Transnational Repression Against Exiled Women Activists

In Spring 2011, as the uprising against Bashar Al-Assad erupted in Syria, Sana, the daughter of Syrian exiles living in Canada, began engaging in online activism. Her support for the revolution rapidly gained traction among fellow Syrians and a widening global audience. But as her voice grew louder, she found

Noura Aljizawi, Siena Anstis, Marcus Michaelsen • 13 min read

MER Article

Who is “Indian” in the Gulf? Race, Labor and Citizenship

How do race and racism operate in the Gulf? Neha Vora and Amélie Le Renard closely examine how the term "Indian," as it is used in the United Arab Emirates, refers to much more than national origin. They trace the role of colonialism, capitalism and the state in creating "Indian" as a racialized cat

Neha Vora, Amélie Le Renard • 11 min read

Current Analysis

Who is “Indian” in the Gulf? Race, Labor and Citizenship

How do race and racism operate in the Gulf? Neha Vora and Amélie Le Renard closely examine how the term "Indian," as it is used in the United Arab Emirates, refers to much more than national origin. They trace the role of colonialism, capitalism and the state in creating "Indian" as a racialized cat

Neha Vora, Amélie Le Renard • 11 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

Saudi Arabia’s Weaponization of Oil Abundance

Saudi Arabia and Russia cooperated for years to maintain the value of their chief export—oil. This month, that collusion collapsed into a price war with both countries unexpectedly boosting production. In the midst of the coronavirus pandemic and China's decreasing oil demands, fears of an uncertain

Gregory Brew • 11 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

MER Article

The Saudis Bring War to Yemen’s East

A new phase of the war appears to be unfolding in al-Mahra, the far eastern governorate of southern Yemen on the Indian Ocean next to Oman. In 2017 Saudi Arabian troops suddenly rolled through the streets of al-Ghaydha, the governorate capital, taking over the regional airport and announcing that th

Susanne Dahlgren • 15 min read

Current Analysis

The Southern Transitional Council and the War in Yemen

In late January this year, an armed conflict erupted in Aden between troops under command of President ‘Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi and those loyal to the Southern Transitional Council (STC), both in principle on the same side of the Yemeni war. The fighting left more than 40 people dead and several woun

Susanne Dahlgren • 9 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

MER Article

Saudi Arabia Dispatch

President Donald J. Trump is known for breaking norms of domestic and foreign policy in his first year in office. In terms of US-Saudi relations, however, his policy has been relatively standard. Although he chose Saudi Arabia as his first international destination as president—breaking the pattern

Sultan Alamer • 5 min read