Middle East Programs Research & Reports

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.

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 […]

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 […]

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.

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.

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 […]

The new containment: Changing America’s approach to Middle East security

By Bilal Y. Saab

Securing the Middle East after an Iran nuclear deal is the next big challenge for both the region and the international community. The United States and its allies have engaged in tireless diplomacy with Iran over the past few years to produce an agreement that would limit Tehran’s nuclear program for the next decade and […]

تمهيد المسار للسلام في سوريا: مقترح لإنشاء قوة وطنية سورية من أجل الاستقرار

إعداد: فريديرك هوف، بسمة قضماني، جيفري وايت انطلاقاً من برنامج الرئيس باراك أوباما للتدريب-والتجهيز لتحويل المتمردين السوريين الوطنيين إلى قوات برية لمقاومة الدولة الإسلامية في العراق والشام، يوصي التقرير بالتطلع إلى ما هو أبعد: تجنيد، وتدريب، وتجهيز، ونشر قوة وطنية سورية من أجل الاستقرار تكون مؤلفة من سوريين فقط. تلك القوة، التي بإمكانها أن تشكل أساساً […]