The Human Story Behind Gaza: Jaser AbuMousa on the Costs of Survival for Palestinians
Brian sits down with MEI Senior Fellow Jaser AbuMousa to assess the situation on the ground in Gaza three years after October 7 and a year into the ceasefire. Drawing on his own personal experience, Jaser explores the toll that the war and continued destruction have taken on Gaza’s residents, the implications of the recent Israeli and US elections, and the difficult path forward.
The Unavoidable Neighbor: Managing Iran Beyond the War
Gulf states and their partners are increasingly looking beyond their most immediate interests of containing the war with Iran. While recent talks between Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Pakistan, and Iran have kept de-escalation on the agenda, a broader regional security framework and non-aggression pact has also emerged, envisioning a longer-lasting solution to regional conflicts. The talks have yet to produce a settlement, but they reflect a growing recognition that Gulf security cannot depend entirely on Washington. Iran will still be there, and its neighbors will have to find ways of living with it.
Israelis turned out in their highest numbers in decades on October 27 for the country’s first election since the Hamas attacks of October 7, 2023. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc lost 15 seats and its Knesset majority, but Gadi Eisenkot’s opposition bloc also fell short, leaving Arab parties, with a record 19 seats, potentially decisive in forming the next government. MEI Senior Fellow Natan Sachs joins hosts Alistair Taylor and Matthew Czekaj to unpack the results, the coalition math, and what comes next for Israel’s security policy, the wider region, and US-Israeli relations.
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.
Syria Beyond Assad: Building a New Syria from the Grassroots
The Stimson Center and the Middle East Institute are pleased to co-host a panel discussion on grassroots efforts to begin laying the groundwork for a new Syria. As the second anniversary of Syria’s uprising approaches, its deepening turmoil and expanding humanitarian crisis underscore the tragic dimensions of the Arab world’s bloodiest uprising. The Assad regime maintains its hold on power, but has retreated from vast swathes of territory, particularly in northern and eastern areas of the country.
Syria Beyond Assad: Building a New Syria from the Grassroots
The Stimson Center and the Middle East Institute are pleased to co-host a panel discussion on grassroots efforts to begin laying the groundwork for a new Syria. As the second anniversary of Syria’s uprising approaches, its deepening turmoil and expanding humanitarian crisis underscore the tragic dimensions of the Arab world’s bloodiest uprising. The Assad regime maintains its hold on power, but has retreated from vast swathes of territory, particularly in northern and eastern areas of the country.
Syria Beyond Assad: Building a New Syria from the Grassroots
The Stimson Center and the Middle East Institute are pleased to co-host a panel discussion on grassroots efforts to begin laying the groundwork for a new Syria. As the second anniversary of Syria’s uprising approaches, its deepening turmoil and expanding humanitarian crisis underscore the tragic dimensions of the Arab world’s bloodiest uprising. The Assad regime maintains its hold on power, but has retreated from vast swathes of territory, particularly in northern and eastern areas of the country.
Syria Beyond Assad: Building a New Syria from the Grassroots
The Stimson Center and the Middle East Institute are pleased to co-host a panel discussion on grassroots efforts to begin laying the groundwork for a new Syria. As the second anniversary of Syria’s uprising approaches, its deepening turmoil and expanding humanitarian crisis underscore the tragic dimensions of the Arab world’s bloodiest uprising. The Assad regime maintains its hold on power, but has retreated from vast swathes of territory, particularly in northern and eastern areas of the country.
Syria Beyond Assad: Building a New Syria from the Grassroots
The Stimson Center and the Middle East Institute are pleased to co-host a panel discussion on grassroots efforts to begin laying the groundwork for a new Syria. As the second anniversary of Syria’s uprising approaches, its deepening turmoil and expanding humanitarian crisis underscore the tragic dimensions of the Arab world’s bloodiest uprising. The Assad regime maintains its hold on power, but has retreated from vast swathes of territory, particularly in northern and eastern areas of the country.
The Middle East Institute is honored to host the Hon. Filippo Grandi, Commissioner-General of UNRWA, for a discussion about the status and plight of Palestinian refugees. Since its creation in 1949, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) has been at the forefront providing essential humanitarian and human development services to the now approximately 5 million registered Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, the West Bank and Gaza.
The Middle East Institute is honored to host the Hon. Filippo Grandi, Commissioner-General of UNRWA, for a discussion about the status and plight of Palestinian refugees. Since its creation in 1949, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) has been at the forefront providing essential humanitarian and human development services to the now approximately 5 million registered Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, the West Bank and Gaza.
The Middle East Institute is honored to host the Hon. Filippo Grandi, Commissioner-General of UNRWA, for a discussion about the status and plight of Palestinian refugees. Since its creation in 1949, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) has been at the forefront providing essential humanitarian and human development services to the now approximately 5 million registered Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, the West Bank and Gaza.
The Middle East Institute is honored to host the Hon. Filippo Grandi, Commissioner-General of UNRWA, for a discussion about the status and plight of Palestinian refugees. Since its creation in 1949, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) has been at the forefront providing essential humanitarian and human development services to the now approximately 5 million registered Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, the West Bank and Gaza.
The Middle East Institute is honored to host the Hon. Filippo Grandi, Commissioner-General of UNRWA, for a discussion about the status and plight of Palestinian refugees. Since its creation in 1949, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) has been at the forefront providing essential humanitarian and human development services to the now approximately 5 million registered Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, the West Bank and Gaza.
Challenging Stereotypes: Educational Aspirations of Emirati and Indian Muslim Women
Many Muslim women do not choose to forego education, but rather are unable to access this basic right mainly due to a lack of opportunity and socio-political constraints. The sharply contrasting cases of India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are illuminating in this respect. While the Indian case presents a stark picture, the Emirati case presents a bright and more hopeful one.
Economic Effects of the Arab Spring: Policy Failures and Mounting Challenges
Thu, 2/28/2013 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm The Middle East Institute is proud to host economists Andreas Bauer and Dr. Zubair Iqbal for an examination of the economic impact of the upheavals affecting Arab Spring countries, including Egypt and Tunisia. Since the 2011 uprisings, growth in the MENA region has slowed, inequality worsened, and unemployment increased, thus weakening the popular support needed for new governments to introduce difficult, but necessary, economic reforms.
Economic Effects of the Arab Spring: Policy Failures and Mounting Challenges
Thu, 2/28/2013 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm The Middle East Institute is proud to host economists Andreas Bauer and Dr. Zubair Iqbal for an examination of the economic impact of the upheavals affecting Arab Spring countries, including Egypt and Tunisia. Since the 2011 uprisings, growth in the MENA region has slowed, inequality worsened, and unemployment increased, thus weakening the popular support needed for new governments to introduce difficult, but necessary, economic reforms.
Economic Effects of the Arab Spring: Policy Failures and Mounting Challenges
Thu, 2/28/2013 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm The Middle East Institute is proud to host economists Andreas Bauer and Dr. Zubair Iqbal for an examination of the economic impact of the upheavals affecting Arab Spring countries, including Egypt and Tunisia. Since the 2011 uprisings, growth in the MENA region has slowed, inequality worsened, and unemployment increased, thus weakening the popular support needed for new governments to introduce difficult, but necessary, economic reforms.
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.
