Middle East Research and Information Project

Critical Coverage of the Middle East Since 1971

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Current Analysis

The Walled-Off Hotel Controversy

The British street artist known as Banksy is no stranger to controversy. His public art about capitalism, misogyny and racism always produces conversation. His newest installation in occupied Bethlehem, the Walled Off Hotel, is generating significant public debate about Palestine-Israel. According to different media reports, Banksy aims to focus attention

Jamil Khader • 14 min read

Current Analysis

The Subversive Power of Grief

One need not cast one's mind too far back to see that both the Egyptian government and the Coptic Orthodox Church are worried more about the December 11 church bombing's destabilizing potential than about the national unity they spoke of during the state-run funeral.

Paul Sedra • 3 min read

Current Analysis

Turkey in a Tailspin

The epic blunder of the military coup attempt on July 15 has sent Turkey into a tailspin. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the prime minister and cabinet, the parliament, the top military brass, the intelligence community and the police all became aware of the plot at the same time as ordinary

Ümit Cizre • 16 min read

Current Analysis

Some Initial Thoughts on the Chilcot Report

We asked a few MERIP friends and Iraq scholars for their reflections on what they have read so far of the report now regarded as the official assessment of British involvement in the Iraq war.

Amanda • 10 min read

Current Analysis

Letter to UN Secretary-General Regarding Saudi Arabia's Removal from List of Armies Charged with War Crimes

"The ruling Saudi regime obviously knows how to use its wealth to manipulate dysfunctional international bodies such as the UN. However, in the eyes of the global community it stands charged with overwhelming evidence of war crimes and of fundamental human indecency."

Amanda • 4 min read

Current Analysis

After Orlando

The media has been full of misleading and politically charged speculation about the massacre of 49 people at Orlando's Pulse nightclub. We asked some MERIP friends to comment on the misinformation and the telling silences in the coverage.

Amanda • 13 min read

Release Homa Hoodfar — editors_061016

Current Analysis

Release Homa Hoodfar

We are deeply concerned by the arrest and ongoing detention of Homa Hoodfar, an eminent anthropologist and contributor to Middle East Report, by the Revolutionary Guard Corps of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Hoodfar traveled to Iran in early 2016 to visit family and conduct scholarly research. She was scheduled

The Editors • 1 min read

Arabia Incognita

Current Analysis

Arabia Incognita

A new anthology from MERIP and Just World Books explores the Arabian Peninsula as "a distinct political unit" whose upheavals reverberate regionally and globally.

The Editors • 2 min read

Current Analysis

Jordan Drops the Pretense of Democratic Reform

Despite promises otherwise, in the past four years, King ‘Abdallah has peeled the veneer of parliamentary governance off an increasingly autocratic system.

Jillian Schwedler • 4 min read

MER Article

Shenker, The Egyptians

Jack Shenker, The Egyptians: A Radical Story (London: Penguin, 2016). Jack Shenker’s book is the definitive account of the 2011 Egyptian uprising to date. Many scholars and journalists have taken as their point of departure the notion that the uprising was a one-off democratizing experiment that failed. With his

Joshua Stacher • 2 min read

Current Analysis

Suspend US Military Aid to Egypt

Scholars of the Egypt and the Middle East call on President Obama to stop the longstanding US support for Egypt's undemocratic military regime.

Amanda • 3 min read

Current Analysis

Open Letter from Scholars of Yemen

Scholars write for the third time to condemn the actions of the US-Saudi-French alliance violating international humanitarian law in the southern Arabian Peninsula.

Amanda • 2 min read