Featured commentary & analysis

What the Arab Gulf is thinking after the Afghanistan withdrawal

MENASource Sep 24, 2024

Do the Houthis really have a hypersonic missile?

By Emily Milliken

The claim is concerning for more than just the high speeds; Hypersonic missiles are difficult for missile-defense systems to intercept.
Conflict Iran
What the Arab Gulf is thinking after the Afghanistan withdrawal

MENASource Aug 22, 2024

Ensuring the UAE’s food security in an unstable region

By Hadi Fathallah

To safeguard its future, the UAE must urgently recalibrate its food security strategy while adapting to rapidly evolving global challenges.
Economy & Business Middle East
What the Arab Gulf is thinking after the Afghanistan withdrawal

Report Aug 9, 2024

What attacks on shipping mean for the global maritime order

By Elisabeth Braw

This report discusses the history of attacks on shipping, the rules implemented to keep shipping safe, and the new and serious threats posed by the Houthis and other actors. It also discusses steps Western governments and the shipping industry can take to reduce the harm posed by such attacks.
Europe & Eurasia Maritime Security

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.

EXPLORE THE Counterterrorism study group

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.

Listen

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.

EXPLORE THE GULF SECURITY TASK FORCE

Content

New Atlanticist

Sep 23, 2021

What the Arab Gulf is thinking after the Afghanistan withdrawal

By Kirsten Fontenrose

Three Gulf heavyweights are calculating what they stand to gain—or lose—in their relationship with the United States.

Afghanistan Politics & Diplomacy

In the News

Sep 23, 2021

Ahmad joins the Gulf International Forum to discuss: The Afghanistan Conundrum: Where does the Gulf Stand?

By Atlantic Council

Afghanistan Conflict

MENASource

Sep 20, 2021

‘Investing in women is just good business’: Ways to increase funding for women-led ventures in the Middle East

By Stefanie Hausheer Ali

On September 14, 2021 the Atlantic Council’s empowerME Initiative held a workshop on “Venture Capital Financing: How to Increase Funding for Women-led Ventures."

Middle East The Gulf

In the News

Sep 19, 2021

Fulton quoted in Financial Times on Gulf powers’ ties to Beijing

By Atlantic Council

China Economy & Business
International Friendly - United Arab Emirates v Israel

Issue Brief

Aug 30, 2021

Pitching Abraham’s tent: The human dimension of UAE-Israeli normalization

By Yoel Guzansky, Shalom Lipner, Jonathan H. Ferziger, Sarah Feuer, Tomer Fadlon, Ari Heistein, Ebtesam Al Ketbi, and Noura Al Breiki

In the past year, many have written on the normalization of relations between Israel and Arab states, focusing on economic interests and emphasizing shared security interests in the region. Case studies, however, indicate that relations between countries are improved when they encompass aspects related to the lives of citizens. Incorporating an element of cultural affinity […]

Economy & Business Israel

MENASource

Aug 27, 2021

Saudi Arabia is trying to make America jealous with its budding Russia ties

By Mark N. Katz

Moscow’s ongoing relationship with Tehran—which Russia will not give up for the sake of improved relations with the Kingdom—is likely to induce Riyadh to keep its improving ties with Moscow within bounds.

Europe & Eurasia Middle East

MENASource

Aug 23, 2021

COVID-19 lockdown highlights policies to reduce pollution in Saudi Arabia

By Faisal Algosair and Abdulmohsen Almuhaisen

In March 2020, the Saudi government instituted a national lockdown for three months to prevent the proliferation of the coronavirus. These extraordinary circumstances provide the perfect experiment for policymakers and researchers to investigate whether daily human activities significantly affect pollution levels in an oil-exporting country like Saudi Arabia.

Energy & Environment Middle East

Report

Aug 17, 2021

Whither the Arabs: The end of the welfare state and the start of a journey into the unknown

By Hani K. Findakly, Kevin A. Findakly

Arab countries, rich and poor, large and small, are rapidly approaching a moment of reckoning. A confluence of anachronistic governance, economic mismanagement, and disruptive technology, which has changed the dynamics of both the supply and demand for hydrocarbon fuels and raw materials, is pushing the region to a tipping point.

Economy & Business Middle East

MENASource

Aug 16, 2021

Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 aims to empower the non-profit sector. Here are three areas to focus on.

By Ghadah W. Alharthi

The goals of Saudi’s Vision 2030 will require innovation on all fronts, and social entrepreneurship can be a leading driver of the country’s advancement once nurtured properly.

Middle East Politics & Diplomacy

MENASource

Aug 13, 2021

It’s been one year since the Abraham Accords. Gulf-Israel ties are still far from normal.

By Jonathan H. Ferziger

One year after former President Donald Trump coaxed the United Arab Emirates and Israel to normalize relations, ties between the two countries and other signatories to the Abraham Accords have a distance to go before they can be considered an enduring success.

Israel Middle East
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Experts

Fellow

Amir Asmar

Nonresident Senior Fellow

Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East Scowcroft Middle East Security Initiative

Intelligence Israel

Staff

Allison Minor

Director, N7 Research Institute

Rafik Hariri Center & Middle East programs

Arabic Conflict

Fellow

Amir Hayek

Nonresident Senior Fellow, N7 Initiative

Rafik Hariri Center & Middle East programs

Arabic English

Fellow

Perrihan Al-Riffai

Nonresident Senior Fellow

empowerME Rafik Hariri Center & Middle East programs

Arabic Economy & Business

Fellow

Osamah Al Rawhani

Nonresident Senior Fellow

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

Middle East Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding

Millennium fellow

Sharif Abdelrazeq

Sustainability and Innovation Engineer, Consolidated Contractors Company

Millennium Leadership Program

Economy & Business Middle East
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