Through our Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East and Scowcroft Middle East Security Initiative, 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

Nov 30, 2019

The challenges Iraq faces after prime minister’s resignation

By Abbas Kadhim

The news on November 29 that Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi will resign is unprecedented in post-2003 Iraq. Many questions must be answered before his successor is appointed, and in the meantime, we can expect unrest to continue.

Democratic Transitions
Iraq

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Nov 26, 2019

How the exclusion of women has cost Libya

By Emily Burchfield

Libya experts frequently call for greater inclusion of civil society and local governance leaders in peace-building efforts in order for the peace process to be more representative of ordinary Libyans. And yet, Libyan women’s powerful role in civil society and the fact that they make up half of the population of “ordinary Libyans” is often overlooked.

Libya
Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding

MENASource

Nov 25, 2019

Stranded on the island of Lesbos, refugees remain in limbo

By Sarah El-Rashidi

The Greek island of Lesbos is a unique island with a symbolic statue of liberty standing tall since 1922. Lesbos became a place for refuge following the Greco-Turkish war of 1919 and today is home to thousands of refugees. Located in the Aegean Sea near the shores of Turkey, the island first became a place […]

Conflict
Europe & Eurasia
20191125_IranInternet

IranSource

Nov 25, 2019

Iranians endure internet shutdown with despair and disarray

By Khosro Sayeh Isfahani

On November 16, 2019, the Iranian government shut down the Internet throughout the country following a decision to triple the price of fuel overnight.

Digital Policy
Economy & Business
20191120_Libya

MENASource

Nov 21, 2019

Another conference, another incomplete solution for Libya

By Karim Mezran and Federica Saini Fasanotti

Libya should be created by and for Libyans. There is no place for external interventions or conferences without full participation of all Libyans.

Corruption
Libya

MENASource

Nov 19, 2019

Leaked Iranian intelligence about Iraq only tells part of the story

By C. Anthony Pfaff

The recent story in the New York Times on leaked Iranian intelligence reports about Iranian influence operations in Iraq elicits a couple of possible reactions. If one works for the United States government, particularly in any department or bureau that deals with Iraq, one would be reasonable to feel some gratitude not only that the […]

Intelligence
Iran

IranSource

Nov 19, 2019

Iran protests: Something has to give

By Kevjn Lim

At midnight on November 15, the Iranian government announced it was hiking petrol prices by at least 50 percent. Although the government justified the measure—itself part of badly-needed structural reforms—as a means of generating cash handouts for 60 million of the country’s poorest citizens (or 75 percent of the population), it triggered large-scale protests across […]

Iran
Middle East

New Atlanticist

Nov 18, 2019

Pompeo’s Israeli settlements announcement could imperil Middle East peace chances

By David A. Wemer

“The realignment of long-standing US government policy foreshadows the promised, if long delayed, release of President Trump’s vision for regional peace, intimating that the blueprint may countenance the extension of Israeli sovereignty to communities whose existence has, until now, been considered illegal per US interpretation of international law,” Shalom Lipner says.

Conflict
Israel

IranSource

Nov 18, 2019

Iran protests: A quest for reform turns into widespread discontent

By Giorgia Perletta

Popular protests are flaring up in the Middle East. From Lebanon to Iraq and now Iran, they show the weakening of the social contract between the population and their government. In the Islamic Republic, the post-revolutionary social contract was born on a populist promises of justice, but decades of endemic political and economic inefficiencies wiped […]

Iran
Middle East

SyriaSource

Nov 18, 2019

After the Syria withdrawal, it’s time the US rethinks the use of proxy forces

By Mona Alami

Proxy warfare is a 21st century military playbook utilized by great powers, like Russia, and the United States with some using it better than others.

Security & Defense
Syria
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