MENASource

As the MENA region continues to be the epicenter of news headlines, the Atlantic Council’s MENASource is a hub for thought-provoking and hard-hitting analyses about the latest trends, ideas, and debates. This online publication provides fast reactions and in-depth commentary on breaking news and key regional topics by a diverse team of experts and contributors.

MENASource brings you up-close to a region at the epicenter of geo-political headlines. It is the Atlantic Council’s hub for in-depth commentary about breaking news, key topics, and trends from our team of experts on the Middle East and North Africa.

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

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Jordan Experiment Spurs Jobs for Refugees

MENASource
Mar 26, 2026

As Iran attacks, the US should provide air defense for Iraqi Kurdistan

Washington faces a choice: Continue to defer to Baghdad’s procedural objections while Iran conducts unimpeded strikes on Kurdish territory or acknowledge the strategic reality and take decisive action.

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Jordan Experiment Spurs Jobs for Refugees

MENASource
Mar 17, 2026

A crisis in Egypt could be a warning sign for the global economy 

By
Khalid Azim

Market watchers should keep an eye on Egypt as an oil shock could cause financial turmoil.

Economy & Business
International Financial Institutions

Jordan Experiment Spurs Jobs for Refugees

MENASource
Mar 11, 2026

Three lessons from Libya for the war in Iran

By
Frank Talbot

Any outside power using force to attain a political outcome must define the end state it seeks, align coalition partners around a shared strategy, and establish credible escalation controls.

Conflict
Iran

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Content

MENASource

Aug 4, 2016

Jordan Experiment Spurs Jobs for Refugees

By Bethan Staton

There is little beyond some roads, power lines and a handful of sand-blown warehouses to suggest that this patch of barren land in Jordan is the center of one of the most important economic experiments in the world today. Most of the 8 square miles (21 sq km) of the King Hussein Bin Talal Development […]

Syria

MENASource

Aug 1, 2016

An IMF Program for Egypt – Third Time Lucky?

By Mohsin Khan and Elissa Miller

Egyptian and IMF officials are starting negotiations this week in Cairo to finalize a 3-year program worth $12 billion. These negotiations will last about two weeks, after which the IMF will return to Washington with a “Letter-of-Intent” specifying the policies that the government of Egypt will undertake over the course of the program. If the […]

Economy & Business North Africa

MENASource

Aug 1, 2016

Why Did Tunisia’s Parliament Oust Prime Minister Habib Essid?

By Fatim-Zohra El Malki

In what was an anticipated result, Tunisia’s parliament voted overwhelmingly to oust Prime Minister Habib Essid on July 30. The vote came in the midst of intra-party divisions and questions over Essid’s capacity to lead the country successfully just 17 months after his nomination to the post. Although expected, the result and the uncertainty over […]

North Africa

MENASource

Jul 29, 2016

Turkish-Western Relations After the Attempted Coup

By H.A. Hellyer

As different capitals in the West form and inform their policies on Turkey in the aftermath of the attempted coup of July 15, three guiding analytical frames ought to clarify Turkey’s relationship with the West. The first relates to Turkey’s position within the international system; the second relates to the attempt at political change in […]

Turkey

MENASource

Jul 29, 2016

Factbox: The Case Against Egypt’s Top Auditor

By Elissa Miller

On July 28, former head of Egypt’s Central Auditing Authority (CAA) Hesham Geneina was convicted of spreading false news over a December 2015 report alleging that hundreds of thousands of pounds had been lost to government corruption. He was sentenced to a year in jail, and a fine of 20,000 Egyptian pounds. Paying an additional […]

North Africa

MENASource

Jul 28, 2016

Tiran and Sanafir Trials Continue to Reverberate in Egypt

By Khaled Dawoud

In mid-July, nine opposition parties, seven human rights organization, and over 100 political figures signed a statement denouncing what they described as a harsh three-year prison sentence, and a fine of 100,000 Egyptian pounds, issued by a Cairo court against ten demonstrators. They were sentenced on charges relating to a protest against the controversial maritime […]

North Africa

MENASource

Jul 20, 2016

The GCC Response to Turkey’s Failed Coup

By Giorgio Cafiero

Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states hailed Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s triumph over last week’s failed coup attempt. The Council’s powerhouse Saudi Arabia expressed support for Turkey’s “elected government” with “constitutional legitimacy.” By detaining Turkey’s military attaché to Kuwait on Sunday at Dammam Airport, at Ankara’s request, the Saudis also demonstrated their willingness to collaborate […]

International Organizations Politics & Diplomacy

MENASource

Jul 20, 2016

The Fracturing of Turkey’s Military

By Aaron Stein

The failed coup attempt last Friday challenged a number of key assumptions about the Turkish Republic. Turkey, a NATO ally since 1952, has always been a difficult partner for the United States to work with. However, its shared border with the Middle East has, since 1991, made it an important component of US combat operations, […]

Turkey

MENASource

Jul 19, 2016

Parsing the Islamic State’s Nice Attack Claims

By Mona Alami

This year’s Bastille Day will go down in France’s modern history as its most bloody. On July 14, 31-year-old Tunisian Mohamed Lahouaiej-Bouhlel ploughed through festive crowds in the Mediterranean city of Nice, killing 84 and injuring 200 others. France’s struggles with terror—whether through lone attacks in Nice or the coordinated Islamic State attacks in Paris […]

France Middle East

MENASource

Jul 18, 2016

A Middle East Agenda for Hillary Clinton

By Nabeel Khoury

As Hillary Clinton emerges as the presumptive Democratic nominee for the 2016 presidential elections after an endorsement by rival Bernie Sanders, challenges loom ahead, both as policy issues and as strategies that need to be planned for when a potential presidential term begins.

Iraq Israel
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