With curated multimedia series focused on hard hitting issues such climate change as well as current events, MENASource seeks to explore all facets of life in the region as affected by political, security, economic, and cultural issues.

Of particular focus and interest are the minorities, women, and the youth populations across the region and how they are affected by the changing environments.

The views expressed in MENASource are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Atlantic Council, its staff, or its supporters.

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Muqtada al-Sadr’s Changing Role in an Unchanging Iraq

MENASource
Jul 12, 2025

Netanyahu’s trip to Washington ends with conflicting signals

The moment of truth may yet come when Trump’s leverage on Netanyahu, which is considerable, may not be expressed only in private settings.

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Muqtada al-Sadr’s Changing Role in an Unchanging Iraq

MENASource
Jul 7, 2025

Unpacking Iraq’s Federal Supreme Court chaos

By
Safwan al-Amin

Regardless of the reasons behind initial mass resignations, the ongoing uncertainty surrounding the Supreme Court is serious.

Iraq
Middle East

Muqtada al-Sadr’s Changing Role in an Unchanging Iraq

MENASource
Jun 26, 2025

Dispatch from Damascus: Church attack shows transition’s fragility

By
Ibrahim Al-Assil

The bombing at Mar Elias Church is more than an isolated tragedy. It is a signal that Syria’s transition remains vulnerable to sabotage.

Democratic Transitions
Middle East

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Content

MENASource

May 9, 2016

Muqtada al-Sadr’s Changing Role in an Unchanging Iraq

By Nabeel Khoury

In a speech a day after his followers stormed Iraq’s parliament, Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr described the move as a gesture of civil disobedience in rejection of Iraq’s political class and the sectarian division of power and corruption within it. The protesters tore up papers, ransacked offices, and kicked furniture around, with some reports of […]

Iraq

MENASource

May 5, 2016

Operations in the Manbij Pocket: Finding A Way Forward in the War against ISIS

By Aaron Stein

The Islamic State (ISIS) threat to Turkey has increased considerably in recent months, following an increase in rocket attacks on the Turkish city of Kilis and the deliberate targeting of Turkish tanks and artillery near Karkamış. The rise of the Islamic State threat prompted Turkish Foreign Minister, Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, to underscore the need to clear […]

Iraq Syria

MENASource

May 3, 2016

Finding a New Approach to Yemen’s Peace Talks

By Nadwa Al-Dawsari

On April 21, a third round of Yemen peace talks started in Kuwait, but with little hope that they will achieve a breakthrough to end the devastating eighteen-month long war in the country. Delegates from President Hadi Abd Rabbo Mansour’s Yemeni government based in exile in Riyadh and the alliance of Houthis and former president […]

Yemen

MENASource

Apr 28, 2016

Egypt’s New Economic Team and New Economic Plan

By Mohsin Khan and Elissa Miller

Since the January 2011 uprising, the Egyptian economy has been floundering. Economic growth has averaged a dismal 2.5 percent a year, the average unemployment rate has been close to 13 percent, with youth unemployment reaching 35-40 percent, and inflation in the double digits.

Economy & Business North Africa

MENASource

Apr 26, 2016

ISIS and Turkey: The Rocket Threat to Kilis

By Aaron Stein

The Turkish town of Kilis, located just three miles from the Syrian border, has come under rocket fire from Islamic State (ISIS) controlled territory in Syria. The intensity of the rocket attacks increased since April putting upward pressure on the Turkish government to address the threat. According to an on-going Atlantic Council study, the rockets […]

Syria Turkey

MENASource

Apr 26, 2016

Libyan Agreement on Life Support

By Ronald Bruce St John

Libya’s UN-brokered Presidency Council and Government of National Accord (GNA), which arrived in Tripoli at the end of March amid tensions, faces many challenges. Chief among them is that it does not take advantage of a political culture that has long been a main source of state legitimacy in Libya. The basic elements of contemporary […]

Libya

MENASource

Apr 22, 2016

Iraq’s Economic Rescue Threatened by Popular Anger

By Nussaibah Younis

Iraq is facing a severe economic crisis, but political elites and their popular constituencies stand ready to block desperately needed economic reforms.

Iraq

MENASource

Apr 22, 2016

Civil Society in Egypt Still Matters

By Brian R. Braun

In late March, Egypt’s Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Magdi al-Agati, indicated that the government would soon submit to parliament a new law regulating the work of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in the country. According to Agati, the proposed law will make it easier for Egyptian civil society organizations (CSOs) to operate and defend the rights of […]

North Africa

MENASource

Apr 21, 2016

From Reassurance to Shared Interests: Bridging the Gulf at the Riyadh Summit

By Muath Al Wari and Elisa Catalano Ewers

President Barack Obama’s meeting with the leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in Saudi Arabia this week is a previously scheduled follow-up to last year’s Camp David meeting, which notably secured the Gulf states’ passive endorsement of the Iran nuclear deal. There is no comparable deliverable expected this week, and the case for low […]

International Organizations Politics & Diplomacy

MENASource

Apr 21, 2016

Keeping the Possibility of Peace in Yemen Alive

By Jillian Schwedler

The talks at the GCC summit this week provide an opportunity for President Barack Obama to address the war and humanitarian crisis in Yemen. The delegation representing the Houthis and ousted president Ali Abdullah Saleh’s General People’s Congress (GPC) delegations finally turned up today for peace talks in Kuwait, but the prospects for ending the […]

International Organizations Politics & Diplomacy
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