All in-depth research & reports

Report

Nov 21, 2016

Middle East Strategy Task Force: Politics, governance, and state-society relations

By Tamara Cofman Wittes

Investing in sustainable governance is important for the world and for the rising generation of young Arabs, who can either become a force for tremendous progress or a generation lost to violence and despair.

Civil Society Political Reform

Issue Brief

Oct 31, 2016

Aftermath of the Arab spring in North Africa

By Mohsin Khan and Karim Mezran

At the outset of the political uprisings that began in North Africa in 2010, the four countries of Algeria, Libya, Morocco, and Tunisia faced similar economic and political challenges. Over the past almost six years, the countries have adopted different approaches to address these problems, however the overall economic picture today is grim amid varied […]

Economy & Business Libya

Issue Brief

Oct 14, 2016

History’s lessons for resolving today’s Middle East conflicts

By Mathew J. Burrows

In the spirit of the adage that “those who don’t know history are destined to repeat it,” History’s Lessons for Resolving Today’s Middle East Conflicts, by Mathew J. Burrows, examines past precedents for resolving highly complex conflicts, by delving into seven historic examples of peacemaking.

Conflict Middle East

Report

Jun 14, 2016

The economic decline of Egypt after the 2011 uprising

By Mohsin Khan and Elissa Miller

Five years after the 2011 revolution, Egypt’s economy is floundering and remains far from recovery. Successive Egyptian governments have struggled to develop a vision for a new economic model for Egypt, while simultaneously implementing populist policies to appease the immediate demand of the public. In “The Economic Decline of Egypt after the 2011 Uprising,” authors […]

Economy & Business North Africa

Regional Security Initiative

Apr 18, 2016

After hub-and-spoke: US hegemony in a new Gulf security order

By Bilal Y. Saab

The era of Pax Americana in the Gulf, and perhaps in the broader Middle East, is changing. Regional transformation and chaos resulting from the Arab uprisings, the rise of ISIS and its global terrorist reach, shifting US priorities around the world, and the rise of other outside powers in the Gulf have contributed to an […]

Middle East Security & Defense

Report

Mar 24, 2016

The Kremlin’s actions in Syria: Origins, timing, and prospects

By Frederic C. Hof, Vladislav Inozemtsev, Adam Garfinkle, Dennis Ross

Resolution to the conflict in Syria requires an understanding of the Russian intervention, involvement, and interest therein. Putin’s interest in regaining the “influence that the Soviet Union once enjoyed in the Middle East” shapes how the West must engage Russia, as Ambassador John E. Herbst highlights in The Kremlin’s Actions in Syria, a new report […]

Arms Control Conflict

Report

Feb 18, 2016

Security and public order

By The Middle East Strategy Task Force

The security situation facing the Middle East is grave and appears to be trending toward greater violence and instability. The Middle East Strategy Task Force’s Security and Public Order report, published in cooperation with the Brookings Institution, demonstrates that states of the region have tended to focus on traditional, external threats but the internal threats they face—from domestic unrest, state failure, and civil war—have become both more common and dangerous.

Middle East Security & Defense

Issue Brief

Feb 9, 2016

Post-sanctions economic opportunities and risks in Iran

By Robert D. Hormats

On January 16, 2016, the International Atomic Energy Agency verified that Iran had implemented key measures under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. As a result, nuclear-related sanctions previously imposed by the United Nations, the European Union, and the United States were lifted. The removal of these sanctions opens up a wide range of possibilities […]

Report

Feb 3, 2016

Economic recovery and revitalization

By Middle East Strategy Task Force

Even as the specter of political instability weighs heavily on the region, the Middle East is quietly experiencing a technological and societal transformation that could hold the keys to a better future.

Economy & Business Education

Issue Brief

Sep 14, 2015

Iran debates its regional role

By Nasser Hadian

Concerns in the United States and its traditional Middle Eastern allies about Iran’s expanding regional role in the aftermath of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), reached between Iran and the P5+1 on July 14, 2015, fail to take into consideration a significant debate within the Iranian policy elite. In “Iran Debates Its Regional […]

Iran