MER Article

Deportation as Punishment and the Everyday War on Migrants from Turkey to the United States

At dawn on December 9, 2024, hundreds of Syrian refugees gathered at Turkey's Cilvegözü and Öncüpınar border crossings into northern Syria to return home following the fall of Bashar al-Assad's government. Wrapped in blankets and clutching their children and possessions, they waited in anticipation, some having

Fulya Pınar • 13 min read

MER Article

The Political Logic Behind Iraq’s Fragmented Armed Forces

On the cusp of losing power following a poor performance in the October 2021 election, Iraq’s Fateh Alliance and its Popular Mobilization Forces—a coalition of armed factions under the umbrella of the Iraqi state—sent protesters to occupy parts of Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone. The winner

Renad Mansour • 7 min read

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

MER Article

BDS in a Time of Precarity

The University of Toronto is not known as a particularly progressive institution. Like many universities, it has adopted neoliberal thinking and practice, becoming part of Academia, Inc. But two seemingly unrelated events during the 2014-2015 academic year showcased the increasing political activity

Omar Sirri • 14 min read

MER Article

The Ties That Bind

Yemeni-American activist Rabyaah al-Thaibani was born in Ta‘izz, Yemen’s largest city, in 1977. She moved to the United States as a child to join her father, who was working nights cleaning office buildings in Manhattan. She grew up in Brooklyn, attended Columbia University and since has worked in c

Stacey Philbrick Yadav • 9 min read

Current Analysis

The Travel Ban and Iranian-Americans

By the end of his first few weeks in office, President Donald Trump had managed to rile up most everyone in the country who was not agitated already. Of the many unsettling Trump initiatives, one of the most contentious has been his effort to make good on campaign promises of

Semira Nikou • 15 min read

MER Article

From the Editor (Summer 2016)

[su_heading align="left"]The new American-Israeli military aid package, in short, is another grim reminder that US stewardship of the Israeli-Palestinian file has functioned not only to frustrate peace but also to consolidate the Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands and deepen its structural violence.[/su_heading] At

Chris Toensing • 3 min read

Current Analysis

The Palestine Exception to Free Speech in America

Omar Shakir and Megan Marzec came to northeastern Ohio last week to discuss the constraints on speech about research and activism with regard to Palestinian rights. Their host was the Northeast Ohio Consortium on Middle East Studies (NOCMES).

Joshua Stacher • 1 min read

Current Analysis

Letter to Bernie, II

Dear Sen. Sanders, I’m a contributor to your campaign and enthusiastically support your bold, relentless critique of the billionaire class that is undermining democracy and making a decent life impossible for millions of people. I’d like you to speak more about how big money has been a destructive

Joel Beinin • 4 min read

Current Analysis

Letter to Bernie

Dear Sen. Sanders, Congratulations on your strong showing in Iowa and your victory in New Hampshire. It’s exciting to see Democratic primary voters—especially younger ones—choosing your program of social democracy over the unfettered liberal capitalism to which they’ve always been told there’s no

The Editors • 4 min read

Current Analysis

Have Yourself Some Anti-Refugee Hysteria

As holiday shoppers empty their wallets to buy presents for family and friends, there’s been an outbreak of miserliness among our politicians—directed at some of the world’s most helpless people. At least 30 Republican governors, and one Democrat, are vowing to bar Syrian refugees from their states

Chris Toensing • 2 min read

Current Analysis

Ahmed Mohamed, Liberal Rhetoric and Obama Administration Propaganda

Most readers will know by now that a 14-year-old kid named Ahmed Mohamed was recently arrested in Irving, Texas [http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/17/us/texas-student-is-under-police-investigation-for-building-a-clock.html?smid=tw-nytimes&smtyp=cur&_r=2] for, well, for making a clock while Muslim. Ahme

Leili Kashani • 6 min read