May 22, 2013

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THE NINETEENTH ISRAELI KNESSET ELECTIONS: LACKLUSTER ELECTION, SIGNIFICANT RESULTS

By April 4, 2013
2013 Israeli legislative election ballots

For the first time since the 1970s, there was no serious dispute as to who would emerge as prime minister from the 2013 Israeli elections campaign.  Despite the lackluster campaign, the election results and the government that emerged from them do represent a certain change. Most notably, the election campaign focused on internal issues. This is because a core, centrist consensus on external and national security affairs now exists among a critical mass of Israeli Jews.  This is also reflected … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Israel, MERIA Journal, MERIA Journal Volume 17, Number 1 (Spring 2013), Middle East Politics Tagged With: ,

Israel’s Election: Netanyahu Holds On, Center Does Well

By January 23, 2013
Yair Lapid, head of Yesh Atid party

As expected, Israel has once again made Benjamin Netanyahu its prime minister. The results were not as positive for him as they might have been but are good enough to reelect him. While some might find this paradoxical, the results show that Israelis have a basic consensus and yet have very different ways of  expressing their political positions. This isn’t surprising given the fact that 32 parties were on the ballot. First, though, a myth that has at times become a … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Israel, Middle East Politics, Middle East Politics

THE ARAB SPRING AND THE PROSPECTS FOR GENUINE RELIGIOUS AND POLITICAL REFORMS

By November 14, 2012

There is a guarded optimism that the Arab Spring could result in genuine religious and political reforms. This optimism is grounded in the belief that for the new governments to be reelected, they must reduce unemployment and poverty quickly and convincingly. Dogmatic posturing produces neither jobs nor prosperity. Islamists, Salafists, and jihadists--with Wahhabi inspiration and cash--will assail the new policies as un-Islamic. The confrontation could marginalize Islamist and other extremists, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: MERIA Journal Volume 16, Number 03 (Fall 2012), Middle East Politics

ASSESSING IRAQ’S OIL INDUSTRY

By July 1, 2012
View of an Iraqi disabled T-54 tank and oil fields south of Ramadi, Iraq.

  This article provides an overview of Iraq’s oil and gas industry, focusing in particular on its history since 2003 under the Coalition Provisional Authority and the sovereign Iraqi government. It also examines the relationship between the development of natural gas reserves and local autonomy, as well as the controversy surrounding ExxonMobil’s dealings with the Kurdistan Regional Government. Finally, the article considers how the oil and gas industry relates to the wider economy … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Iraq, MERIA Journal Volume 16, Number 02 (June 2012), Middle East Politics, Regional

THE ARAB SPRING, ITS EFFECTS ON THE KURDS, AND THE APPROACHES OF TURKEY, IRAN, SYRIA, AND IRAQ ON THE KURDISH ISSUE

By July 1, 2012
Jalal Talabani and Nouri al-Maliki posters on parade at Iraqi event.

  This article addresses the approaches of Turkey, Iran, Syria, and Iraq in dealing with the Kurdish issue, with a special focus on historical background. In addition, the article discusses how this issue affects relations among the aforementioned countries and whether cooperation on this issue is possible. The article also examines how the Arab Spring has impacted the Kurds and the attitudes of these countries toward the Kurdish issue.    Click here to download the PDF version of … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Iran, Iraq, Israel, Media Coverage of the Middle East, MERIA Journal Volume 16, Number 02 (June 2012), Middle East Politics, Regional, Regional Security, Turkey, U.S. Policy on the Middle East

IS THE ISRAEL-PALESTINIAN PEACE PROCESS DEAD?

By July 1, 2012
Arafat, Rabin and Peres at the Noble Peace Prize Ceremony.

  Western governments, experts, and journalists have long assumed that an Israel-Palestinian or comprehensive Arab-Israeli peace agreement ending the conflict was near at hand and easily achieved. In fact, the truth is the exact opposite. Indeed, there has not been any real “peace process” or real chance for a diplomatic solution since the Palestinian leadership rejected a deal in 2000. This article examines the factors that, on one hand, make the “peace process” deceased and, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Israel, Israel-Palestinian Issues, MERIA Journal Volume 16, Number 02 (June 2012), Middle East Politics, Palestinians, U.S. Policy on the Middle East

FACTS ON THE GROUND: THE GROWING POWER OF HAMAS’S GAZA LEADERSHIP

By July 1, 2012
1024px-Khaled_Meshaal_01

  This article will observe the process whereby Hamas has consolidated and maintained its rule in Gaza. It will argue that the gradual strengthening of the Gaza leadership within Hamas preceded the upheavals of 2011. The fallout from the events in Egypt and Syria, however, served to accelerate and accentuate the process whereby the Gaza leadership made gains at the expense of the external leadership. Click here to download the PDF version of this article. INTRODUCTION The … [Read more...]

Filed Under: MERIA Journal Volume 16, Number 02 (June 2012), Middle East Politics, Palestinians

HIZBALLAH AND THE ARAB REVOLUTIONS: THE CONTRADICTION MADE APPARENT?

By April 27, 2012
354323199_e769f6d98a_z

Since the 1990s, Hizballah has defined itself along a number of parallel lines, each of which prior to 2011 appeared to support the other. The movement was simultaneously a sectarian representative of the Lebanese Shi’a, a regional ally of Iran and Syria, a defender of the Lebanese against the supposed aggressive intentions of Israel, and a leader of a more generically defined Arab and Muslim “resistance” against Israel and the West.  As a result of the events of 2011, most important the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Lebanon, MERIA Journal Volume 16, Number 01 (March 2012), Middle East Politics, Radical Movements, Regional, Regional Security, Syria

UNDERSTANDING THE “ISLAMIST WAVE” IN TUNISIA

By April 27, 2012
800px-Tunisian_Constituent_Assembly_-_Ennahda_group

On October 23, 2011, Tunisia held the first free and democratic elections in the country’s history. Tunisian voters were called upon to elect 217 members of the National Constituent Assembly (NCA), whose task was to appoint an interim government and to draft a new constitution within one year, and to prepare the country for general elections. The Islamist party Ennahda was then declared the winner of the election, obtaining 89 seats. The main problem with these elections, however, was the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: MERIA Journal Volume 16, Number 01 (March 2012), Middle East Politics, Tunisia

TURKISH-ISRAELI RELATIONS IN THE SHADOW OF THE ARAB SPRING

By April 27, 2012
'Gaza: The Case for Middle East Peace': Erdogan, Peres, Ki-moon, Moussa

This article is a short analysis of how Turkey changed under AKP rule so that the regime no longer wished to have an alignment with Israel but, on the contrary, needed to treat Israel as an enemy. In order to understand the initial reasons behind the creation of the Turkish-Israeli alliance, one must also recognize why that alignment came to an end. The cause was not within the partnership itself nor was it due to the 2008/2009 Gaza War or the 2010 flotilla events; rather this resulted from … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Israel, Israel-Palestinian Issues, Media Coverage of the Middle East, MERIA Journal Volume 16, Number 01 (March 2012), Middle East Politics, Regional, Regional Security, Turkey
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