MER Article

Six Steps to Reform US Agricultural Policy in the Arab Region

People in the Arab region have long been hungry—for dignity, but also for food. Hunger is a social phenomenon: the “biological manifestation of underdevelopment,” in the words of Brazilian geographer Josué de Castro.[1] Underdevelopment is the reverse coin of development. Each are made by global class relations and

Max Ajl • 10 min read

MER Article

A Not-So-Modest Proposal to Nationalize the Defense Industry

Shifting the course of catastrophic American policy in the Middle East requires bolder steps than changes in doctrine and grand strategy. A substantially less militarized foreign policy necessitates altering the structural political economies that have justified, nurtured and rewarded the carnage. Ending taxpayers’ support for defense industry profits would threaten

Pete Moore • 6 min read

MER Article

The Defense Industry’s Role in Militarizing US Foreign Policy

As the welfare state shrinks, one of the last sure bets for big government spending is the maintenance of the warfare state. As the global coronavirus pandemic has made incredibly clear, the US government is disinclined to pump federal resources into health programs, social insurance or food security infrastructure. But

Shana Marshall • 18 min read

MER Article

The Oil for Security Myth and Middle East Insecurity

Since the end of World War II, US policy toward the Middle East has ostensibly been dedicated to protecting the free flow of hydrocarbons to sustain the global economy. In reality, America’s pursuit of energy security has increased insecurity in the region through conflict, militarization and suppor

Jacob Mundy • 19 min read

MER Article

Reimagining US Engagement with a Turbulent Middle East

Amidst the horror of President Donald Trump’s reckless actions in the Middle East there is an urgent need to not only oppose his policies, but also to envision a new path for the United States. Trump has endorsed the Israeli annexation of Palestinian territory, supported the Saudi-led war

Waleed Hazbun • 18 min read

MER Article

In Appreciation of Chris Toensing, Steve Niva and Jimmy Bishara

At this time of uncertainty, disruption and rebuilding, MERIP would like to offer our deep gratitude to several members of our family whose contributions over the past two decades have allowed MERIP to survive and thrive against all odds. For nearly 50 years, MERIP has been committed to providing high

(Author not identified) • 5 min read

MER Article

Exit Empire

MERIP has offered critical analysis of US foreign policy in the Middle East for almost 50 years. Beginning with decades of work by co-founder Joe Stork and others, contributors to Middle East Report have documented US support for regimes that suppressed popular struggles for self-determination and popular sovereignty;

The Editors of Issue #294 • 4 min read

Agrarian Politics and the Slow Revolution Yet to Come

Almost a decade after the 2011 uprisings, we now have an excellent synthetic text by Habib Ayeb and Ray Bush, long-time activists and researchers of (North) African agrarian questions as they relate to food sovereignty, social equality, and the ecology.

Max Ajl • 6 min read

The Post-Oslo Neoliberal Laboratory

A review of Toufic Haddad, Palestine LTD. Neoliberalism and Nationalism in the Occupied Territories (London: I.B. Taurus, 2016), 368pp. Toufic Haddad begins his sharply critical examination of the international donor and financial community’s role in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) since the 1993 Oslo peace accords between Israel

Ibrahim K. Shikaki • 13 min read

Toward Religious Zionist Hegemony in Israel

Religious Zionism provides ideological leadership to the ascendant right-wing bloc and increasingly to Jewish Israeli society as a whole.

Yoav Peled • 14 min read

The Battle for South Yemen

Despite the recent agreement brokered by Saudi Arabia, it may also be the case that the fight for the future of the country has begun between forces that want militarily either to occupy or liberate South Yemen.

Susanne Dahlgren • 12 min read

The Political Economy of Erdoğan’s Syria Gamble

The Turkish invasion of northern Syria, with President Trump's acquiescence, illustrates Turkish President Erdoğan’s authoritarian populist penchant for treating foreign policy as an extension of domestic crisis management.  But it will only further aggravate the interlinked economic and political problems facing the AKP-led government—regardless of

Şahan Savaş Karataşlı • 17 min read