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.
Stabilizing the Sinai Peninsula – An Agenda For Action
MEI Podcast, 7 September, 2012 Foundation for Middle East Peace, Middle East Institute, Churches for Middle East Peace, and Americans for Peace Now invite you to a program Stabilizing the Sinai Peninsula – An Agenda For Action with Ambassador (ret.) Arthur Hughes Former Director General of the Sinai Multinational Forces and Observers (MFO) and Geoffrey Aronson Director for Research and Publications Foundation for Middle East Peace Friday September 7, 12:00-1:30 PM Carnegie Endowment for International Peace 1779 Massachusetts Ave., NW Washington, DC Rising lawlessness and violence and an inc
Stabilizing the Sinai Peninsula – An Agenda For Action
MEI Podcast, 7 September, 2012 Foundation for Middle East Peace, Middle East Institute, Churches for Middle East Peace, and Americans for Peace Now invite you to a program Stabilizing the Sinai Peninsula – An Agenda For Action with Ambassador (ret.) Arthur Hughes Former Director General of the Sinai Multinational Forces and Observers (MFO) and Geoffrey Aronson Director for Research and Publications Foundation for Middle East Peace Friday September 7, 12:00-1:30 PM Carnegie Endowment for International Peace 1779 Massachusetts Ave., NW Washington, DC Rising lawlessness and violence and an inc
Stabilizing the Sinai Peninsula – An Agenda For Action
MEI Podcast, 7 September, 2012 Foundation for Middle East Peace, Middle East Institute, Churches for Middle East Peace, and Americans for Peace Now invite you to a program Stabilizing the Sinai Peninsula – An Agenda For Action with Ambassador (ret.) Arthur Hughes Former Director General of the Sinai Multinational Forces and Observers (MFO) and Geoffrey Aronson Director for Research and Publications Foundation for Middle East Peace Friday September 7, 12:00-1:30 PM Carnegie Endowment for International Peace 1779 Massachusetts Ave., NW Washington, DC Rising lawlessness and violence and an inc
Stabilizing the Sinai Peninsula – An Agenda For Action
MEI Podcast, 7 September, 2012 Foundation for Middle East Peace, Middle East Institute, Churches for Middle East Peace, and Americans for Peace Now invite you to a program Stabilizing the Sinai Peninsula – An Agenda For Action with Ambassador (ret.) Arthur Hughes Former Director General of the Sinai Multinational Forces and Observers (MFO) and Geoffrey Aronson Director for Research and Publications Foundation for Middle East Peace Friday September 7, 12:00-1:30 PM Carnegie Endowment for International Peace 1779 Massachusetts Ave., NW Washington, DC Rising lawlessness and violence and an inc
Stabilizing the Sinai Peninsula – An Agenda For Action
MEI Podcast, 7 September, 2012 Foundation for Middle East Peace, Middle East Institute, Churches for Middle East Peace, and Americans for Peace Now invite you to a program Stabilizing the Sinai Peninsula – An Agenda For Action with Ambassador (ret.) Arthur Hughes Former Director General of the Sinai Multinational Forces and Observers (MFO) and Geoffrey Aronson Director for Research and Publications Foundation for Middle East Peace Friday September 7, 12:00-1:30 PM Carnegie Endowment for International Peace 1779 Massachusetts Ave., NW Washington, DC Rising lawlessness and violence and an inc
Podcast, 6 September, 2012 in the MEI Boardman room Turkey and Thailand: Unlikely Twins Ayse Zarakol This is the first of four events in a joint lecture series by Middle East Institute’s Center for Turkish Studies and the Institute of Turkish Studies at Georgetown University.
Podcast, 6 September, 2012 in the MEI Boardman room Turkey and Thailand: Unlikely Twins Ayse Zarakol This is the first of four events in a joint lecture series by Middle East Institute’s Center for Turkish Studies and the Institute of Turkish Studies at Georgetown University.
Podcast, 6 September, 2012 in the MEI Boardman room Turkey and Thailand: Unlikely Twins Ayse Zarakol This is the first of four events in a joint lecture series by Middle East Institute’s Center for Turkish Studies and the Institute of Turkish Studies at Georgetown University.
Podcast, 6 September, 2012 in the MEI Boardman room Turkey and Thailand: Unlikely Twins Ayse Zarakol This is the first of four events in a joint lecture series by Middle East Institute’s Center for Turkish Studies and the Institute of Turkish Studies at Georgetown University.
Podcast, 6 September, 2012 in the MEI Boardman room Turkey and Thailand: Unlikely Twins Ayse Zarakol This is the first of four events in a joint lecture series by Middle East Institute’s Center for Turkish Studies and the Institute of Turkish Studies at Georgetown University.
The first volume of the migration and the Arab World series dealt primarily with the trends in, consequences of, and policy responses to labor migration in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states since the “oil boom” period of the 1970s. This volume focuses on the countries of the Mashreq (i.e., Egypt and the Levant) as source and destination countries for various migrant groups, dating from the late 19th century up to the present day.
Western Sahara: It’s Time for the People to Choose
The latest diplomatic dance on whether or not former US Ambassador Christopher Ross should be allowed to continue to mediate UN-led talks between the Frente Polisario and Morocco on the future of Western Sahara is symptomatic of a much bigger problem ― the large powers’ unwillingness to advance an end to a dispute that they mistakenly see as peripheral to their strategic interests, and their resultant acquiescence in the brutal and illegal occupation of Western Sahara by Morocco for more than 35 years.
Israeli-Palestinian Peace: The Palestinian Refugee Challenge
Of the four core issues to resolve for an Israeli-Palestinian peace (security, borders/settlements, Jerusalem and Palestinian refugees) it is the refugee question that gets the least attention by non-specialists. And it is the core issue least addressed publically in detail by Israeli and Palestinian leaders.
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.
