Dedicated to the memory of our friend and colleague Chris Boucek
The Arab Spring: Implications for US Policy and Interests
Dr. Abdelaziz Sager, Dr. Mustafa Alani, and Dr. Christian Koch of the Gulf Research Center share their perspectives on regional events and the Arab Spring.
Originally posted May 2011
Once upon a time in the land where the light of creation first shone, the fertile grounds around Baghdad nurtured the House of Wisdom.[1] Even as Europeans were looking for the light at the end of the Dark Ages, Caliph Haroon al-Rasheed and his son Caliph al-Mamoon had made Baghdad a center of learning. In Baghdad, scholars put words on “real” paper. They preserved Aristotle, Plato, Hippocrates, Euclid, Ptolemy, Pythagoras, and Brahmagupta and translated Greek, Persian, and Indian manuscripts.
Education reform is essential for the continued social and educational development of the United Arab Emirates (UAE).[1] The country has grown considerably over the past decade, and opportunities for business and professional opportunities have expanded. Educational development has been deemed necessary for the citizens of the country to take advantage of such opportunities.
Women’s education in the Arab world has increased substantially in the last several decades, both in absolute terms and relative to men. However, when looking at the Arab world, understanding that there are vast differences culturally, politically, and socially among the countries is essential. This essay looks at the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, where women share a similar cultural and socio-economic context.
Since the very inception of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in 1972, education has been viewed as a primary tool for building a knowledge-age economy for this young desert nation.
The Middle East Institute is proud to host Ambassador Robert E. Hunter, Senior Adviser at the RAND Corporation, to present a new study that lays out the criteria and parameters for a new security structure for the Persian Gulf region. His recent study, Building Security in the Persian Gulf, makes recommendations for a new security structure for the region in order to promote long-term stability while also reducing
This is the first of three volumes examining the internationalization of higher education and the Middle East. The 12 essays included in this volume explore some of the changes that are taking place and the challenges that lie ahead as Middle Eastern countries seek to build sustainable higher education systems and strengthen their economies. Within the dynamic global higher education landscape, is the Middle East a stagnant backwater or a center of creative initiative? What are, and should be the roles of foreign partners and providers?
The Middle East Institute is proud to host Justin Dargin, research fellow at the Dubai Initiative, for a discussion of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the Gulf and the pursuit of an effective carbon trading plan. Dargin will also examine the effect which this hot-button issue has upon the region's geopolitical relations, energy efficiency, natural gas utilization, renewable energy, and conservation of natural resources.
The Republic of Yemen occupies the southwest corner of the Arabian Peninsula. Unlike its oil-rich neighbors, Yemen is the poorest country in the Arab world. Like other countries football (soccer) is Yemen’s most popular sport. Football has been played in parts of Yemen since before the turn of the 20th century, and since the 1970s, the game’s popularity has increased significantly.
The Middle East Institute is proud to host Sean Foley, author of The Arab States: Beyond Oil and Islam (Lynne Rienner, 2010), for a discussion about the politics of the Gulf states and their role in the global economy. In the book, Foley presents a fresh picture of these states as cosmopolitan and tolerant societies that face many of the same socio-economic problems that other states do – including those that lack oil.
Originally posted March 2010
Dubai’s Burj Khalifa and Taiwan’s Taipei 101 tower, the world’s two tallest skyscrapers, differ in height by a stunning 1,076 feet, are separated by nearly 4,000 miles of ocean, and are situated in countries and regions which, linguistically and culturally, have little in common ― except business.