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 whether Şahan Savaş Karataşlı • 17 min read
Trauma as a Counterrevolutionary Strategy Recent research in Egypt demonstrates how trauma can be (and has been) weaponized as a counterrevolutionary strategy by military and political elites who seek to maintain and strengthen their economic and political power. Vivienne Matthies-Boon • 12 min read
Egypt’s Post-2011 Embrace of Russian-Style Misinformation Campaigns Since the 2013 coup, Egypt’s posture vis à vis information and cyber warfare has evolved from a defensive one—geared toward domestic surveillance and blocking—to an offensive one also focused on influence operations abroad. This shift has pulled Egypt further into an open embrace of Russia. Nathaniel Greenberg • 14 min read
Regional Authoritarians Target the Twittersphere Saudi Arabia’s illicit infiltration of Twitter turns out to be only the tip of the iceberg of regional regime’s efforts to wrest control of political discourse on social media. Alexei Abrahams • 11 min read
Trump’s Enabling Role in Rising Regional Repression US President Donald Trump’s public embrace of autocrats and his virtual silence on their repressive behavior appears to have made autocrats, particularly those allied to the United States, less constrained than they were in the past. Adria Lawrence • 10 min read
Regional Uprisings Confront Gulf-Backed Counterrevolution Wealthy, ambitious and emboldened by US acquiescence, Saudi Arabia and the UAE have emerged as key protagonists in thwarting popular movements. Jonathan Fenton-Harvey • 11 min read
Resurgent Protests Confront New and Old Red Lines in Jordan In response to multiple waves of protests, including a surge of protests in 2019, the Jordanian state has worked hard to establish and enforce five red lines for the protests not to cross in order to rein in the potential impact of unified protests across the kingdom. Curtis Ryan • 15 min read
Thinking Critically About Regional Uprisings In order to broaden our frameworks for thinking critically about the new round of uprisings, MERIP editorial committee member Jillian Schwedler asked a number of critical scholars for their perspectives on how we should be thinking about regional protests and what is often overlooked or misunderstoo Jillian Schwedler • 20 min read
Cracks in Tunisia’s Democratic Miracle Less than a decade after the 2011 uprising that ousted a dictator, the election of an anti-establishment president amidst popular turmoil indicates that many Tunisians reject the narrative that all is well with Tunisia’s new liberal democracy. Laryssa Chomiak • 9 min read
Dhiban as Barometer of Jordan’s Rural Discontent Dhiban shares with much of rural Jordan a long history of seismic societal shifts and gradual economic marginalization. This history forebodes continued unrest in underdeveloped areas as long as economic problems remain unaddressed. Colfax Phillips • 15 min read
From Protesta to Hirak to Algeria’s New Revolutionary Moment But protesters have not gone home, and many have vowed to stay until the underlying structure of rule in Algeria changes and its ruling elite–known as Le Pouvoir (the power)–are expelled from power. The protesters are demanding that an entirely new system–which some call a new revolution–be put in p Robert Parks, Robert P. Parks • 10 min read
Lebanon’s Thawra This uprising is demanding justice beyond sectarian, class, religious or cultural divides. In the clarity brought about by the uprising, the regime’s politics of division has been challenged by the uprising’s politics of solidarity. Rima Majed, Lana Salman • 9 min read
