Middle East Research and Information Project

Critical Coverage of the Middle East Since 1971

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The Unintended Consequences of Turkey’s Quest for Oil
Turkey’s Raman-8 well, where commercial oil was first discovered in 1946 and production began in 1948. After 72 years, Raman-8 is still operational. Photo courtesy of the author.
Current Analysis

The Unintended Consequences of Turkey’s Quest for Oil

The discovery of oil in Turkey's southeast encouraged state elites to imagine that development would lead to the assimilation of Kurds into Turkish culture and language. Instead, oil infrastructures and the resulting social changes had very different consequences. Zeynep Oguz explains the historical
Zeynep Oguz • 13 min read
Palestinian Refugee First Responders Rush to Aid Beirut
Volunteers and a Chilean rescue team dig through the rubble of buildings which collapsed due to the explosion at Beirut’s port, Gemmayze, Beirut, Lebanon. Mohamed Azakir/ReutersA member of the PCDL’s firefighting division rides a motorcycle fitted with a water tank. Photo courtesy of PCDL.Members of the PCDL on a hard-earned break in the Ashrafiyye district of Beirut. Photo courtesy of PCDL.
Current Analysis

Palestinian Refugee First Responders Rush to Aid Beirut

The Palestinian Civil Defense was praised for its efforts after the explosion in Beirut. This is the story of how a group of stateless refugees built an organization that saved lives when everything came tumbling down.
Erling Lorentzen Sogge • 10 min read
Global Aspirations and Local Realities of Solar Energy in Morocco
The thermosolar power plant at Noor II, Ouarzazate, Morocco, 2016. Youssef Boudlal/Reuters
Current Analysis

Global Aspirations and Local Realities of Solar Energy in Morocco

Morocco's massive Noor solar power installation in Ouarzazate is celebrated as an important step in the transition to renewable energy. But the benefits are not flowing to all citizens. Rural unrest and other demonstrations of discontent in recent years are piercing the government's techno-optimism.
Atman Aoui, Moulay Ahmed el Amrani, Karen Rignall • 16 min read
On Blaming Climate Change for the Syrian Civil War
A water canal running from the Euphrates river into the semi-desert region of eastern Syria, 2010. Khaled al-Hariri/Reuters
Current Analysis

On Blaming Climate Change for the Syrian Civil War

The idea that the Syrian civil war was partly caused by climate change induced drought is widely repeated and yet deeply flawed. Jan Selby excavates the sources of misleading information and dismantles the simplistic cause and effect argument. Most importantly, he explains the real political and eco
Jan Selby • 13 min read
Rebranding the Turkish State in the Time of COVID-19
Members of Turkey’s Tourism Police patrol for people not wearing protective face masks at the main shopping and pedestrian street of Istiklal as the spread of COVID-19 continues, in Istanbul, September 27, 2020. Murad Sezer/ReutersFigure 1: Infographic by AFAD.Figure 2: Passengers from the Turkish Airlines evacuation flight collecting baggage upon arrival. Photo courtesy of the authors.Figure 3: AFAD workers and camera crew welcome citizens into the dormitory for quarantine. Photo courtesy of the authors.
Covid-19 Coverage

Rebranding the Turkish State in the Time of COVID-19

As Turkish scholars residing in the United States when the pandemic began to curtail normal life, Ergin Bulut and Başak Can signed on to take the Turkish government’s evacuation flight home. This experience and their time spent in government-managed quarantine yielded interesting insights into the s
Ergin Bulut, Başak Can • 15 min read
Birth Defects and the Toxic Legacy of War in Iraq
Boys play in front of burning oilfields in Qayyara, south of Mosul, Iraq, 2016. Goran Tomasevic/ReutersA US Air Force equipment manager tosses used uniform items into a burn pit at Balad Air Base, Iraq, 2008. Department of Defense photo by Senior Airman Julianne Showalter/US Air Force
Current Analysis

Birth Defects and the Toxic Legacy of War in Iraq

In Iraq, birth defects are a visible embodiment of the enduring toxic legacy of war, burn pits, sanctions and other military interventions. War and occupation shattered public infrastructures necessary for health and well being, but also triggered cascades of environmental degradation. Kali Rubaii i
Kali Rubaii • 10 min read
Going to War with the Coronavirus and Maintaining the State of Resistance in Iran
Fig. 1. “Doctors and Nurses! Your reward is with God.” Source: Office of Supreme Leader.Fig. 1. “Health Defenders.” Source: Student News Network.Fig. 2. “The Sacrifice Continues.” Source: Navid Shahed Gilan.Fig. 3. “The Nation’s heroes are always in the field,” original design and postage stamp. Source: Tehran Times.Fig. 4. “War, work until victory.” Source: Yanon Design.Fig. 5. A war medic and health care professional collapsed into one figure. The slogan reads, “The holy warriors of yesterday, today, and tomorrow.” Source: Office of Supreme LeaderFig. 6. Source: Public Relations Office of Dezful Governorate.Fig. 6. “The trench is the same trench, the people are the same people.”Fig. 7. “Like Avini.” Source: Office of Supreme Leader.
Covid-19 Coverage

Going to War with the Coronavirus and Maintaining the State of Resistance in Iran

The Iranian government is fighting against the coronavirus pandemic not only with travel restrictions and social distancing rules, but also with ideological tools that promote unity and resistance. Through the production of posters and other media, Iran is creating connections between earlier battle
Kevin L. Schwartz, Olmo Gölz • 15 min read
The Armenian Genocide in Kurdish Collective Memory
Activists hold portraits of victims of the 1915 mass killing of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire, Istanbul, April 24, 2017. Murad Sezer/Reuters
Current Analysis

The Armenian Genocide in Kurdish Collective Memory

Kurdish acknowledgement of participation in the Armenian genocide of 1915 along with Kurdish municipal efforts to atone have grown tremendously in the past 20 years. Adnan Çelik draws on his fieldwork and personal experience to explain how Kurdish memory work—drawing on knowledge transmitted for mor
Adnan Çelik • 15 min read