Read MEI’s weekly briefing featuring expert analysis of key regional developments for the week ahead.
President Joe Biden’s commitment to “stepping up” diplomacy to end the war in Yemen generated hope among peace practitioners and policy shapers. In February, the president appointed Tim Lenderking, a seasoned diplomat with solid experience in the region, as the U.S. special envoy to Yemen.
أكثر من أي دولة أخرى في المنطقة، تلقى اليمن اهتمامًا خاصًا من إدارة بايدن. خلال أول 100 يوم من تولي جو بايدن منصبه، أُبلِغَ عن الحاجة إلى إنهاء الدعم العسكري للسعودية (مع ترك الباب مفتوحًا للدفاع عن المملكة) ودفع من أجل تحقيق السلام في اليمن، وكذلك شطب الحوثيين من قوائم الإرهاب، وهو التصنيف الذي فرضته إدارة ترامب. كما عيَّن تيم ليندركينغ مبعوثًا خاصًا لليمن، مما أعطى الزخم لأهمية عملية صنع السلام لهذا البلد.
Read MEI’s weekly briefing featuring expert analysis of key regional developments for the week ahead.
At the end of Joe Biden’s first 100 days as president of the United States, where do things stand when it comes to U.S. policy toward the Middle East and North Africa? We asked experts and scholars from across MEI to weigh in with their thoughts on the changes we’ve seen so far, the new challenges that have emerged, and what we know about the administration’s key priorities for the region.
In the past several weeks, news has been coming out of Ankara regularly about normalization in relations with countries with which Turkey has had problematic relationships for some time.
The Biden administration should play a key role in building a stronger Egypt where human-rights abuses are both rare and addressed by pushing back against the potential for any new regime.
It’s easy to see why there’s an enduring attraction for a regional security dialogue in the Middle East. Countries in the region face shared and borderless challenges — including terrorism, insurgency, environmental safety, arms races, cybersecurity, maritime piracy, and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction — that can be dealt with more effectively through multilateral measures.
Read MEI’s weekly briefing featuring expert analysis of key regional developments for the week ahead.
On April 20, Chadian President Idriss Déby was killed by Front for Change and Concord in Chad (FACT) rebels in the country’s northwestern Tibesti region. The sudden death of Déby, who seized power in Chad via a military coup in December 1990 and was re-elected on April 11 with 79.3% of the vote, risks plunging Chad into a state of prolonged instability.
As the current U.N.-led political negotiations between the Yemeni government and the Houthis seem to have hit a dead end, there has been growing interest in exploring the role tribal leaders and local tribes can play in ending Yemen’s conflict. The role of Yemeni tribes, however, remains largely misunderstood, and the authority of tribal leaders and the influence of tribes on national political decision making are often overestimated. This report looks into the possibilities and limitations of tribal mediation on de-escalation and cease-fire. It argues that while the tribes developed relatively effective mechanisms to limit the spread of violence into their areas, there are major limitations to their ability to mediate the national-level and political conflict.
In the 19th century, the Gulf was a British lake. In the 20th century, American warships played an all but unchallenged role securing the safe and unfettered passage of oil to the West. As the 21st century progresses, the transition to a new era is unstoppable.
As a major strategic chokepoint for this trade and maritime security, Suez is fundamental to the West’s commitment to a “free, open, secure and prosperous Indo-Pacific.”
Read MEI’s weekly briefing featuring expert analysis of key regional developments for the week ahead.
Jonathan Winer and Mirette Mabrouk join host Alistair Taylor to discuss Libya’s new interim government, the complex regional and international dynamics at play, and what Libya’s future might look like.