May 23, 2013

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SYRIA’S 31 PERCENTERS: HOW BASHAR AL-ASAD BUILT MINORITY ALLIANCES AND COUNTERED MINORITY FOES

By April 27, 2012
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As the Syrian revolution against Bashar al-Asad’s rule enters its first year, Asad appears to have a good command over Syria’s large and fractious minority community. Three of the most prominent minority groups include the Christians, Druze, and Kurds. Asad’s control of these groups was not happenstance but the result of a number of hard- and soft-power moves executed by the regime. These calculations did not simply involve direct internal dealings with said minorities, but also outreach … [Read more...]

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

THE “INDEPENDENT SHI’A” OF LEBANON: WHAT WIKILEAKS TELLS US ABOUT AMERICAN EFFORTS TO FIND AN ALTERNATIVE TO HIZBALLAH

By December 22, 2011
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U.S. diplomatic cables released by Wikileaks have given a new insight into American policy in Lebanon, especially efforts to counter Hizballah. Hizballah’s willingness to use a combination of hard power through violence and coercion, combined with a softer touch via extensive patronage networks has given them unmatched control over the Shi’a community since the 2005 Cedar Revolution. Using these released cables, this study will focus on efforts, successes, and failures made by so-called … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Lebanon, MERIA Journal Volume 15, Number 04 (December 2011), Middle East Politics, Radical Movements, Regional, U.S. Policy on the Middle East

NAVIGATING THE NEW MIDDLE EAST? THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION IS LOST AT SEA AND ON THE ROCKS

By December 22, 2011
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This article surveys all aspects of U.S. Middle East policy under the Obama administration, critiques this strategy and premises, and suggests what U.S. policy should be. A previous version of this article was published in The Journal of International Security Affairs (Fall/Winter 2011).   The Obama administration has comprehensively lost its way on Middle East policy to an extent that poses tremendous dangers to the United States, Western interests, and the region as a whole. The … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Israel, Israel-Palestinian Issues, MERIA Journal Volume 15, Number 04 (December 2011), Middle East Politics, Radical Movements, Regional, Regional Security, U.S. Policy on the Middle East

INDO-ISRAELI DEFENSE COOPERATION IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY

By December 22, 2011
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This paper focuses on the current Indo-Israeli defense cooperation and its constraints. The article begins with a brief historical account of this relationship, followed by a discussion of its progression into the defense arena in the late 1990s under the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government. Subsequently, it examines the magnitude of the more recent defense cooperation under a new Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government. Finally, this paper attempts to examine … [Read more...]

Filed Under: India, Israel, MERIA Journal Volume 15, Number 04 (December 2011), Middle East Politics, Regional Security

THE COMING CRISIS IN THE MIDDLE EAST

By August 21, 2011

  The gap between dominant Western perceptions of the Middle East and the region's reality is dangerously wide. While the "Arab Spring" is celebrated as an advance for moderation and democracy, in fact the advance is going to revolutionary Islamists. Developments in Turkey and Egypt especially threaten to plunge the Middle East back into an era of conflict, instability, and the worst threats to Western interests in decades. There are several things very much predictable about the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Israel, MERIA Journal Volume 15, Number 01 (Mar 2011), Middle East Politics, Regional, Regional Security, Syria

THE CROSSROADS OF MUSLIM BROTHERS IN JORDAN

By March 4, 2010

Manifestations of Islamic activism are abundant in Jordan. The country’s Islamist movement has played a key role in political life almost since independence. As traditional allies of the monarchy, the Muslim Brothers have participated in politics when the regime has engaged in political openness. However, their moderation in domestic politics has been accompanied by a growing radicalization on foreign policy issues as a result of their refusal to accept the Israel-Jordan peace treaty and … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Jordan, MERIA Journal Volume 14, Number 01 (Mar 2010), Middle East Politics, Radical Movements

THE MIDDLE EAST: WELL-INTENTIONED CONCILIATORY POLICY MEETS REVOLUTIONARY ISLAMIST THREAT

By March 2, 2010

The problem at present is not just that the Middle East may be heading for disaster and the Western strategic situation could be moving toward collapse, but that such an unfavorable outcome is made more likely by the fact that Western governments don't seem to comprehend this situation and are following policies that make it worse. There are five main critical developments which threaten the region's already fragile stability. First, and most basic, is the rise of revolutionary Islamist … [Read more...]

Filed Under: MERIA Journal Volume 14, Number 01 (Mar 2010), Middle East Politics, Radical Movements

To Perpetuate Their Dictatorships, Arab Rulers Resort to the Islamic Creed

By December 6, 2009

  KORANIC INSPIRATION FOR THE MODERATE, ISLAMIST, AND JIHADIST The Koran often provides Muslims with contradictory inspirations on subjects of political or social relevance. On Muslim relations with Christians and Jews, for example, a moderate Muslim would focus on peaceful and tolerant verses such as 29:46: “Do not argue with the People of the Book [Christians and Jews] unless in a fair way.” Similar injunctions are found in, among others, 2:62, 2:136, 2:256, and the second … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Egypt, Gulf, MERIA Journal Volume 13, Number 04 (Dec 2009), Middle East Politics, Radical Movements, Saudi Arabia, Syria

Opposition for the Sake of Opposition? Polarized Pluralism in Turkish Politics

By December 5, 2009

  Since the 2002 general elections, the Turkish political scene has been dominated by intense competition between the governing Justice and Development Party (Adalet ve Kalkinma Partisi, AKP) and the two main opposition parties, the Republican People’s Party (Cumhuriyet Halk Partisi, CHP) and the Nationalist Action Party (Milliyetci Hareket Partisi, MHP). In the 2007 general elections, the incumbent AKP managed to win and increase its vote share significantly. Though it lost some … [Read more...]

Filed Under: MERIA Journal Volume 13, Number 04 (Dec 2009), Middle East Politics, Turkey

What to Do on Lebanon: The Future of Lebanon-Israel Relations?

By September 4, 2009

  During the first decades of Israel’s existence and until the late 1970s, many Israelis felt Lebanon would be the second Arab state to sign a peace treaty with Israel. This belief was based on the fact that during this period, Lebanon was dominated by the Maronite community, whose foremost goal at that time was believed by many Israelis to be the preservation of Lebanon’s Christian and generally Western character. Thus, in the view of many Israelis, it followed that the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Israel, Lebanon, MERIA Journal Volume 13, Number 03 (Sep 2009), Middle East Politics, Radical Movements
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