Geopolitical influence over trade increasingly rests on controlling the systems that make them work. The Middle East illustrates the stakes. US ports, cable corridors, cloud facilities, artificial intelligence (AI) investments, and maritime routes connect regional economies to global commerce while exposing them to external decisions and disruptions. For the United States, the challenge is to translate technological advantage into resilient networks rather than rely on centrality that can itself become a source of vulnerability and coercion.
Bonus Episode: Previewing Israel’s First Post-October 7 Election
Israel is preparing to hold what may be its most consequential election in decades. On October 27, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will face his first electoral test since October 7, 2023. In this bonus episode of Middle East Focus, we present the audio from a recent MEI webinar, hosted in Israel on the eve of the vote. Senior Fellow Natan Sachs is joined by Dr. Shira Efron, Distinguished Chair for Israel Policy and senior fellow at the RAND Corporation, and Neri Zilber, veteran journalist and Financial Times correspondent. They explore what’s at stake in this historic election and how different outcomes could reshape Israel’s domestic politics and the wider region.
Israel Was Built on Hope. This Election May Be Our Last Chance to Save It
Israel’s national anthem, Hatikva, means “the hope.” Israel is not just another country, but the culmination of a 2,000-year-old dream of national redemption. The rebirth of the Jewish people’s ancestral homeland, just three years after the Holocaust, was a miraculous triumph of hope over all odds.
Today, that hope has been shattered and the elections on October 27 have become the most consequential in Israel’s history.
Since 1967, Israeli settlements in the West Bank have been a contested feature of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The ultimate disposition of the settlements and ongoing activity related to their growth have repeatedly defied agreement in negotiations over a resolution to the conflict.
The Houthis are a political-military faction and Zaydi religious movement founded in northwestern Yemen in the 1980s. A key member of Iran’s Axis of Resistance with links to other militant organizations in the Arabian Peninsula and the Horn of Africa, the group has continued to pose a threat to Western interests on a global scale.
The India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) is a proposed multinational infrastructure initiative aimed at upgrading connectivity between the three regions through integrated trade, energy, and digital networks. Announced at the G20 summit in New Delhi in September 2023, IMEC is envisioned partially as a counterweight to China’s international infrastructure project, the Belt and Road Initiative.
After a decade of post-Arab Spring isolation, Turkey’s leaders have recognized that their ambition to position the country as an agenda-setter on the world stage requires active engagement in all directions. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s consolidation of executive authority has centralized foreign policy decision-making and tied it to his domestic political priorities, transforming the country’s revisionist approach to one shaped primarily by personal and pragmatic interests.
MEI Senior Fellow Brian Katulis engages friends, colleagues, and policy experts in casual conversations on the most important happenings in the Middle East.
Moscow faces new challenges in Idlib "de-escalation zone"
“De-escalation” zones have been a key part of Russia’s policy in Syria over the past 18 months, but the situation in Idlib, the fourth and final zone, has proven a much greater challenge than the others.
The Israel-China-U.S. Triangle and the Haifa Port Project
This essay discusses the Shanghai International Port Group (SIPG) contract to operate the northern port in Haifa in terms of Israel’s relations with China and the United States. The author urges greater caution by Israeli policy-makers and the public and closer cooperation between Israel and the U.S. in managing the risks associated with Chinese investment and commercial activities in critical sectors of the Israeli economy.
Monday Briefing: Russians launch air strikes after alleged gas attack
In this week’s Monday Briefing, MEI experts discuss recent and upcoming events including Russian air strikes in Aleppo, the elections in Bahrain, the growing international interest in Egypt’s offshore energy finds, and the appointment of a new Afghan team of negotiators for peace talks.
Elizabeth Campbell, director of UNRWA’s Representative office in Washington, and MEI’s Nathan Stock join guest host Alistair Taylor to discuss the recent flare-up in Gaza, the subsequent ceasefire, and where things go from here.
The Egyptian/Qatari initiative has afforded breathing room for Gaza, while Hamas and Prime Minister Netanyahu have demonstrated a determination to avoid war, for now.
Ensuring the Safety of Rohingyas as a National Minority Inside Myanmar: Who? How?
Amid calls for international accountability, the government of Bangladesh has prioritized the repatriation of Rohingyas. In this article, the authors examine the pressures and motivations of the various players that favor repatriation. They argue that, given the current circumstances, it is inconceivable that any repatriation will be voluntary or sustainable.
Border opportunities: Reviving the Jordan-Syria free trade zone
The reopening of the Naseeb-Jaber border crossing offers an opportunity to address the pressing political, economic, and humanitarian challenges confronting Jordan.
In this week’s Monday Briefing, MEI experts discuss recent and upcoming events including the Iraq-Kurdistan pipeline deal, how the YPG partnership affects US-Turkey ties, and the new Russia-Turkey gas pipeline.
Negotiations shepherded by Egypt appear to be making progress in establishing a new, more stable chapter in the ongoing conflict, but instability remains at the heart of the Gaza standoff.
MEI’s Jonathan Winer joins guest host Alistair Taylor to discuss the conditions in Libya nearly eight years after the country’s revolution, from the situation on the ground to the prospects for elections and political settlement more broadly.
A new approach in Afghanistan: China and India take steps toward cooperation
While there have been promising recent signs of Indian-Chinese cooperation in Afghanistan, Beijing’s “all-weather” friendship with Islamabad and Pakistan’s concerns about Indian involvement in the country remain obstacles to closer ties.
The American decision to reimpose sanctions may result in a new wave of tensions between the U.S. and EU as European companies have benefited significantly from growing trade with Iran.
In this week’s Monday Briefing, MEI experts discuss recent and upcoming events including the Gaza flare-up and its threat to Egyptian-led negotiations, Russian-hosted Afghan peace talks, the ground offensive in Hodeidah, and rapid escalation in northwestern Syria.
As naval, air, and ground units from Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE conduct war games in western Egypt this month, many speculate that this could represent the birth of the so-called “Arab NATO.”
Yemen, the site of the biggest humanitarian disaster in the world today, has seen several significant developments in recent weeks, including renewed calls for a cease-fire, UN intervention, and brokered peace talks. Fatima Alasrar, senior analyst at the Arabia Foundation, and MEI’s Gerald Feierstein join host Paul Salem to discuss the prospects for these latest moves.
The oldest peer-reviewed publication dedicated to the study of the modern Middle East, MEI’s flagship journal covers politics, society, and culture in the region.
