Current Analysis

Revisiting MERIP Coverage of Israel as an Apartheid State

The recent upsurge in analysis of Israel as an apartheid state has peaked again with Amnesty International’s February 2022 report. The willingness of mainstream non-governmental organizations to use the language of apartheid marks a shift in the terms of the debate—one that builds on a long history

The Editors • 5 min read

Current Analysis

Revisiting MERIP Coverage of Iran and Its Elections

As Iran’s elections approach (June 18, 2021), MERIP revisits recent articles that provide a deeper context for understanding politics in Iran today. The pieces gathered here include a forum re-thinking US-Iranian relations as well as articles examining key elections in Iran over the last 20 years, f

The Editors • 4 min read

Current Analysis

Revisiting MERIP Coverage of Gaza, Jerusalem and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

For more than 50 years, MERIP has provided a depth of analysis on Palestine and Palestinian politics that is unmatched. Here we dive into the archives to highlight both historical and recent MERIP articles that provide key context for the current crises in Gaza and Jerusalem as well as important bac

The Editors • 7 min read

Current Analysis

Revisiting MERIP Coverage 30 Years After the First Gulf War

MERIP’s coverage of the First Gulf War sought to understand the crisis beyond the battlefield kinetics: from Iraq’s August 1990 invasion of Kuwait to the US-led Desert Storm military operation liberating Kuwait and looking beyond to the regional aftermath. Our authors and editors offered historicall

The Editors • 6 min read

Current Analysis

Revisiting MERIP Coverage of the Arab Uprisings

Revolutions are the singular political events that “confront us directly and inevitability with the problem of beginning,” argued Hannah Arendt. MERIP’s coverage of the uprisings of 2011 struggled intensely with this conundrum while cross-regional mobilizations, alliances and confrontations emerged

The Editors • 5 min read

Current Analysis

From the Archive: Political Aspects of Health

The coronavirus pandemic is highlighting glaring inequalities and the lack of resources for vulnerable communities worldwide. Joe Stork, in a prescient analysis from 1989, explains how health care is always mediated through politics and power. With vivid examples from across the Middle East, this ar

Joe Stork • 14 min read

Current Analysis

Background to Ongoing Protests in Sudan

Anti-government protests have rocked Sudan since the beginning of 2019, with police crackdowns leaving dozens of dead and many wounded. Large crowds have taken to the streets across the country to denounce a government decision in December to triple the price of bread and to demand the end of Presid

E 4 Xek 1 Z 1549331118 • 1 min read

Current Analysis

The Top MERIP Articles About Egypt

Last week marked the passage of five years since Husni Mubarak was compelled to resign as president of Egypt by the enormous uprising centered in Cairo’s Tahrir Square. Around the anniversary, we asked some friends and colleagues who have written on Egypt to list their favorite MERIP articles about

The Editors • 3 min read