G.C.C., Iran Look to Sea Trade to Reduce Dependence on Oil
Continuing low oil prices have prompted Persian Gulf states to diversify their heavily petro-dependent economies. This issue is forcing the oil-rich states to invest and expand their potential as international trade hubs as a pathway away from the time bomb of single commodity exports. As many Gulf states have outlined in economic plans, as well as developed on the ground, maritime trade is an increasingly essential link connecting the Middle East to the global economy.
Clash—Hit Movie about Post-2011 Egypt Fails to Provoke
How do you comprehensively depict an impossibly complex event like the Egyptian January 25 Revolution and its aftermath on screen? This is the question Egyptian filmmakers have ventured to tackle since the outbreak of the country’s transformative uprising in 2011. The first batch of movies—omnibus fiction 18 Days, the documentary The Good, the Bad and the Politician, Ahmed Rashawan’s Born on January 25 —were reactionary pieces, imbued with the jubilant sensation of Mubarak’s ouster.
The G.C.C. and China’s One Belt, One Road: Risk or Opportunity?
China’s One Belt, One Road (OBOR) initiative does not provide an equal opportunity for all states, and, in the case of the Gulf, it is Iran that will likely benefit over all others. The states of the G.C.C. also factor into Beijing’s plan, just not to the same degree―and that is the problem. Yet, as this essay shows, using OBOR and existing comparative advantages will allow the states of the G.C.C. to balance Iran’s potential windfall.
Remembering Mohamed Khan—the Leader of Egypt’s Neo-Realist Cinema
Of the numerous artists claimed by the grim reaper this year, the sudden death of veteran Egyptian filmmaker Mohamed Khan at 73 was among the most impactful. Widely considered as one of Egypt’s greatest directors, the vivacious, imposing Khan had a voracious appetite for life that concealed his real age. He was a man who always seemed to be bigger than death.
Monday Briefing: The Battle for Aleppo, Turkey's Gulen Extradition Request, and IMF talks in Cairo
In this week’s Monday Briefing, MEI experts Charles Lister, Gonul Tol, and Paul Salem provide analysis on recent and upcoming events including the battle for Aleppo, Turkey’s extradition appeal for Fatullah Gulen, and IMF talks in Cairo this week on Egypt’s request for more than $12 billion in loans.
Resolving Egypt’s Housing Crisis Crucial to Long-Term Stability
With a population growing at a rate of approximately 2 percent per year, Egypt is faced with an urbanization crisis, as many of its cities find themselves increasingly overcrowded. Egypt’s housing crisis affects millions across the country, and, if the Sisi government is looking to further consolidate its power, it must ensure that it maintains the support of the country’s poor urban communities, which have historically revolted against worsening living conditions.
Much has been made, particularly by Israelis, of the expanding horizons for collaboration between the Jewish state and Arab Gulf states. Israeli ministers and business people lose no opportunity to tout Israel’s interest in expanding ties of all sorts in a region viewed as a valuable market for Israeli industry and an intelligence gold mine.
Egypt, which enjoys friendly relations with both the Palestinian Authority and Israel, understands that it must normalize relations with Hamas to be able to act as a mediator between the three parties. The Egyptian government, which has yet to achieve convincing results in the fight against terrorist groups in Sinai, is also in need of Hamas’ cooperation in this area.
These days even the hint of a renewal of diplomacy on Palestine is enough to set tongues wagging. In recent months, France has led what remains an inchoate effort to fill the diplomatic vacuum created by the Obama administration’s decision two years ago to close its book on Palestine.
The battle for Fallujah, Thursday's OPEC meeting, and Hariri's loss in Tripoli
In this week’s briefing, MEI experts Charles Lister, Herman Franssen, and Paul Salem provide analysis on recent and upcoming events including the battle for Fallujah, Thursday’s OPEC meeting, and Saad Hariri’s defeat in Tripoli, Lebanon.
The Potential for Intra-Regional Energy Cooperation
Regional Cooperation Series
This Policy Paper is part of The Middle East Institute’s Regional Cooperation Series. Throughout 2016, MEI will be releasing several policy papers by renowned scholars and experts exploring possibilities to foster regional cooperation across an array of sectors. The purpose is to highlight the myriad benefits and opportunities associated with regional cooperation, and the high costs of the continued business-as-usual model of competition and intense rivalry.
Philip Gordon, a former Middle East policy adviser in the White House, likes to say that President Barack Obama learned three lessons from the region’s unending turmoil.
President Barack Obama’s Thursday visit to Riyadh to participate in the Gulf Cooperation Council summit comes one year after his meeting with GCC leaders in Camp David, and is an attempt to shore up an important relationship at a time when the two sides have been drifting apart over key regional issues.
