Featured commentary & analysis


Counterterrorism Study Group

The Counterterrorism Study Group is a forum for former counterterrorism officials to review the latest threats, to understand emerging trends and future predictions, and to explore creative new proposals for improving the effectiveness of current policies and operations.


Podcast series

Listen to the latest episode of the China-MENA podcast, featuring conversations with academics, government leaders, and the policy community on China’s role in the Middle East.


Gulf Security Task Force

The Gulf Security Task Force is revisiting the question of how to best protect US interests in this sensitive, always relevant region. Our goal is to provide US decision-makers with an updated, fact-based strategy for protecting US interests in the air and maritime domain from the Persian Gulf to the Red Sea, and ensuring Gulf partners’ ability to assume this responsibility, with the assistance and leadership of the United States.

Content

Cybersecurity and Stability in the Gulf

NATOSource

Jan 10, 2014

The Gulf is a Flashpoint for Cyber Conflict

By James Andrew Lewis, CSIS

Cyberattack is a new tool of national power. It provides a means of coercion, influence, and warfare.

Cybersecurity International Organizations

MENASource

Jan 9, 2014

New Government in Kuwait, but No New Politics

By Kristin Smith Diwan

On Monday Kuwait announced its sixth government since Sheikh Jaber Mubarak al-Hamad Al Sabah assumed the premiership in 2011. The latest cabinet reshuffle appeared aimed at improving relations with the current parliament (the National Assembly) which is seen as more favorable to the government. Yet almost immediately, members of parliament, once solidly in the pro-government […]

The Gulf

MENASource

Jan 6, 2014

Richard LeBaron on Opportunities for the Gulf in Egypt

By EgyptSource

Writing for MENASource, Richard LeBaron, a Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East, highlights the opportunities available to the Gulf countries, namely Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, to redefine their role in the Middle East, particularly when it comes to addressing the question of Egypt’s faltering economy. 

International Organizations North Africa

MENASource

Jan 6, 2014

Gulf Leadership Needed in Egypt, Not Just Cash

By Richard LeBaron

Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates have been generous donors to Egypt over the last year, supporting the military efforts to neutralize the Muslim Brotherhood and allowing the Egyptian economy to limp along.

International Organizations North Africa

MENASource

Dec 20, 2013

Youthful Saudi Reformers Only Safe in the Twittersphere

By Kristin Smith Diwan

The emergence of social networking has opened novel means of communication and connection worldwide. But perhaps nowhere were these new vistas more welcomed than in Saudi Arabia. The virtual communities of Facebook and Twitter offer a means to circumvent the gender confines and sociopolitical restrictions of the Kingdom’s highly segmented and controlled public life. And […]

Saudi Arabia

MENASource

Dec 18, 2013

Responses to Ambassador LeBaron’s Assessment of US-Gulf Relations

By MENASource

Recent tensions between the United States and the Arab Gulf states emerged in recent months over the US role in the region. Saudi Arabia in particular has made its displeasure known in its refusal of a seat on the UN Security Council over US policy in Syria. This widespread sentiment in the Gulf points to […]

Saudi Arabia The Gulf

MENASource

Dec 17, 2013

Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, and Yemen: Three Years in Transition

By MENASource

Since its founding, the Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East has closely followed the Arab transitioning countries as they faced their respective social, political, and economic challenges. In an effort to help map the twists and turns, the Center has produced a timeline for Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, and Yemen as each had to navigate momentous and […]

Libya North Africa

MENASource

Dec 13, 2013

MENASource Discussions: Moving Beyond Yemen’s Political Paralysis [Video]

By MENASource

On the sidelines of an Atlantic Council symposium on Yemen’s economic challenges, which discussed the findings of a new report on the topic, Yemen’s Economic Agenda: Beyond Short-Term, Danya Greenfield interviewed three Yemeni experts

Yemen
Officer in Armed Forces of Qatar

NATOSource

Dec 13, 2013

Gulf Nations Announce Joint Military Command

By KUNA and Defense News

In a big step forward to consolidate Gulf joint security, Arab Gulf leaders agreed Wednesday on the establishment of a joint military command and police.

Missile Defense Saudi Arabia
Image Credit: US Dept. of State

Issue Brief

Dec 12, 2013

Building a better US-Gulf partnership

By Richard LeBaron

A new Atlantic Council issue brief, “Building a Better US-Gulf Partnership,” contends that the United States and its Gulf partners must prioritize and build on their shared interests in light of ongoing erosion of ties, and a fundamental gap in expectations about the US role in the region and its commitment to security for the […]

The Gulf

Experts