Harvard's principal forum for policy-relevant research & teaching on the Middle East & North Africa
@Kennedy_School
| Faculty Chair, Professor Tarek Masoud
This morning, MEI Senior Fellow and former Ambassador to Israel
@EdwardDjerejian
spoke to
@NPR
's
@LeilaFadel
about calls for the U.S. to help lower escalating tensions in the region despite its limited influence on Netanyahu, and the importance of bringing all parties back to
NEW STUDY
In a new article published in
@ISQ_Jrnl
, MEI Research Fellow
@PeymanAsadzade
and co-authors
@BabakRezaee
and
@CameronThies
present their empirical analysis of the impact of economic sanctions on household food consumption. Their findings show that sanctions lower the
MEI Senior Fellow and former U.S. Ambassador to Israel
@EdwardDjerejian
joined yesterday’s
@CNN
Newsroom with
@jimsciutto
to provide his analysis of Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu’s failed policies regarding the Palestinian issue and recent address to the U.S. Congress:
Excited to share my latest paper for
@MiddleEast_HKS
. I am thankful to
@IDRC_CRDI
in supporting this research.
The Protest to Parliament Pipeline: Investigating the Link Between Activism and Women’s Political Participation in Iraq
Excited to share that Soldiers of Democracy? won the
@APSAMENA
Best Book Award and co-won the Robert Jervis Best Int'l Security Book Award!
Thank you to both committees and to everyone who made the book possible 🙏
On sale now...
“Pezeshkian’s win will lead to some policy shifts…but on the whole, [he] is likely to govern in seamless coordination with the supreme leader – just as Raisi did.”
In his latest for
@ForeignAffairs
, MEI Research Fellow Mohammad Tabaar breaks down why the election of a relative
MEI Research Fellow
@PeymanAsadzade
's latest for the
@BulletinAtomic
examines how the devastating use of chemical weapons during the Iran-Iraq war (1980-88), combined with a lack of response from the international community, laid bare the limitations of international arms control
“At a time when universities across the country, Harvard included, were swept up in protests and arguments over what had happened and should happen, Masoud plunged into the most potentially divisive policy and political issues—from the war itself to antisemitism and free speech.”
“The idea that governing in Gaza can be handled transitionally by some multinational administration, backed by an external military force, before the territory is handed over to a new, local Palestinian administration is at best naive and at worst dangerous.”
In his latest for
A survey of over 2000 Iranian citizens conducted earlier this year shows growing public support for nuclear weaponization—reflecting a significant departure from earlier public opinion polls. Read MEI Research Fellow
@PeymanAsadzade
's analysis for
@BulletinAtomic
here:
Last week, MEI Senior Fellow and former ambassador to Israel and Syria
@EdwardDjerejian
spoke to the
@BostonGlobe
editorial board about the role diaspora communities can play in advocating for a lasting peace in the region.
Read here:
HKS's Tarek Masoud launched what has become an extensive series of discussions at
@Harvard
on the Israel-Hamas war, its historical roots, and what lies ahead.
Read more about the
@MiddleEast_HKS
series ⤵️
In his latest for
@jeune_afrique
, MEI Senior Fellow
@rabah_arezki
argues that today's challenges necessitate a rethinking of the aid industry to become less reactive and more focused on structural objectives.
READ HERE (in French):
In case you missed it: read excerpts from our six-session Middle East Dialogues series, hosted by Faculty Chair Prof. Tarek Masoud at the
@Kennedy_School
's
@BelferCenter
, which explored a diverse range of views on the war in Gaza, its causes, and the prospects for peace:
In a semester-long series hosted by
@MiddleEast_HKS
, HKS's Tarek Masoud interviewed scholars and policymakers—from a Trump administration strategist to Palestinian intellectuals—on their vastly different views on Israel-Hamas war
“[Discomfort with dialogue] will express itself with students being aggrieved that I platformed a certain position that they believe is unworthy of being even discussed at Harvard… And what I try to convince my students of is that I'm not platforming the views so much as
“The national mourning could shape more than just this election: it could mold the presidency in the image of Raisi for years to come.”
Read MEI Research Fellow Mohammad Tabaar’s analysis of the impact Raisi’s death will have on the future of Iranian politics for
This spring, former Tunisian Prime Minister and MEI Senior Fellow Dr.
@YoCh_Official
led a study group for HKS students, providing a unique insider perspective on Tunisia's democratic experience following the Arab Spring. Participants learned about concrete challenges leaders