Analysis

This article is the result of a recent visit by the authors to Baghdad where they met with government leaders, security officials, political party representatives from the various communities, and leaders of ten Iraqi think tanks. A version of this article appeared in the March 10 issue of the Arabic Al-Hayat newspaper.

Despite deep internal divisions, a massive security threat from ISIS, and a fiscal collapse due to low oil prices, the Iraqi government is struggling to move the country forward and deserves urgent support from international and regional players.

This essay discusses the potential value of and impediments to the provision of assistance to refugees by local religious institutions. It explores this issue by focusing on Lebanon, highlighting the important contribution of a small NGO, the Lebanese Society for Educational and Social Development (LSESD), in mentoring and training pastors and many of the key local church leadership in how to respond to the humanitarian needs of Syrian refugees.

This article was first published on Foreign Affairs.

Russian President Vladimir Putin surprised observers when he announced on March 14 that he is going to begin withdrawing Russian military forces from Syria. As the director of MEI’s Initiative for Track II Dialogues Randa Slim has worked extensively with all parties on the Syrian conflict, including Russian participants. She discusses the meaning of Putin’s decision with MEI Senior Editor Antoun Issa.

Ten days ago, under the relative calm of Syria’s cessation of hostilities, hundreds of civilians gathered in the Idlib town of Maarat al-Numan to celebrate the continuation of their populist revolution.

In this week’s Monday Briefing, MEI experts Charles Lister, Gonul Tol, Paul Salem, and Allen Keiswetter provide analysis on recent events including the planned Syria peace talks in Geneva, the fallout of this weekend’s bombing in Ankara on Turkey’s Kurdish issue, the urgent need for attention on the Mosul Dam, and Arab alarm at Donald Trump’s anti-Islam rhetoric.

Geneva Talks Will Fail Without Regime Compromise

Charles Lister, Resident Fellow

Much of the world has been horrified by recent scenes of mostly Arab migrants drowning in the Mediterranean. However, migration has long been a trademark of the Middle East, and today it threatens to clear the region of its rich diversity. The lack of tolerance of minorities—both ancient, as in the Christians and Jews, as well as recent, as in the large minorities from the subcontinent in the Gulf—runs contrary to the Middle East’s long history as a cultural, ethnic, and religious mosaic.

One of the biggest (and most important) differences between the Rohingya refugee crisis and the refugee emergency in the Mediterranean is that in the former case, none of the involved states is a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention, nor its 1967 Protocol. Furthermore, the lack of a formal regional asylum framework has made the Rohingyas emergency that much more acute—and tragic.

Read the full article on the Washington Post.

The stunning performance of Iran’s moderate forces in the Feb. 26 elections has prompted new optimism for democracy in the Islamic Republic. It should not.

This essay explores how, if the European Union had a more complete refugee policy—one that covers all aspects of refugee arrival, reception, and protection—the Syria crisis might have been mitigated, if not averted. The essay focuses specifically on the desirability and advantages of resettlement (among other mooted policies) as a vital protection tool.

Qatar’s recent cabinet reshuffle marks the latest step in the tiny emirate’s shift away from its high-profile regional activities under former emir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, to the more discreet role of his son and current emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani.

In this week’s Monday Briefing, MEI experts Gonul Tol, Robert S. Ford, and Marvin G. Weinbaum provide analysis on recent events including the E.U.-Turkey summit in Brussels to discuss the Syrian refugee crisis, the ceasefire agreement in Syria, and the status of peace talks with the Taliban in Afghanistan.

E.U., Turkey Talk Refugee Plan
By Gonul Tol, Director of MEI’s Center for Turkish Studies

At the edge of the Pacific, in a bucolic suburb of Vancouver called Horseshoe Bay, the “father of modern Iranian sculpture” has lived a quiet existence since 1989.

Despite being a pioneer of Iranian modernism and one of the founders of the Saqqakhaneh School of Art in mid-20^th century Tehran, Parviz Tanavoli has been virtually invisible in Vancouver.

Today, however, a new documentary about the artist directed by Canadian filmmaker Terrence Turner has bridged the chasm between the Middle East and the Pacific Northwest.

Saudi Arabia has come under intense scrutiny in recent months. Much of it centers on its more assertive and less accommodating foreign policy, as manifested in its unprecedented military campaign in Yemen. The shift in Saudi regional policy has spawned the sudden popularity of two narratives in the Western press, think tanks and even some official circles.