتطورات الإقليمية الرئيسية للأسبوع المقبل.
Statement – Passing of Mr. Joseph Brand
It is with great sadness that we received the news of the passing of former MEI board member Mr. Joseph Brand, who died at his home on December 17th 2022. Mr. Brand served on the board from 1996-2014 and over the course of almost two decades, he worked to transform MEI into the leading Middle East think tank in the United States. Mr. Brand was deeply supportive of MEI and its mission, and helped to onboard and mentor many current and past members of the Institute’s Board of Governors.
اقرأ مجلة الشرق الأوسط
تُعد المجلة الرئيسية لمعهد الشرق الأوسط أقدم مطبوعة محكّمة مكرّسة لدراسة الشرق الأوسط الحديث، وتغطي المجلة الرئيسية في المعهد السياسة والمجتمع والثقافة في المنطقة.