Read in-depth research, analysis, and commentary from MEI’s fellows and experts on the Middle East.
After decades of political setbacks, Iran’s former Revolutionary Guards commander has returned to the center of power. Is he an incidental beneficiary of war, or have observers underestimated him all along?
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.
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.
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’s flagship weekly podcast on US foreign policy and contemporary political and social issues in the Middle East.
MEI Senior Fellow Brian Katulis engages friends, colleagues, and policy experts in casual conversations on the most important happenings in the Middle East.
MEI Senior Fellow Gonul Tol hosts leading scholars and thought leaders on global democracy trends and the state of the liberal international order.
Dr. Yigal Kipnis, an Israeli author, geographer, historian, and leading expert on the Israeli-Syrian conflict over the Golan Heights will discuss the current state of Israeli settlements on the Golan, and related topics.
Opening Remarks
Speakers: Amb. Edward "Skip" Gnehm, Amb. Elizabeth McKune, Dr. Michael Brown, Dr. Steven Knapp
Keynote Address: Dr. Rawiyah bint Saud al Busaidiyah
Speakers: Amb. Hunaina Sultan Al-Mughairy, Dr. Rawiyah bint Saud al Busaidiyah
Keynote Address: Amb. William Burns
Speaker: Amb. Edward "Skip" Gnehm, Amb. William Burns
Political Development Panel
Speakers: Dr. Harith Ghassany, Dr. Samira Moosa, Dr. Gregory Gause, moderated by Frank Sesno
The Middle East Institute is proud to host Ambassador Robert E. Hunter, Senior Adviser at the RAND Corporation, to present a new study that lays out the criteria and parameters for a new security structure for the Persian Gulf region. His recent study, Building Security in the Persian Gulf, makes recommendations for a new security structure for the region in order to promote long-term stability while also reducing
The Middle East Institute is proud to host Marvin Weinbaum, scholar at the Middle East Institute, and Caroline Wadhams, Director for South Asia Security Studies at the Center for American Progress, for a discussion on the outcomes and impact of the recent parliamentary elections in Afghanistan. Recently returned from Afghanistan, where
The government formation stalemate in Iraq—well into its seventh month and counting—may at last be nearing an end. The next few weeks could seal a deal between rival electoral blocs that will produce the next national government.
Two scenarios with very different outcomes appear to be jockeying for rail position in the race to produce the next Prime Minister.
The Middle East Institute is pleased to host Dr. Thomas O'Donnell,
lecturer in Graduate International Affairs at the New School in New
York, for a discussion on China's perception of the Iranian nuclear
issue. Drawing on his expertise in the global energy system, Dr.
O'Donnell will examine why Beijing, which was initially and very
vocally opposed to UN sanctions, ended up voting in favor of them. He
will outline the energy-security nexus underlying China's interests in
This Commentary first appeared as an op-ed in the New York Daily News on September 10, 2010
The Middle East Institute is proud to host Mr. Habibullah Khan, current head of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) Secretariat, to discuss the security, policy, and cultural challenges surrounding the integration of FATA into Pakistan's mainstream political system. In his talk, Mr. Khan will highlight the primary characteristics of life in the tribal areas and outline the present governance system.
This piece first appeared as a op-ed in Foreign Policy's Middle East Channel on September 9, 2010
This piece first appeared as a op-ed in The National on August 30, 2010
The last American combat troops rolled across the Kuwaiti border from Iraq on August 19, nearly two weeks ahead of schedule. The Obama administration has spoken of this milestone as a promise fulfilled and the first major step toward bringing a “responsible” end to the war in Iraq, setting the stage for the final withdrawal of American troops at the end of next year.
Turkey’s professional military has been a force for modernization and progress throughout the nation’s history. As the constitutionally-appointed guardian of the Turkish Republic, however, the military has often intervened in political affairs, resulting in a constant, underlying tension between the government and the military establishment in Turkey.
Readmission Agreements are a mechanism for countering illegal immigration. Such agreements involve reciprocal undertakings to return illegal residents (or irregular migrants) to their country of origin or transit. This special edition of MEI Viewpoints brings together extensive research on agreements between European and North African states. The following chapters explore what can be argued as the unbalanced costs and benefits for all parties.
This piece first appeared as a Commentary on McClatchyDC.com, August 24, 2010
It is hard to imagine a government that faces more existential threats to its people, state, and democracy than the current civilian government in Pakistan.
This Commentary first appeared as an op-ed on Foreign Policy's AfPak Channel, August 18, 2010.
The desperate plight of over 20 million Pakistani citizens displaced and dispossessed by the most ferocious flooding in the history of the young state is heartbreaking. Nature is extracting a cruel price on a population already racked by debilitating poverty and a brutal insurgency.
*A longer version of this Policy Insight was first published in Jane’s Islamic Affairs Analyst on July 30, 2010.
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.