The Coming Debate Over the US Military Presence in the Gulf
The war with Iran is hardly over, but the debate over the shape and nature of the post-conflict American posture in the Gulf region is just beginning. Undoubtedly, how the war ends will affect how the United States adjusts its role. While this debate is still in its early stages, something of a conventional wisdom is already developing in policy circles that could seriously compromise American influence in the Middle East.
This report explores maritime security conditions in the Mediterranean and the evolving US engagement in the region. As critical infrastructure becomes increasingly vulnerable to sabotage, freedom of navigation is undermined by conflict, and energy disputes generate tension, US policy focus on the region has become fragmented and disengaged. The authors call for a sustained American role to strengthen maritime domain awareness, allied coordination, infrastructure protection, and the capacity to respond when Mediterranean crises affect US and transatlantic interests.
Curb Your Enthusiasm: Why the Midterms Might Not Change Much in US Middle East Policy
With less than a week before the midterm elections in the United States, the spotlight is on the economy and cultural divides. US foreign policy remains mostly on the sidelines, but this year’s inconclusive Iran war and its effect on America’s economy have shaped the broader political environment in this electoral cycle.
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.
This week again Iranian leaders have been busy publicizing themselves as “promoters of Islamic unity.” On the one hand, Iranian leaders, like President Hassan Rouhani, speak of the illusive “great conspiracy” supposedly concocted by what he calls “big powers” to split the Muslim world.
Iran’s supreme authority, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, told a visiting Palestinian militant leader that “Israel will not exist in 25 years.” Khamenei made the remarks to Ramadan Abdullah Shalah, head o
Civilians Massacred in Aleppo by Iranian Backed Militia
The bloody fall of Aleppo, Syrian opposition forces’ last major urban stronghold, is now certain. Without outside assistance, the rebel groups found it impossible to withstand a ruthless air and ground onslaught by the Iranian-led military forces that are propping up the regime of Bashar al-Assad.
Egypt’s Supreme Constitutional Court (S.C.C.) recently ruled that a central element of the country’s controversial Protest Law relating to police power to ban public demonstrations is unconstitutional.
As President Bashar Assad’s army pushes into the last few neighborhoods controlled by rebels in Aleppo, the Syrian leader can claim a stronger position than at any point since the early days of a war that broke out in 2011.
Men of the Mosque and Market: The Case of Malaysia
This brief ethnographic essay explores developments in Malaysia’s Islamic economy, not by focusing on the technical, sharia-based structuring of investment products, but on the corporate culture that has emerged alongside it. Based on interviews conducted with Malaysian corporate elites, the author shows that the latter — mobile Muslim professionals with global aspirations and networks — believe that Islam and sharia not only provide an ethical and moral template for participating in economic life and the human engagements that emerge from it, but also for organizing and managing the very structures and social relations of corporations.
New to the Oman Library’s shelves is a distinct collection, donated by Sallie Lewis on behalf of her late husband, Ambassador Samuel Lewis. This new addition brings a unique set of stories to the library, with many works containing signatures and personal notes from well known figures who worked closely with the ambassador during his career in the foreign service.
Mahmoud Abbas is soon to be 82 years old. He officially holds three titles, one as Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization (P.L.O.), one as the President of the Palestinian Authority, and one as the head of the Fatah party. The last of these titles was renewed this past week as Fatah held its party congress and re-elected the octogenarian leader.
Iran Alarms Region with Plan for Nuclear-Powered Ships
In response to the renewal of the Iran Sanctions Act (ISA) by the US Congress, Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani has ordered the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) to start the development of nuclear-powered ships.
Piety and Profession: Transnational Valuation Circuit of Private Halal Certifiers
This essay discusses private halal certification agencies, which have come to serve as a source of moral authority. The certificates that these agencies issue serve as “judgment devices” that allow entrepreneurs and consumers to transcend doubt about the quality and value of the products offered in the market. But what explains the authority of these agencies, which were able to turn pious aspirations into professional pursuit of analyzing and attesting to a business’s halal status? The argument here is that the authority of the certifiers is partly derived from transnational valuation circuits, through which local certification agencies draw on the authority of more established accreditors.
Monday Briefing: Egypt Faces New Wave of Terrorist Attacks
In this week’s Monday Briefing, MEI experts Paul Salem, Randa Slim, Charles Lister, Jean-François Seznec, Eran Etzion, and Marvin G. Weinbaum provide analysis on recent and upcoming events including yesterday’s terrorist attack on the Coptic Christian Cathedral in Cairo, the Sryian regime’s progress in retaking Aleppo, the continued threat presented by ISIS, the potential selection of Rex Tillerson as the next Secretary of State, Ash Carter’s farewell trip to Israel, and new Congressional pressure for Pakistan to crack down on the Haqqani Network.
IRGC Increases Ballistic Missile Production despite Sanctions
In a remark that may stir concern in the United States, Israel and the Gulf region, a senior commander of the Islamic Republic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) says his country has increased the production of ballistic missiles despite international sanctions.
December 7, 2016 – BBC correspondent Kim Ghattas shares insights from her time on the trail covering the Clinton campaign and discusses the formation of Donald Trump’s foreign policy team with host Paul Salem.
As President Barack Obama’s tenure draws to a close, Washington is turning its attention to one of its silliest traditions: toting up the travel statistics of the outgoing secretary of state, as if miles traveled correlated to diplomatic achievement.
Mobile Muslim Professionals: Transregional Connectivities
This essay introduces “Muslim professionalism” as a concept to examine the multifarious links between Islam and economic activity in the era of post-cold-war globalization and neoliberalism. Adopting a transregional perspective that conflates Muslim realities in Southeast Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East, the essay discusses the interlacing of local, national and global aspects and invites the reader to conceive Muslim professionalism through the lens of spatial mobility and cross-border connectedness.
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.
