About the center

The Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East examines the barriers preventing many people in the region from reaching their fullest potential. Our work also highlights success stories of individuals and institutions who overcame significant challenges in pursuit of social, economic, and political progress. Inspired by these examples, we delineate practical and implementable policy recommendations that policymakers in the United States, Europe, and the Middle East can implement to unleash the region’s economic and human potential.

Featured commentary & analysis

Featured in-depth research & reports

Leadership

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Events

We convene the most important stakeholders on issues of primary concern to the transatlantic community when it comes the Middle East and North Africa, from senior US and Middle East government officials to civil society activists and budding entrepreneurs.

Past events

Content

SyriaSource

Aug 1, 2019

Syrians at the Turkish border: humiliation, torture, and death

By Tesbih Habbal

Yet the journey is fraught with danger that doesn’t end at the border. If anything, the border itself is the most dangerous part of the journey with Turkish border guards known as “Jandarma,” who frequently capture, beat, and steal from Syrian refugees only to send them back into Syria.

Syria

In the News

Aug 1, 2019

Slavin in Axios on US sanctions on Iran

By Atlantic Council

Economic Sanctions Iran

In the News

Jul 31, 2019

Duclos quoted in Le Monde on US-Iran tensions

By Atlantic Council

Economic Sanctions French

IranSource

Jul 31, 2019

The IRGC should be held accountable for rights abuses

By Gissou Nia

Up until recently, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) was an organization relatively unknown to the American public. However, with the Trump administration’s “maximum pressure” campaign on Iran threatening to boil over into actual military confrontation, and the IRGC’s announcements of downing an American drone and seizing oil tankers, the increasing references to this group in the mainstream news and on social media may soon make it a household name.

Human Rights Iran

MENASource

Jul 30, 2019

Israel’s mixed bag: How Israel excels and fails at sustainability

By Daniel J. Samet

When it comes to green technology, there is no denying Israeli clout. The “start-up nation,” whose renowned tech sector accounts for 35 to 40 percent of GDP, has earned the moniker due in no small part to sustainability.  

Israel

In the News

Jul 29, 2019

Slavin quoted in the Los Angeles Times on Iranian opposition group MEK

By Barbara Slavin

Iran

IranSource

Jul 29, 2019

Lebanon is incapable of implementing UN Security Council Resolution 1701

By David Daoud

On its thirteen anniversary, UN Security Council Resolution 1701—intended to degrade and disarm the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah—is no closer to fulfilment than on the day it was passed.

Iran Israel

In the News

Jul 26, 2019

Slavin quoted in Lobe Log on escalating Iran tensions

By Atlantic Council

Economic Sanctions Iran

MENASource

Jul 26, 2019

The Christie’s Affair: The looting and sale of indigenous Egyptian artifacts

By Amal A. Kandeel and Noor Sullivan

This week, Egypt has commemorated the 67th anniversary of the expulsion of King Farouk, the last conduit for British control and exploitation of Egypt, and the establishment of the Egyptian republic. The generations who witnessed and participated in the struggle against imperial Britain are no longer alive. Yet widespread aversion to that earlier period still runs deep among Egyptian citizens and officials. 

North Africa

IranSource

Jul 26, 2019

Under US sanctions, Iran regional influence grows

By Kenneth Katzman

All US secondary sanctions on Iran’s core economic sectors were re-imposed by the Trump administration in November 2018 as a direct consequence of its withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

Iran