Current Analysis

Striking for Dignity and Freedom

More than 1,500 Palestinian political prisoners began a hunger strike on April 17 for better conditions inside Israeli jails. Their demands include access to education, proper medical care and an end to the practice of solitary confinement. They are striking to make their families’ lives easier, too—for regular

Amahl Bishara • 6 min read

Current Analysis

Fear and Loathing in Turkey

Shortly after the failed coup attempt of July 16, 2016 in Turkey, I received a frantic text message from a lifelong friend, Lale Kemal. Lale is a prominent freelance journalist with an impeccable 37-year record of non-partisan reporting and analysis. She is an internationally known expert on Turkish civil-military relations,

Ümit Cizre • 17 min read

Current Analysis

On the Breadline in Sisi's Egypt

On March 6, 2017, hundreds of local residents took to the streets of towns and cities in Upper Egypt and the Nile Delta after the Ministry of Supply cut their daily ration of subsidized baladi bread. By the following day, thousands were protesting in 17 districts across the country. In

Neil Ketchley, Thoraya El-Rayyes • 10 min read

Current Analysis

The Walled-Off Hotel Controversy

The British street artist known as Banksy is no stranger to controversy. His public art about capitalism, misogyny and racism always produces conversation. His newest installation in occupied Bethlehem, the Walled Off Hotel, is generating significant public debate about Palestine-Israel. According to different media reports, Banksy aims to focus attention

Jamil Khader • 14 min read

Current Analysis

The Subversive Power of Grief

One need not cast one's mind too far back to see that both the Egyptian government and the Coptic Orthodox Church are worried more about the December 11 church bombing's destabilizing potential than about the national unity they spoke of during the state-run funeral.

Paul Sedra • 3 min read

Current Analysis

Turkey in a Tailspin

The epic blunder of the military coup attempt on July 15 has sent Turkey into a tailspin. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the prime minister and cabinet, the parliament, the top military brass, the intelligence community and the police all became aware of the plot at the same time as ordinary

Ümit Cizre • 16 min read

Current Analysis

Some Initial Thoughts on the Chilcot Report

We asked a few MERIP friends and Iraq scholars for their reflections on what they have read so far of the report now regarded as the official assessment of British involvement in the Iraq war.

(Author not identified) • 10 min read

Current Analysis

Letter to UN Secretary-General Regarding Saudi Arabia's Removal from List of Armies Charged with War Crimes

"The ruling Saudi regime obviously knows how to use its wealth to manipulate dysfunctional international bodies such as the UN. However, in the eyes of the global community it stands charged with overwhelming evidence of war crimes and of fundamental human indecency."

(Author not identified) • 4 min read

Current Analysis

After Orlando

The media has been full of misleading and politically charged speculation about the massacre of 49 people at Orlando's Pulse nightclub. We asked some MERIP friends to comment on the misinformation and the telling silences in the coverage.

(Author not identified) • 13 min read

Current Analysis

Release Homa Hoodfar

We are deeply concerned by the arrest and ongoing detention of Homa Hoodfar, an eminent anthropologist and contributor to Middle East Report, by the Revolutionary Guard Corps of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Hoodfar traveled to Iran in early 2016 to visit family and conduct scholarly research. She was scheduled

The Editors • 1 min read

Current Analysis

Arabia Incognita

A new anthology from MERIP and Just World Books explores the Arabian Peninsula as "a distinct political unit" whose upheavals reverberate regionally and globally.

The Editors • 2 min read

Current Analysis

Jordan Drops the Pretense of Democratic Reform

Despite promises otherwise, in the past four years, King ‘Abdallah has peeled the veneer of parliamentary governance off an increasingly autocratic system.

Jillian Schwedler • 4 min read