Scowcroft Middle East Security Initiative Research & Reports

Rescuing Pakistan’s economy

By Aasim M. Husain

For decades, Pakistan has struggled with a declining standard of living, skyrocketing public debt, and economic policies that have failed to address the root causes of its stagnation.

Present without impact? How the Middle East perceives China’s diplomatic engagement

By Jonathan Fulton

Despite economic advancements and high-profile diplomatic engagements, China’s influence remains largely economic rather than political, Jonathan Fulton argues.

An energy and sustainability road map for the Middle East

By Ariel Ezrahi

The MENA region is facing a severe crisis due to climate change. Here’s how the US can shape a new model of climate diplomacy.

A bipartisan Iran strategy for the next US administration—and the next two decades

As tensions spike in the Middle East, how should the next US president approach Iran and its network of proxies including Hezbollah and Hamas? With a strategy that can be maintained for decades, by administrations of either party. A bipartisan, expert working group lays out the details.

China’s Middle East policy shift from “hedging” to “wedging”

By Jonathan Fulton, Michael Schuman

Beijing’s diplomacy on the Gaza crisis has been unusually active, and gradually, the intentions behind China’s intervention have become clear. Beijing’s response demonstrates a changing approach to the region, one intended to leverage Beijing’s influence to upset American policy and promote its own vision for the international order.

Is Iran an ideological state?

By Mahmood Sariolghalam

Mahmood Sariolghalam argues that Islamic fundamentalism did motivate Iran’s international presence in the first decade of the revolution. However, after the death of its founder, Ayatollah Khomeini, the country’s foreign policy now prioritizes policies to guarantee its political survival.

The minilateral moment in the Middle East: An opportunity for US regional policy?

By Jean-Loup Samaan

Jean-Loup Samaan analyzes how regional powers in the Middle East are reconsidering the multilateral balance of their foreign policy arrangements.

How monarchies end

By Stephen Grand

Stephen R. Grand flips the analytical script on the spate of notable books covering “How Democracies Die.” Democracies can corrode and crumble, but so can autocracies. Why are there no books being published about how kings and queens, emperors and caliphs, cease to rule—either because their throne is transformed into a more ceremonial post or because they lose power entirely? For Arab monarchs, there are several apparent lessons to be learned.

China’s subsea-cable power in the Middle East and North Africa

By Dale Aluf

Dale Aluf analyzes China’s campaign to make countries in the region more dependent on Chinese networks, while reducing its own dependence on foreign cables. China’s growing presence in the Middle East and North Africa’s cable industry is significant because Beijing has the power to shape the route of global internet traffic by determining when, where, and how to build cables.

Improving Gulf security: A framework to enhance air, missile, and maritime defenses

By The Gulf Security Task Force

Looking at decades of US support and operations in the Gulf and recognizing a continued, arguably growing, air and maritime threat from Iran, the Atlantic Council Gulf Security Task Force developed a framework on how to best protect US and allies’ interests in this sensitive, always relevant region.