Middle East

Middle East

Stretching from the Western Mediterranean to the Indian Ocean, the Middle East continues to be a region struggling with violent conflict, political repression, and poor development. Numerous pro-democracy protest movements, a burgeoning youth population, and efforts to reform governments and lessen economic dependence on oil, however, are causes for optimism. The United States and the international community must remain engaged with the region to provide support for these positive moves and to address the many remaining challenges.

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The latest pieces from MENASource:


MENASource

Jun 4, 2026

تفتت الفصائل المسلحة العراقية بعد تحول النظام الإيراني من الثيوقراطية الى الجنتوقراطية

By
Munqith Dagher

كيف يؤثر تغيير القيادة في ايران على الميليشيات العراقية؟ د. منقذ داغر يبدو اننا بتنا ، بعد 28 فبراير 2026 ،امام نظام مختلف وظيفياً، بل وحتى هيكلياً عما عرفناه طوال السنوات السبعة وأربعين من عمر النظام الايراني. فقد اتسم نظام الحكم في ايران بنسخته الخمينية الأولى 1979-1989  بأحادية قطبية لا مكان فيها سوى للمرشد الأعلى(الخميني). […]


Arabic

Conflict


MENASource

Jun 4, 2026

Iraq’s militias are fracturing as Iran turns from theocracy to juntocracy

By
Munqith Dagher

Iraq’s militias face a spiritual and organizational dilemma that gravely endangers their existence, in the wake of Iran's leadership change.


Conflict

Iran


MENASource

May 26, 2026

An oil windfall will not fix Libya’s economy

By
Ahmed Shalghoum and Frank Talbot

Libya's new unified budget needs transparency, accountability, and oversight to deliver for the people.


Economy & Business

Libya

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Through our Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East, 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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Content

Event Recap

Jun 12, 2013

Roundtable on Egypt’s Ongoing Political Crisis

The Atlantic Council’s Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East hosted a roundtable discussion with former member of parliament and founding member of Egypt’s Social Democratic Party Ziad Bahaa-Eldin on the ongoing crisis in Egypt.

North Africa

New Atlanticist

Jun 12, 2013

Can the West Afford Not to Act in Syria?

By Ulrich Speck

The civil war in Syria reveals many uncomfortable truths about today’s geopolitics. One of them is that the EU has made little progress on a common foreign policy in the last two decades.

European Union International Organizations

New Atlanticist

Jun 10, 2013

‘Engineered’ Iranian Elections Provide an Opening for Criticizing Status Quo

By Barbara Slavin

Iranian elections are hardly free or fair by Western standards. But even with limited choices and a heavily securitized environment, the brief presidential campaign is providing an outlet for harsh criticism of the status quo, including topics — such as the nuclear file — that are usually banished from public discourse.The last-minute decision by nuclear […]

Elections Iran

New Atlanticist

Jun 7, 2013

US Is Syria’s Only Hope

By R. Nicholas Burns

Syria’s savage civil war may have just entered a new and darker phase. During the past few weeks, momentum has shifted sharply away from the rebels in favor of the Syrian dictator Bashar Assad. The real possibility that his government, long presumed to be on life support, may now survive is bad news for rebel […]

Security & Defense Syria

New Atlanticist

Jun 7, 2013

United States Trapped in Cul-de-Sac of No Good Choices

By Harlan Ullman

Unlike the past when the United States faced potentially existential dangers, from the Revolution to the Civil War, Great Depression, World War II and the Cold War, since the attacks on New York’s Twin Towers on Sept. 11, 2001, too many of today’s crises and challenges have no obvious solutions let alone good ones. The […]

Middle East United States and Canada

New Atlanticist

Jun 6, 2013

Why NATO Won’t Intervene in Syria

By James Joyner

NATO secretary general Anders Fogh Rasmussen reiterated Friday that the Alliance will not intervene militarily in Syria. While he repeatedly made the same assurances regarding Libya before NATO’s ultimate action, there’s good reason to believe him this time.  First, as Rasmussen noted, “There is a clear difference between Libya and Syria. We took responsibility for the […]

National Security NATO

Event Recap

Jun 6, 2013

Stability and Reconstruction Operations Under Fire

On June 6, the South Asia Center hosted a discussion with Stuart Bowen, special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction. Mr. Bowen addressed lessons learned from Iraq and the need for a new model for stability and reconstruction operations (SROs).

Iraq

New Atlanticist

Jun 5, 2013

Lebanon inches toward disaster

By Rajan Menon

It has been Lebanon’s unenviable fate to be the playground for the deadly games of its more powerful and rivalrous neighbors. What has made Lebanon particularly vulnerable to the fears and ambitions of adjacent states—or in the case of Iran, those aligned with them—is the effect outsiders’ machinations have had on the delicate balance among […]

Middle East Security & Defense

New Atlanticist

Jun 3, 2013

What’s Russia Doing in Syria and Why

By Rajan Menon

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has killed some 80,000 of his citizens and driven another 1.7 million into neighboring countries. Unsurprisingly, he has few foreign friends these days. But two have played a pivotal part in his survival: Iran and Russia.

Missile Defense National Security

New Atlanticist

May 30, 2013

Syrian Supernova?

By Harlan Ullman

Syria is dying. A further tragedy is that there is little the outside world can do to end that war.

Syria
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Experts

Millennium fellow

Sharif Abdelrazeq

Sustainability and Innovation Engineer, Consolidated Contractors Company

Millennium Leadership Program

Economy & Business Middle East

Fellow

Nasredeen Abdulbari

Nonresident Senior Fellow, Project for Middle East Integration

Rafik Hariri Center & Middle East programs

Africa Arabic

Fellow

Gina Abercrombie-Winstanley

Distinguished Fellow

Rafik Hariri Center & Middle East programs Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security

Middle East National Security

Fellow

Ahmed Aboudouh

Former Nonresident Fellow

Rafik Hariri Center & Middle East programs Scowcroft Middle East Security Initiative

Arabic China

Fellow

Grace Abuhamad

Former Nonresident Fellow

Digital Forensic Research Lab

Digital Policy Internet

Millennium fellow

Ramzi Abunemreh

Architectural Manager, Consolidated Contractors Company

Millennium Leadership Program

Central Asia Economy & Business
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