Associated Press
March 15, 2013
"America and the Middle East – I"
Op-Ed, Agence Global
By Rami Khouri, Senior Fellow, Middle East Initiative
Much of the discussion in the United States about President Barack Obama’s trip to the Middle East next week centers around whether he will initiate any new diplomatic moves on Arab-Israeli peace-making, and what he might say about Iran and the continuing Arab uprisings. It is also worth viewing the visit from the perspective of the Middle East itself, where perceptions of the United States and its actions in the region are very mixed, and largely negative.
March 12, 2013
"Judge Islamists by Performance, Not Piety"
Op-Ed, Agence Global
By Rami Khouri, Senior Fellow, Middle East Initiative
Rami Khouri asks and answers the following questions: "Are Islamist groups gaining or losing popularity in different Arab countries? Are Islamists of all varieties better at governing with a legitimate electoral mandate, or better at being opposition groups that only serve their narrow constituencies with a variety of social services and organized piety? Do Islamists necessarily do well when engaged in armed resistance to a foreign occupier or a domestic autocrat, and less well when they stop fighting and take on the responsibilities of governing?"
March 8, 2013
"War Fatigue and Fervor Coexist in Washington"
Op-Ed, Agence Global
By Rami Khouri, Senior Fellow, Middle East Initiative
Visiting Washington, D.C. is always a thrill, eliciting in me the same feelings I remember as a child when visiting a really great zoo. This is not a criticism of either Washington, D.C. or zoos, only a descriptive statement about the spectacular, yet also the often wild, nature of the anthropology of power. I am always astounded by the debate in this town -- regardless of the year, the incumbent party or the issues at hand -- about whether or not the United States should use its considerable power in a certain situation around the world. This legacy changes very slowly, and very little.
Pete Souza/The White House
March 6, 2013
"The Diplomatic Serial Failures"
Op-Ed, Agence Global
By Rami Khouri, Senior Fellow, Middle East Initiative
Understandably, Middle East circles in the United States these days increasingly speculate about whether President Barack Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry will explore opportunities for re-launching peace negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians. Less understandable is why a leading American publication -- the New York Times’ Sunday Review section -- should turn for advice on this issue from former diplomat Dennis Ross, who wrote a full page article in the paper last Sunday offering his 14 points on how Palestinians and Israelis could move ahead towards a successful negotiation.
March 1, 2013
"U.S. Policy on Syria is Naive and Counterproductive"
Op-Ed, Agence Global
By Rami Khouri, Senior Fellow, Middle East Initiative
"The big question people here ask is whether the United States should provide military aid to help the Syrian rebels improve their chances of defeating and overthrowing the Assad family regime. The hesitance of the Obama administration to do this (beyond the military training that is widely assumed to be underway in Jordan) is a classic example of why American foreign policy in the Middle East is so erratic, often leading to the growth of groups that feed off anti-American sentiments."
Wikimedia Commons
February 28, 2013
"When Citizens Claim Sovereignty"
Op-Ed, Agence Global
By Rami Khouri, Senior Fellow, Middle East Initiative
In the midst of experiencing history being made on a daily basis, as has been the case in many Arab countries during the past two years, it is important now and then to step back from the day-to-day developments and try to understand more clearly the motivations that drive ordinary people to do extraordinary things. Two developments during the past week fall into this category, and give us better insights into why the continuing citizen agitation for human rights and a legitimate political order across the Arab world is likely to go on for some time.
February 25, 2013
"Syria's Breakup is a Levantine Norm"
Op-Ed, Daily Star
By Rami Khouri, Senior Fellow, Middle East Initiative
The talk about Syria by knowledgeable friends and colleagues whose views I respect has turned increasingly pessimistic in recent weeks, with expectations ranging across a span of bad outcomes. These range from Syria becoming a Levantine Somalia, where power is in the hands of hundreds of local warlords and tribal chieftains, to a totally fractured state that is defined by a combination of raging civil war and sectarianism that pulls in interested neighbors and perhaps ignites new regional wars.
Associated Press
February 20, 2013
"Obama and Kerry Should Listen Hard"
Op-Ed, Agence Global
By Rami Khouri, Senior Fellow, Middle East Initiative
It was inevitable that the announcement of U.S. President Barack Obama’s visit to the Middle East in mid-March would trigger expectations of new proposals for re-starting Palestinian-Israeli peace talks. This visit, coupled with John Kerry’s appointment as secretary of state and the start of Obama’s second term, heightens speculation about what, if anything, the United States may do to prod the parties towards fresh negotiations
AP/Muhammed Muheisen
February 15, 2013
"Arabs Seek Citizenship and Statehood"
Op-Ed, Agence Global
By Rami Khouri, Senior Fellow, Middle East Initiative
As we navigate this period that marks the two-year anniversary of the uprisings and revolutions that began to change the face of the Arab world in January 2011, we witness a dizzying array of conditions across the Arab countries: street demonstrations, clashes between groups of young activists and police, outright warfare, slow-motion constitutional transformations, the occasional assassination or bombing, many elections and referendums, and recurring government crises.
Photo Credit: Noelle Janka
February 9, 2013
"Remaking Arab Civil Society"
Op-Ed, Agence Global
By Rami Khouri, Senior Fellow, Middle East Initiative
At a workshop this week at the Radcliffe Institute at Harvard University, I had the pleasure of engaging with colleagues from the United States, Europe and the Arab world on the question of how scholars can study current developments in “civil society” in the Arab world, during this historic moment of uprisings, revolutions and change. One of the fascinating aspects of the discussions was whether we could accurately use a term like “civil society” in the context of the current situation in Arab countries.
