MIDDLE EAST GOVERNANCE AND POLICY
May 18, 2013
"When Arab States and Citizens Differ on Palestine"
Op-Ed, Agence Global
By Rami Khouri, Senior Fellow, Middle East Initiative
"Tensions between the Arab state and its citizens will expand in the years ahead, as the fundamental contradictions of Arab state-building, national identity, regional relations, the Arabism-Zionism confrontation, and international alliances all clash visibly. Jordan and Egypt provide the clearest examples because of their peace treaties with Israel, but they are not unique. Most other Arab states suffer similar contradictions and stresses, especially Levantine and Gulf states that must satisfy American-Israeli demands that contradict the sentiments of many of those Arab states’ own citizens."
May 14, 2013
"New Rules of the Evolving Arab Order"
Op-Ed, Agence Global
By Rami Khouri, Senior Fellow, Middle East Initiative
The uprisings that erupted across the region as of December 2010 have been the single most important sign of a region-wide malaise that was gnawing at the core of Arab countries for decades, signaled in its earlier stages in the 1980s-90s by the rise of mass Islamist movements that reflected widespread citizen discontent and challenged autocratic governments. The evolving regional order is now entering its most dynamic stage of change, with every component element transforming into something new.
Summer 2013
"International Council Members Debate Critical Issues"
Newsletter Article, Belfer Center Newsletter
The Belfer Center launched its annual International Council meeting on April 9 with animated discussions of, among others, U.S. energy politics, the links between economic policy and national security, cybersecurity, and the rise of China. Participants included members of the Center's International Council and Board of Directors as well as faculty and senior fellows.
Summer 2013
"Conference Spotlights Saudi Arabia’s Role in the Middle East"
Newsletter Article, Belfer Center Newsletter
Saudi Arabia’s Prince Turki Al Faisal told a standing-room only audience at Harvard Kennedy School in April that his nation is investing huge sums in solar, wind, and nuclear energy to reduce domestic reliance on its oil reserves. Prince Turki said Saudi Arabia’s security depends on a healthy energy policy that uses oil to earn export revenues rather than for domestic consumption.
Summer 2013
"Nussaibah Younis: Foreign Policies of Weak States Matter"
Newsletter Article, Belfer Center Newsletter
The invasion of Iraq prompted a deluge of work written on the country from a U.S. perspective, but Nussaibah Younis, a fellow with the Belfer Center's International Security Program, wants people to start considering Iraq as an actor in its own right. While at the Center, Younis is working on a project that seeks to understand internal Iraqi foreign policymaking dynamics since 2003.
Summer 2013
"Noora Lori Looks at Changing Nature of Immigration"
Newsletter Article, Belfer Center Newsletter
The study of citizenship, what it means and what it entails, has always been a topic of considerable debate in international relations and political science. Discussions of citizenship usually occur from the perspective of those who are included within a particular community, yet accelerated changes in global migration flows over the past 60 years have shifted the discussion into new waters. Noora Lori is among those attempting to understand this changing relationship between the state, the citizen, and the migrant.
May 13, 2013
Podcast: Syria's "Endless" Nightmare: Humanitarian and Political Consequences
News
On Monday, May 6, the Middle East Initiative hosted a panel discussion addressing the most pressing concerns in the deepening, unabated Syrian crisis that has plagued the country since March of 2011. Moderated by Hilary Rantisi, Director of the Middle East Initiative, the panelists addressed the political, economic and humanitarian consequences of the violence in Syria, as well as the responses and responsibilities of the global community.
iStock
May 7, 2013
"The Real Scare in Syria is Not Chemical Weapons"
Op-Ed, Agence Global
By Rami Khouri, Senior Fellow, Middle East Initiative
"One of my rules of thumb of observing which way the wind blows in the Middle East is now in active operative mode: When Hezbollah and Israel both are actively fighting in the same third country, and Iran and the United States are both actively warning about their determination to act to protect their allies and their interests in that same third country, it is time to make another pot of coffee and make sure you have plenty of fresh batteries at home for your transistor radio."
Photo Credit: Ellis Goldberg
May 7, 2013
Ellis Goldberg: "Sectarian Violence: The Third Rail of Egyptian Politics" Podcast
News
The Middle East Initiative hosted Professor Ellis Goldberg for a lecture on May 1, 2013 to discuss sectarian violence in Egypt. Professor Goldberg is currently the Kuwait Foundation Visiting Scholar at the Middle East Initiative at Harvard Kennedy School, and is a professor of political science at the University of Washington.
May 4, 2013
"Drop the Failed Approaches and Try New Ideas"
Op-Ed, Agence Global
By Rami Khouri, Senior Fellow, Middle East Initiative
"There is good news and bad news on the Arab-Israeli peace-making front this week. The good news is that the United States and the Arab League’s ministerial committee seem energized to restart Palestinian-Israeli negotiations. This culminated a few days ago in the Arab clarification that the 2002 Arab Peace Plan that offers Israel a comprehensive and permanent peace can include minor and mutually agreed land swaps around the 1967 borders."
