Middle East

Syria: Ethnonationalism and the New World Disorder

By Robert Manning

As the horrific tragedy in Syria continues to unfold amidst calls for intervention and growing fears of a region unraveling, it is useful to recall that a troubling proportion of conflict and disorder in the world is driven by the powerful force of ethno-nationalism.

Is Egypt’s Transition On or Off the Rails?

The court-mandated dissolution of parliament and a supplementary constitutional declaration by the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) has thrown Egypt’s transition into uncertainty and possible unrest. On June 21, the Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East and the Project on Middle East Democracy (POMED) hosted a discussion on these alarming developments as […]

Brent Scowcroft Warns Against Syria Intervention

By Barbara Slavin

Brent Scowcroft, a veteran Republican voice on US foreign policy, said the United States “isn’t smart enough” to solve the Syria crisis and “would pay a heavy price for [military] intervention,” in an interview with Al-Monitor Washington correspondent and Atlantic Council senior fellow Barbara Slavin.

Beyond the ballot box: Egypt’s constitutional challenge

By Mara Revkin and Yussef Auf

Against the backdrop of this historic electoral battle, much more is at stake than the country’s highest office, EgyptSource editor Mara Revkin and Egyptian Judge Yussef Auf argue in a new issue brief for the Atlantic Council’s Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East. While the election certainly represents a critical milestone, or perhaps a […]

Former Iranian Negotiator Faults His Nation’s Nuclear Diplomacy

By Barbara Slavin

Iran undercut its own negotiators by withholding from them key details of its nuclear program, according to a new book by a former senior Iranian diplomat.