Research & Commentary Results

لم يكن تمرد مجموعات فاغنر العسكرية على الحكومة الروسية ووزارة الدفاع وقادتها العسكريين مفاجئاً، خاصة في الفترة الأخيرة من الحرب الروسية الأوكرانية مع الظهور المستمر لزعيم تلك القوات يفغيني بريغوجين، الذي تكرر ظهوره خلال الأشهر الماضية منتفداً تارة ومهدداً تارةً أخرى للقادة العسكريين الروس، بسبب ما قال إنه نقص في الذخيرة والمعدات المقدمة لقواته على جبهات أوكرانية وخاصة باخموت، ما تسبب بمقتل العشرات من قواته على مدار الفترة الماضية.

The conflict between the Wagner Group and the Russian government was not born out of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, though the war there caused the rift to widen and tensions to explode publicly in the form of an armed rebellion. Instead, the discord actually started in Syria back in 2017 and has intensified since then.

Northwestern Syria is home to the world’s most acute humanitarian crisis. The prospect of the Assad regime being able to exert all control over what aid goes into the area is unconscionable.

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.

In the last few years, the global energy outlook has been transformed. The rise of populist politics and a growing sense of urgency about climate change have roiled debates about energy policy in wealthy countries, generating a dizzying mix of new industrial policies. The COVID-19 pandemic made it far harder to predict fuel prices and consumption patterns and forced many countries to confront their connections to fragile multistate supply chains and legacy petrostates.

A defense treaty in return for Saudi normalization is illusive, but Biden can still seal a historic deal.

From the past century until today, the U.S. has cast a long shadow in the Middle East region and relations have gone through many highs and lows. It is important to be aware of this trajectory to better understand the relationship today; and perhaps there are lessons to inform the future of the relationship in the coming century.

Since the early years of the Syrian conflict, the Assad regime has systematically diverted local resources dedicated for reconstruction purposes to rehabilitate facilities in areas and sectors that benefit it and its inner circle, as well as placed the burden of rehabilitating properties onto Syrians themselves. To finance this policy, the regime has exploited four key resources, including imposing multiple reconstruction taxes, diverting U.N. and INGO early recovery and rehabilitation projects, capitalizing on local-led crowdfunding campaigns, and forcing Syrians to bear the cost of repairing their own damaged properties.

The Gulf states emerged from the global pandemic with the wind in their economic sails. But high-profile events like Qatar’s hosting of the FIFA World Cup and the UAE’s World Expo continued to mask two subtle but major weaknesses that have plagued them for decades. Why do Gulf economies lack innovation? And why do they struggle to create private sector employment for nationals?

Expert regional analysis by MEI scholars and contributors.

Saudi leaders have stepped up their plans for developing peaceful nuclear energy, inviting technical bids to the planned construction of two 1.4 gigawatt-electric nuclear reactors and restating the kingdom’s intention to use domestic uranium resources for producing low-enriched uranium as nuclear fuel.

The current complex situation in the global oil market seriously tests the abilities of OPEC+ to play the role of a regulator, forcing Saudi Arabia to assume the main burden of responsibility for keeping oil prices from declining further and for shoring up the cartel ranks.

Gender parity in the Middle East is still many decades away, but it will largely determine the future of economic, social, cultural, and political development in the region.

Another United Nations Security Council (UNSC) vote on continuing the resolution that allows Syria’s cross-border aid delivery is due in July, but the regime’s use of “consent” to allow an extra two crossings from Turkey into the area could be used to undermine the resolution’s necessity, which would risk destabilizing the conflict along with it. Twelve years of hard-won lessons show that until there is a broader political agreement with clear guardrails and guarantees, only a UNSC resolution that permits unimpeded humanitarian access to northwest Syria can secure the critical and consistent operational space required to meet the region’s growing needs as articulated by the NGOs working in the area. 

After issuing positive statements around greenfield blue hydrogen projects in late 2022, the company, Bloomberg now reports, may be migrating away from the hydrogen scheme and toward LNG exports. Both would require significant capital investment. Assuming the company decides to pursue an LNG export project, it will face many potentially value-erosive challenges and risks that must be overcome before achieving economic success.