Skip to Content

Research & Commentary Results

Filter by
8737 Results
Oman’s regional role in a time of challenge and change
Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images
  • Analysis
  • Oman’s regional role in a time of challenge and change

    Oman’s independent and creative foreign policy has been a boost to a region fraught with instability, but the combination of a new sultan and an adverse regional environment means Muscat’s trademark foreign policy may be diminished.

    August 26, 2020

    Hurdles on the road to peace in Afghanistan
    Photo by National Security Council of Afghanistan/Handout/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images 
  • Commentary
  • Hurdles on the road to peace in Afghanistan

    The hurdles encountered in kick-starting the intra-Afghan talks seem to be more daunting than anticipated. This has not only delayed a process that was scheduled to begin immediately after the Doha agreement in February, but has also underlined the bumpy road that lies ahead for various stakeholders to reach a consensus on Afghanistan’s national destiny.

    August 26, 2020

    Erdogan pulls a rabbit out of his hat with Black Sea gas find, but is it all it seems?
    Photo by Mustafa Kamaci/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
  • Analysis
  • Erdogan pulls a rabbit out of his hat with Black Sea gas find, but is it all it seems?

    “God has opened the door to unprecedented wealth for us,” said an enthusiastic Recep Tayyip Erdogan as he announced that Turkey had made its biggest-ever discovery of natural gas on Aug. 21. He promised that gas from the 320-billion-cubic-meter deep-sea find would reach consumers in 2023, but industry experts are skeptical and have raised questions about the feasibility of the discovery.

    Biometrics, refugees, and the Middle East: Better data collection for a more just future
  • Analysis
  • Biometrics, refugees, and the Middle East: Better data collection for a more just future

    The increasing adoption of biometric technology by governments, aid organizations, and other stakeholders in the Middle East has critical implications for regional developments in business, governance, and society. And while some observers and stakeholders have noted the potential for such tools to streamline security infrastructure and provide opportunities for sectors as diverse as mobile payment and financial security, a growing chorus of voices has raised concern about the potential of biometric data to similarly streamline violations of human rights, particularly those of the region’s most vulnerable populations.

    August 25, 2020

    Petrodollars and pandemic: GCC tourism in Georgia
  • Analysis
  • Petrodollars and pandemic: GCC tourism in Georgia

    In one of the interesting turnarounds in recent years, travel flows between the Black Sea region and the Middle East have undergone a silent change. During the past decade, this southward flow of shuttle migrants was replaced by Middle Easterners heading northwards in search of promising business opportunities and alternative holiday destinations.

    August 24, 2020

    بما أن حفتر يرفض وقف إطلاق النار في ليبيا، فإن تجديد الدبلوماسية بات أمرا حتميا
    Middle East Institute
  • Commentary
  • بما أن حفتر يرفض وقف إطلاق النار في ليبيا، فإن تجديد الدبلوماسية بات أمرا حتميا

    في 21 من شهر أغسطس الجاري تم الاتفاق على وقف إطلاق النار في ليبيا من قبل رئيس المجلس الرئاسي فايز السراج، ورئيس مجلس النواب في شرق ليبيا، عقيلة صالح.

    كان من المفترض أن يكون الاتفاق خطوة ملموسة لوقف الصراع العسكري الذي تصاعدت حدته في 4 أبريل 2019، عندما بدأ الدكتاتور الليبي المحتمل خليفة حفتر، حملة عسكرية لغزو طرابلس التي كانت تعد بمثابة العاصمة الوطنية للبلاد.

    تم دعم الاتفاق على الفور من قبل الأمم المتحدة، والولايات المتحدة، وبعض الأطراف الأجنبية التي تدعم كل جانب على حدة.

    Conflict in the South Caucasus
    Middle East Institute
  • Podcast
  • Conflict in the South Caucasus

    Tom de Waal, Nicole Grajewski, and Theodore Karasik join host Alistair Taylor to discuss the recent border hostilities between Azerbaijan and Armenia and the role that Russia, Turkey, and Iran are playing in the geostrategically important South Caucasus.

    August 21, 2020

    حلقة 6: إقتصاد لبنان قبل وبعد الانفجار— مع علياء المبيّض
  • Podcast
  • حلقة 6: إقتصاد لبنان قبل وبعد الانفجار— مع علياء المبيّض

    ما هي صورة الاقتصاد الكلّي في لبنان اليوم؟

    ما هي التحديات الأساسية بعد الانفجار، وخصوصاً في قطاع الخدمات والأعمال؟

    لم انهار القطاع المصرفي بشكل كبير، وكيف سيؤثر ذلك على قدرة لبنان على استلام المساعدات الدولية؟

    ما هي احتمالات أن يستلم لبنان مساعدات أو قروض من صندوق النقد الدولي؟

    ما هي المؤشرات أو المسائل الأساسية التي يجب أن نركّز عليها لنستطيع تقييم اذا ما كانت الحالة تتحسّن أو تزداد سوءاً؟

    ما هو دور المجتمع المدني في الجانب الاقتصادي، وكيف يمكن أن يكون محفّز للإصلاحات في لبنان؟

    August 21, 2020

    Egypt and the Libyan conflict
    Middle East Institute
  • Podcast
  • Egypt and the Libyan conflict

    Jonathan Winer and Mirette Mabrouk join host Alistair Taylor to discuss the latest developments in Libya and the regional dynamics in play, including the role of Egypt.

    August 20, 2020

    Lebanon’s invisible: Refugees, COVID-19, and the Beirut port explosion
    Photo by PATRICK BAZ/AFP via Getty Images
  • Analysis
  • Lebanon’s invisible: Refugees, COVID-19, and the Beirut port explosion

    The catastrophic explosion in Beirut on Aug. 4 left 200 dead and thousands more injured. This included at least 43 Syrian and Palestinian refugees and dozens of foreign migrant workers that were killed or injured. The Beirut port explosion will place a great burden on Lebanese society and it will have short- and long-term impacts on marginalized communities.

    August 19, 2020

    Reimagining the Middle East
    Regional map
  • Analysis
  • Reimagining the Middle East

    As the people of Iran and the region rise up against the regime in Tehran, it is time to prepare for what comes next and imagine what could lead to the region’s next renaissance: a Middle Eastern cooperative organization.

    August 19, 2020

    Saudi Arabia’s Nuclear Program and China
    Middle East Institute
  • Analysis
  • Saudi Arabia’s Nuclear Program and China

    In recent years, Saudi Arabia and China have publicly announced several joint nuclear projects in the Kingdom, including one to extract uranium from seawater, with the stated goal of helping the world’s largest oil producer develop a nuclear energy program or become a uranium exporter. This article discusses China’s reported involvement in Saudi Arabia’s nascent nuclear program.

    August 19, 2020