MER Article The End of the Axis of Resistance? Analysts have been quick to view the swift collapse of Bashar al-Asad’s regime in Syria as a fatal and final blow to the so-called Axis of Resistance: the network of Iranian proxies spanning from Lebanon to Yemen. But such premature post-mortems underestimate what the Axis of Resistance achieved, misrepresent Kevin Schwartz • 4 min read
An aerial view of technicians completing the construction of a wind turbine in the Golan Heights, Israel, 2020. (David Silverman/Getty Images) MER Article The Uneven Politics of Decarbonization in the Middle East and North Africa According to Europe’s largest generator of renewable energy, Norway’s state-owned Statkraft, “A lesser known positive aspect of the green energy shift is that more renewable energy leads to more peace and democracy!” It is tempting to formulate such grandiose arguments about the possibilities of a transition to renewables Benjamin Schuetze • 8 min read
President Donald Trump, flanked by White House senior advisor Jared Kushner, meets with Saudi Arabia’s Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia May 20, 2017. Jonathan Ernst/Reuters MER Article The Financial Ties that Bind the Arab Gulf Monarchies and the United States In July 2021, former President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and advisor Jared Kushner obtained a $2 billion investment for his newly formed private equity firm, Affinity Partners, from Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund. Notably, the deal was approved despite opposition from the Saudi fund’s investme David Wight • 12 min read