Middle East Research and Information Project

Critical Coverage of the Middle East Since 1971

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Reviews

The Limits of Protection and Profits—Five Years into the Abraham Accords
A billboard in Tel Aviv in June 2025 by the “Coalition for Regional Security” Israeli political-security initiative depicting (L to R) leaders of Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, United States, Israel, UAE, Oman, Morocco and Bahrain, with the Hebrew slogan “A time for war, a time for settlement; now is the time for the ‘Abrahamic Covenant.'” Jack Guez/AFP via Getty Images
Issue 315-316

The Limits of Protection and Profits—Five Years into the Abraham Accords

A Review of Elham Fakhro’s ‘The Abraham Accords: The Gulf States, Israel, and the Limits of Normalization.’
Arang Keshavarzian • 11 min read
A Day as Ordinary as Any Other
The Israeli settlement of Pisgat Zeev (L), built in a suburb of East Jerusalem, and the Palestinian Shuafat refugee camp (R) behind Israel’s separation wall, 2020. Ahmad Gharabli/AFP via Getty ImagesThe cover of the US edition.Israel’s System of Segregated Roads in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Courtesy Visualizing Palestine, Creative Commons license BY-NC-ND 3.0.
Current Analysis

A Day as Ordinary as Any Other

Nathan Thrall's Newest Book Offers a Timely Window into Israel's Infrastructure of Occupation.
Joost Hiltermann • 9 min read
The Everyday Politics of Authoritarian Rule in Jordan
Jillian Schwedler, Protesting Jordan: Geographies of Power and Dissent (Stanford University Press, 2022)José Ciro Martínez, States of Subsistence: The Politics of Bread in Contemporary Jordan (Stanford University Press, 2022)Jessica Watkins, Creating Consent in an Illiberal Order: Policing Disputes in Jordan (Cambridge University Press, 2022)
Current Analysis

The Everyday Politics of Authoritarian Rule in Jordan

Three recent books on Jordan trace authoritarianism in the mundane rhythms of daily life.
Sean L. Yom • 15 min read
The Fog of the Forever War with a Laugh Track in "United States of Al"
In this scene from the show, Al (center) attempts to orchestrate a reunion between Riley and his ex-wife. Image from “United States of Al,” CBS.
Current Analysis

The Fog of the Forever War with a Laugh Track in "United States of Al"

As President Joe Biden’s administration struggles to meet its self-imposed deadline of September 11, 2021 to withdraw US forces from Afghanistan, Hollywood is offering its own painless, bloodless version of an end to America’s longest war. In this review of the CBS sitcom "United States of Al," the
Wazhmah Osman, Helena Zeweri, Seelai Karzai • 12 min read
The Savor of Memory
Kalam pilau. Photo courtesy the author.The two volumes of Ketab-e-Mostatab-e-Ashpazi (The Excellent Book of Cookery) by Najaf Daryabandari and Fahimeh Rastkar.Abgousht with accoutrements. Photo courtesy the author.
Current Analysis

The Savor of Memory

Laleh Khalili draws on memories from childhood, her experience of leaving Iran and her ongoing interest in cooking to review a series of classic and contemporary Iranian cookbooks. Through them she reflects on the politics of identity in the Iranian diaspora and the global circuits of foodways refle
Laleh Khalili • 17 min read