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Expert Views: How should we navigate the new rules of the game in the Israel-Iran conflict?
Photo by Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto via Getty Images
  • Analysis
  • Expert Views: How should we navigate the new rules of the game in the Israel-Iran conflict?

    The month of April saw a series of unprecedented escalations in the long-simmering Iranian-Israeli conflict, with both countries launching missile and drone attacks against the other’s territory for the first time in history.

    In the wake of these strikes, what will be the impact on the regional security and political environment going forward, what is needed to stabilize the new rules of the game, and how can US diplomacy help to facilitate that process? MEI has asked its experts to weigh in.

    Women’s rights under the Taliban: The socio-economic consequences of political exclusion
    Photo by OMER ABRAR / AFP
  • Analysis
  • Women’s rights under the Taliban: The socio-economic consequences of political exclusion

    One of the first things the Taliban did after capturing power in August 2021 was to abolish the Afghan Ministry of Women’s Affairs and re-establish the Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice. The environment within which Afghan girls and women had found avenues of employment, education, and empowerment over the previous two decades had been lost. Many families now had to deal with acute poverty, mental health issues, and even suicides.

    March 7, 2024

    Suspending UNRWA funding is collective punishment for Palestinians
    Abed Zagout/Anadolu via Getty Images
  • Commentary
  • Suspending UNRWA funding is collective punishment for Palestinians

    The decision by the United States and other donor countries to suspend financial assistance to UNRWA will have far-reaching and likely devastating consequences for the civilian populations that rely on its services, particularly in the Gaza Strip. Donor countries must realize that the consequences will hinder the humanitarian response to the Israeli war on Gaza, incurring a heavy cost in human lives.

    February 12, 2024

    What Syrian civil society should do next
    Photo courtesy Lars Hauch
  • Analysis
  • What Syrian civil society should do next

    Following two years of preparation, the Syrian Madaniya (“Civil”) initiative held its inaugural conference with over 180 participating organizations. To claim a political role, Madaniya needs a program and a partner. The natural partner for this endeavor is the Syrian Negotiation Commission.

    July 12, 2023