Middle East Programs Commentary & Analysis

Our blogs feature thoughtful reflections and opinions on current events in the Middle East & North Africa.

Through our Middle East Programs, the Atlantic Council works with allies and partners in Europe and the wider Middle East to protect US interests, build peace and security, and unlock the human potential of the region.

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Meet our blogs

MENASource

MENASource follows movements across the region and provides news and analysis on current events, including a platform for Middle Eastern perspectives, among others, on major issues—economic, political, security, cultural—that are at stake in the post-Arab Spring era.  

IranSource

IranSource provides a holistic look at Iran’s internal dynamics, global and regional policies, and posture through unique analysis of current events and long-term, strategic issues related to Iran.

All commentary & analysis

MENASource

Dec 21, 2020

Global litigation strategies to close the accountability gap on human rights violators in Iran

By Lucy Grathwohl

Gissou Nia and a panel of litigators—Haydee Dijkstal, Amanda Ghahremani, Scott Gilmore—discussed the tools through which the perpetrators of gross human rights violations in the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) can be held accountable in the United States, Europe, and Canada.

Human Rights Middle East

MENASource

Dec 18, 2020

President-elect Joe Biden can help end the war in Yemen

By Khaled H. Alyemany

If President-elect Joe Biden commits to putting an end to the war in Yemen, he can prevent Yemen from falling into the hands of warlords and Iran’s proxy network—namely the Houthis and Lebanese Hezbollah—as well as other terrorist groups like al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and ISIS.

Middle East Yemen

MENASource

Dec 17, 2020

Tunisia’s political landscape a decade after the Jasmine revolution

By Dario Cristiani

As Tunisia approaches the tenth anniversary of its revolution, it faces a pandemic that has induced a historical economic crisis with significant social and political ramifications in the years to come.

Middle East North Africa

IranSource

Dec 15, 2020

Under sanctions, Iran’s black market for medicine grows

By Saumaun Heiat

For the traffickers, each day is a new opportunity to make more money off Iranians trying to weather the storm of COVID-19 and sanctions.

MENASource

Dec 14, 2020

Russian aid in Syria: An underestimated instrument of soft power

By Jonathan Robinson

Free from needing outside help by the international community, Russia’s self-sufficient aid ecosystem undermines, devalues, and rivals UN-led efforts in Syria, threatens to erode trust in the wider aid system, and provides a dangerous alternative narrative about the humanitarian environment in Syria for the Bashar al-Assad regime.

Middle East Politics & Diplomacy

MENASource

Dec 14, 2020

Is Jordan’s workforce ready for emerging opportunities in digital entrepreneurship?

By Nicole Goldin

By tapping into its large, tech-savvy youth population, which makes up more than half of its citizens, and its markedly underutilized female labor force, Jordan can position itself for dynamic post-COVID economic expansion.

Middle East Politics & Diplomacy

Podcast

Dec 11, 2020

EmpowerME Conversations Pilot

By Atlantic Council

The empowerME conversations podcast features conversations with business and government leaders shaping the Middle East. The podcast sheds light on key opportunities and challenges for companies and governments, and Season 1 will focus on top regional entrepreneurs and their path to success as well as struggles they faced along the way.

Middle East Resilience & Society

MENASource

Dec 11, 2020

How Palestine refugees cope during the coronavirus

By UNWRA

While access to free healthcare, education, relief, and social services have been a mainstay of its operations from day one, UNRWA has adapted its presence on the ground in Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and the occupied Palestinian territory—including East Jerusalem—to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Middle East Politics & Diplomacy

MENASource

Dec 10, 2020

Experts react: What the Morocco-Israel deal means for the Middle East

By Atlantic Council

Atlantic Council experts react to the normalization of ties between Morocco and Israel and what it means for the wider region.

Africa Israel

MENASource

Dec 10, 2020

Pity the nation: Assessing a half century of Assadist rule

By Steven Heydemann

The Syrian uprising is a more damning referendum on the Assad family legacy than any judgement that might be rendered by outsiders.

Middle East Politics & Diplomacy
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