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Netanyahu, Obama and Abbas

Hope for Direct Talks?

President Obama hosts the leaders of Israel, Palestine, Jordan, and Egypt this week in an attempt to find new momentum on the long-stalled Israeli–Palestinian peace process. Marwan Muasher explains that the best hope for the Middle East is a regional approach that secures peace between Israel and the entire Arab world. Carnegie experts preview expectations for the talks and discuss President Mubarak’s visit.

More on the peace process:
The Case for a Regional Approach
A Two-State Solution Requires Palestinian Politics
Are Palestinians Building a State?
U.S. Troops

By Overthrowing Regional Order, US Unleashed a Genie

The 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq profoundly changed the politics of the Middle East, leading to an increase in Sunni-Shiite tension across the region and providing an opportunity for both Iran and Turkey to spread their influence and take a stronger role in regional relations, concludes Paul Salem.

MB Leader Mohammed Badie

Dead on Arrival?

Despite the Muslim Brotherhood's original reluctance to embrace political participation, the organization’s parliamentary representation has grown exponentially in recent assemblies. However, the impact it has had on the Egyptian political environment remains limited, partly as a result of its ongoing emphasis on religion, morality, and the family, explains Amr Hamzawy.

Lebanese Soldiers

The Importance of U.S. Military Aid to Lebanon

The U.S. Congress’ recent moves to cut off military aid to Lebanon could damage U.S. strategic interests by weakening the Lebanese government and military, empowering Hezbollah, and strengthening Syrian and Iranian influence in the country, warns Paul Salem.

More on Lebanon:
Relative Calm Before a Stormy Lebanese Fall
Hezbollah in a Corner
Lebanon's Multiple Crises Risk Escalation

How Arab Governments Resist the Trend to Democracy

Egyptian Opposition MP

The current regimes in the Arab world are resisting democratic change because of firm security measures maintaining the status quo and ineffective, incapable, and insular opposition movements. Amr Hamzawy warns that this lack of democracy limits the West's ability to realize its goals in the region.

Video Interview - Rising Turkey in a Changing Middle East

PM Erdogan

The balance of power in the Middle East is shifting, and Turkey's changing role and rising influence with other countries provides both a risk and an opportunity for Washington. In a video Q&A, Paul Salem analyzes Turkey’s position in the Middle East and what it means for the region and the West.

Video Interview with Essam al-Arian, member of the Muslim Brotherhood’s Guidance Bureau

Essam al-Arian

In the Arab Reform Bulletin's first video interview, Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood spokesman Essam al-Arian explains the movement's strategy toward fall 2010 People's Assembly elections and the 2011 presidential race.  The Brotherhood ran 12 candidates in the June 1, 2010 Shura Council elections, none of whom won a seat.

Relative Calm Before a Stormy Lebanese Fall

Lebanese Protesters

The special tribunal investigating the 2005 assassination of Rafic Hariri is expected to announce its findings soon. Paul Salem explains that the possibility of indictments, coupled with Hezbollah’s allegations of Israeli involvement in the assassination, threaten to ignite a political crisis and deepen sectarian fissures in Lebanon.

Attacking Iran: The Last Thing the U.S. Administration Wants to Do

Iranian Missile

Aside from the improbability and imprudence of a U.S. attack on Iran, it would also be a major political misstep for the Obama administration, writes Karim Sadjadpour.

Turkey-Egypt Relations

PM Erdogan

While areas of cooperation between Egypt and Turkey are numerous, Egypt has not entirely reconciled itself to Ankara’s larger ambitions in the Middle East. Paul Salem discusses Turkey-Egypt bilateral relations historically, explains their actual status, and reviews the potential issues for increased cooperation and/or conflict between the two states.

Featured Publications

The Arab State: Assisting or Obstructing Development?

Arab Parliament Although full democracy in the Arab world remains a distant goal, broader participation in the political process, with a marked effect on human development, can be achieved.

Building Cooperation in the Eastern Middle East

Regional Meeting A formal framework for communication and cooperation in the eastern Middle East could reduce the risks of conflict and encourage stability and economic development in this tense but critical location.

Trading High Unemployment for Bad Jobs: Employment Challenges in the Maghreb

Unemployment in the Maghreb Policy makers in Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia should focus on improving the quality—rather than quantity—of jobs available to workers, in order to significantly improve the region’s economic outlook and global competitiveness.

Sovereign Wealth Funds and the Santiago Principles: Where Do They Stand?

The Santiago Principles and the commitment of their sponsors—some of the biggest sovereign wealth funds—are an important test for the viability of new forms of global governance.
Center Events
Beirut

Reducing Poverty in the Arab World: Successes and Limits of the Moroccan Experience

Morocco recorded an impressive decline in monetary poverty over the last decade, and compared to other Arab countries, Morocco's trends are remarkable and deserve a deeper investigation to draw policy lessons.
Beirut

Previewing Egypt's Elections Season

The forthcoming elections may lead to an unprecedented change in Egypt’s political scene. But whether the opposition actors will be able to push for greater political reform, and whether the regime will let them, remains to be seen.
Beirut

Managing Pluralism: Swiss Experiences and Implications for Lebanon

Switzerland and Lebanon are both complex multi-communal societies, and they both have a long history of trying to manage pluralism, sometimes with more success than others.
Beirut

The Middle East in Global Perspective

The Middle East has long been a regional battlefield of competing interests among the great powers. In the current international environment, however, the United States, Russia, and, to a lesser extent, China share multiple mutual interests in the region.
 

A new vision for the Global Century - Highlights from our centers

Innovative policy research from Carnegie's integrated international network of experts. Browse the week's highlights from Carnegie centers across the globe...

Living From Fire to Fire

Russia firesThe forest fires burning across Russia demonstrate the weaknesses of Moscow’s ability to respond to large scale disasters, writes Nikolay Petrov.

How to Square the Caucasian Circle

Medvedev and Abkhaz presidentThe situation in the separatist territories of Abkhazia and South Ossetia remains deadlocked and the current western policy of strong rhetorical support for the Georgian position substitutes easy words for hard diplomatic work, writes Thomas de Waal.

Where's Europe?

Turkey and the EUFabrice Pothier discusses the changes going on within Europe and how they will shape its foreign policy and impact its global strength.

Arms Control’s Future

The recent U.S. focus on global nuclear issues has left some of China’s future arms control experts encouraged, while others worry that the United States is blurring the distinction between tactical and strategic missile defenses.

 

Iraqi Elections 2010 - Carnegie Expert Analysis & Background on the Political Landscape

Yemen: On the Brink, a Carnegie Paper series

Latest Commentary & Analysis

The Carnegie Middle East Center is a public policy think tank and research center based in Beirut, Lebanon. It was established in November 2006 by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. The Middle East Center draws on the successful experience of Carnegie's Moscow Center, established in 1994, and also runs parallel to new Carnegie initiatives in Beijing and Brussels.

 

Carnegie Middle East Center Projects

Middle East Economies

Arab World Economies Experts examine Arab Gulf oil and natural gas economies to understand the transformations occurring within those nations, their regional influence, and foreign investment strategies.

Arab Politics

Political Change in the Arab World Experts investigate how the participation of Islamist movements, social activists, and other reform-oriented alliances affect an Arab politics largely defined by social unrest.

Regional Relations

Regional Order Experts offer insights into how Arab, Iranian and Turkish foreign policy elites perceive the opportunities and challenges posed by changing economic and security conditions in the Middle East.

Security

Security Experts provide assessments of the regional and global security threats posed by violent Islamist networks and how policy makers can respond effectively.

 
 
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