Primer Archives

Amid the ongoing Israeli bombardment of Lebanon—the deadliest violence in the country since the civil war—this primer provides crucial context behind the present war. It begins with a historical overview of Lebanon’s formation that describes the role of external and internal forces in shaping the country throughout the twentieth century. It then details how regular Israeli violence as well as Palestinian and Lebanese resistance movements and political parties fit into this trajectory. It concludes with an explanation of the series of recent crises that are exacerbating the devastating effects of ongoing and escalating Israeli attacks on Lebanon.

One year into the counterrevolutionary war in Sudan, MERIP offers this new primer on the conflict from Khalid Mustafa Medani as part of Issue 310. This primer is meant as an introduction to the basic dynamics of the political landscape in Sudan since the 2019 revolution that overthrew the autocratic Omar al-Bashir, and lays out the challenges facing organizers, aid workers, and activists in the midst of the war. 

As George W. Bush’s administration seeks a UN resolution threatening”consequences” for Iraqi non-cooperation with toughened weapons inspections, US-led military intervention to remove Saddam Hussein’s regime appears to be a likely denouement to the crisis. While Bush claims that “America speaks with one voice” on the urgent need to topple Hussein, demonstrations across the country show that much of the US public has not accepted the administration’s case for war.

One of MERIP’s signature issues over the years has been the question of Palestine and the Arab-Israeli conflict—partly because of its intrinsic interest but largely because so much myth and cant clouds the mainstream media coverage of this subject that independent analysis is particularly necessary. This primer by Joel Beinin and Lisa Hajjar is a good place to start in understanding what is at stake as events unfold.

Water is a prominent topic in discussions about the Middle East. Yet media coverage, policy reports and scholarly works often fall into simplistic accounts of scarcity, imminent crisis and potential water wars. This primer in PDF format by Jessica Barnes offers a valuable introduction to the topic that challenges the dominant narratives.