MER Article Civilians in Mosul's Battle of Annihilation Understanding the course of events and identifying the participants in the battle of Mosul is a difficult task. What is certain is that all parties neglected the fate of civilians and were unable to provide proper emergency medical relief. An examination of the battle is crucial to understanding the Nabil Al-Tikriti • 7 min read
MER Article Suffering from Hunger in a World of Plenty The UN Special Rapporteur for the Right to Food surveys the catastrophic state of hunger and malnutrition and their man-made causes—war and conflict, climate change, massive displacement and global economic inequality. The paradox of this landscape of desperate need is that the world produces more t Hilal Elver • 8 min read
MER Article From the Editors (Spring 2018) [su_heading align="left"]Humanitarianism, as presently conceived, can never provide a solution to global inequity that is one of the deepest roots of global suffering. That there is no existing means to counter the vast inequality of resources and the unequal distribution of vulnerability speaks to the Ilana Feldman • 5 min read
Current Analysis Radix Malorum est Cupiditas The last three years have been a time of outright misery for most Yemenis as War, Pestilence, Famine and Death have stalked what used to be known as Arabia Felix. Thousands are recorded as having been killed; tens of thousands more are known to have died. Millions are starved by a siege, and—weakene James Spencer • 5 min read
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
editors_061016 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 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
Current Analysis Your Tax Dollars Enable Police Brutality Abroad Ever since the Black Lives Matter movement exploded into the headlines, violence by American police officers has come under fire from activists and ordinary citizens alike. Less discussed, however, is how the US government winks at the police brutality of its client states abroad. The military gove Chris Toensing • 2 min read
Current Analysis Defending Academic Freedom Constraints on academic freedom or violations of it are not new in the Middle East and North Africa. Indeed, while there is certainly variation among the countries of the region, regime attempts to control what is studied, how it is studied, and what faculty and students may do and say both on and o Laurie A. Brand • 3 min read
Current Analysis Scholars of Egypt Protest Crackdown on Freedom of Expression November 18, 2015 President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi Arab Republic of Egypt Ahmed al-Zind Minister of Justice, Arab Republic of Egypt Sedky Sobhy Minister of Defense, Arab Republic of Egypt Yasser Reda Ambassador of the Arab Republic of Egypt to the United States (Author not identified) • 6 min read
Current Analysis Release Hossam Bahgat UPDATE: Hossam Bahgat was released from detention [http://www.madamasr.com/news/update-hossam-bahgat-has-been-released-not-clear-if-charges-still-pending] at midday Cairo time on November 10. It is uncertain whether the charges against him are still pending. We will post further updates as warranted The Editors • 2 min read
Current Analysis Iran's Unfair Nationality Laws At an October meeting of young Iranian-American leaders at the residence of the Iranian ambassador to the United Nations, I asked Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif about the country’s unfair nationality laws. By these statutes, no Iranian woman married to a non-Iranian man can pass on her citizen Narges Bajoghli • 3 min read