Middle East

It wasn’t the events of September 11th that changed the world, but the events of September 12th and beyond, when the Bush administration took the world to war in response; that changed the world, and continues to threaten U.S. and global security, and shred U.S. democracy.

It might seem like cause for celebration after reading the New York Times headline, "Iraq War Marks First Month with No U.S. Military Deaths." But the smaller print on the page reminds us why celebrating is not really in order: "Many Iraqis are killed..." 

How an innovative financial scheme could help to finance international public-public water projects in the global south.

Multimedia

Audio Files: 

Podcast: International responses to the Arab Spring

Middle East scholars join TNI fellows in a unique and fascinating discussion of the context of the democracy uprisings in the Middle East and the way it may shape the region for future generations.

Obama's speech on the Middle East and North Africa missed the point of the Arab uprising, and offered little sign of conciliation or support for the Palestinians.

Location

Speakers from across the Middle East and Europe discuss the wave of social unrest across the wider region; what do these struggles have in common? What opportunities are there for building solidarity between movements across the Mediterranean?

A recent comparison by top foreign policy thinkers in the US reveals the not so pro-democratic thinking that also goes on in Washington, referring to the emancipatory movements of the Arab Spring as a improbable "worst-case scenarios."

Phase one of the Arab spring is over. Phase two – the attempt to crush or contain genuine popular movements – has begun.

A continuing war in Libya tarnishes the Arab revolutionary uprising, because it has subverted a democratic revolution and become a war of intervention. Two of TNI's fellows and experts on the Middle East debate the underlying causes and consequences of the Libya military intervention.