Most recent papers:

• From Palestine Ally to Zionist Partner: India‐Israel Relations, 2014–2025.
  Yücel Bulut.
  Middle East Policy. 3 days ago
  ["Middle East Policy, EarlyView. ", "\nAbstract\nIndia's pro‐Palestinian diplomatic posture, which held for nearly 70 years, has been transformed within a single decade of rule by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), turning New Delhi into one of Israel's most consequential Asian partners. This shift has narrowed the coalition supporting the Palestinian cause. The new orientation was illustrated after the deadly October 7 attacks: The government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi muted criticism of, and avoided UN resolutions to end, the Gaza war, as Israel considered replacing Palestinian workers with thousands of Indian nationals. This article argues that India's reorientation is driven by three converging forces: strategic incentives such as access to defense technology and intelligence cooperation; ideological affinities between Zionism and the Hindu nationalist ideology Hindutva; and the absence of opposition from Gulf states. This allowed New Delhi to deepen ties with Israel without jeopardizing regional partnerships. The study shows that India‐Israel cooperation accelerated after the BJP came to power in 2014, soon consolidated into a strategic partnership, and influenced India's position on Israel during the post‐October 7 wars.\n"]

  May 07, 2026   doi: 10.1111/mepo.70071   open full text
• Iran's Forward Defense in Sub‐Saharan Africa.
  Ariel Limanya Limbu, Ronen A. Cohen.
  Middle East Policy. 5 days ago
  ["Middle East Policy, EarlyView. ", "\nAbstract\nThis article examines Iran's security and defense initiatives in sub‐Saharan Africa between 1990 and 2024 and how they reflect the extraterritorial application of the regime's forward defense doctrine. In response to the long‐term erosion of its homeland defense capabilities since the Iran‐Iraq War of the 1980s—driven by infrastructure degradation, international sanctions, and increasing Israeli and US pressure—Tehran has sought to expand its strategic depth beyond the Levant. Through partnerships with states such as Sudan and South Africa, as well as discreet engagement with nonstate actors, Iran approaches sub‐Saharan Africa as a peripheral buffer zone. These interactions aim to project influence, safeguard national interests, and counter rival actors. The article analyzes how the Islamic Republic uses dynamic, subversive, and hybrid approaches, including pragmatic alliances, interference, arms transfers, intelligence cooperation, terrorism, and cyberwarfare. These practices illustrate how sub‐Saharan Africa is becoming an increasingly relevant extension of Iran's forward defense strategy within a competitive, zero‐sum security environment.\n"]

  May 05, 2026   doi: 10.1111/mepo.70069   open full text
• Constructing Social Cohesion in Qatar: National Vision, Strategy, and Constitution.
  Logan Cochrane, Kim Moloney, Khalid Al‐Kuwari, Mehdi Riazi, Mohammed Abubakar Metcho, Jawaher Al Majed.
  Middle East Policy. April 08, 2026
  ["Middle East Policy, EarlyView. ", "\nAbstract\nSocial cohesion is eroding around the world, and governments are working to foster cohesiveness. This study explores how the State of Qatar has integrated social cohesion into its key strategic planning documents. We do so by integrating locally relevant conceptualizations, as well as Western ideas, of social cohesion. Our central analysis is of three key national documents: the Constitution of the State of Qatar, Qatar National Vision 2030, and the Third Qatar National Development Strategy 2024–2030. We coded each document for mentions of social cohesion along with eight other Western and Islamic concepts. We find that these legal and strategic policy blueprints integrate both traditions, thus creating a model of social cohesion that is rooted in the Qatari context while being cognizant of global principles. This study contributes to the broader decolonization of policy discourses by engaging new epistemological orientations for understanding and assessing social cohesion and its related concepts.\n"]

  April 08, 2026   doi: 10.1111/mepo.70059   open full text
• Explaining Saudi Arabia's Inaction During the Gaza War: Why No Oil Embargo?
  Mazaher Koruzhde, Eric Lob.
  Middle East Policy. April 08, 2026
  ["Middle East Policy, EarlyView. ", "\nAbstract\nWhy did Saudi Arabia not take direct action against US support for Israel in the Gaza war, given the enormous destruction and loss of life? In 1973, when Washington similarly backed the Israeli effort against Arab states, the kingdom and other regional countries raised the price of petroleum through an embargo and production cuts, sparking an oil crisis in the West. But the recent period has featured no analogous attempts to influence Washington. We argue that over the past five decades, a hegemonic coalition of governmental and private‐sector elites in the United States and Saudi Arabia developed a business‐security structure that prevented Riyadh from punishing the West over the Gaza war. Our analysis of empirical data and secondary sources shows that this dominant transnational investment bloc deeply integrated the kingdom into the US‐led global capitalist economy. As a result, imposing an oil embargo or other punitive measures was no longer viable.\n"]

  April 08, 2026   doi: 10.1111/mepo.70064   open full text
• Social Perceptions in Yemen: Fragmented Power and Everyday Survival.
  Anef Taher, Ahmed Alduais, Muhammed Al Khayyatt.
  Middle East Policy. April 08, 2026
  ["Middle East Policy, EarlyView. ", "\nAbstract\nYemen's protracted civil war has fractured governance, undermined education, and deepened social vulnerability. This study examines how ordinary Yemenis perceive power, precarity, and education in this context of crisis. An Arabic‐language survey of 50 participants across Sanaa, Aden, Marib, and Hadramout combined structured items with open‐ended responses in a convergent mixed‐methods design. Findings show that the most decisive sources of power were perceived to be economic resources and political authority, while education and professional careers carried less weight. Displacement was widely linked to pressure on services, rising rents, and job scarcity. Education emerged as one of the most severely disrupted sectors, including unpaid salaries, institutional breakdown, and student disengagement. The survey results highlight two concrete policy entry points. First, stabilizing teacher livelihoods and restoring school functionality can help counter educational collapse. Second, strengthening regulatory frameworks for basic services and labor markets can reduce the vulnerabilities exacerbated by displacement. While donor support remains important in the short term, sustainable recovery entails equitable governance, allowing Yemen to mobilize its natural resources—oil, gas, agriculture, and fisheries—to rebuild institutions and reduce external dependency.\n"]

  April 08, 2026   doi: 10.1111/mepo.70063   open full text
• A Heuristic Equation of Transformation, Justice, and Violence in Post‐Assad Syria.
  Zeynep Banu Dalaman.
  Middle East Policy. April 06, 2026
  ["Middle East Policy, EarlyView. ", "\nAbstract\nThe Syrian conflict, in a fragile transition after Bashar al‐Assad's ouster, raises urgent questions about the conditions for sustainable peace. Rather than viewing postwar Syria solely through the lens of return and reconstruction, this article conceptualizes peace through a heuristic framework in which enabling variables are persistently eroded by structural violence. Drawing on fieldwork conducted in six Syrian provinces, it employs a triangulated qualitative methodology combining participant observation, visual ethnography, and documentary analysis. The findings show that communities enact resilience through grassroots reconstruction, memorialization, and everyday survival, even as authoritarian continuities, fragmented governance, and humanitarian collapse dominate. Symbolic gestures mask carceral practices and inequality. Women and children, central to survival, remain excluded from decision making, reinforcing cycles of vulnerability. The study introduces an original interpretive model—Peace = (X × I) + (T + R) − S—where conflict transformation (X), institutional peace building (I), transitional justice (T), and representation (R) interact but are undermined by structural violence (S). This framework functions not as a mathematical but a conceptual device linking theory with field evidence, situating Syria's transition between negative peace and the unrealized promise of positive peace.\n"]

  April 06, 2026   doi: 10.1111/mepo.70062   open full text
• Jordan's Stability and Regime Survival amid the War on Palestinians.
  Nur Köprülü, Fadi Al‐Ghrouf.
  Middle East Policy. March 31, 2026
  ["Middle East Policy, Volume 33, Issue 1, Page 51-66, Spring 2026. ", "\nAbstract\nThe war in Gaza and the escalation of conflict across the Middle East have once again demonstrated that Jordan's stability is closely intertwined with the Palestinian issue. This article contends that the retreat from a two‐state solution and the growing public protests are perceived by the regime as an existential threat. Since 1988, the kingdom has consolidated its identity around King Hussein's declaration, “Jordan is not Palestine.” Thus, any potential for relocation of Gazans or mass influx of West Bank Palestinians into Jordan threatens the sovereignty of the Hashemite monarchy. Paradoxically, however, the Gaza war also allows the regime to use the Palestine question as a mechanism to rally public support. Given this complexity, the study examines how Israel's war has affected both Jordan's political stability and the regime's survival strategies.\n"]

  March 31, 2026   doi: 10.1111/mepo.70023   open full text
• Geopolitical Rebranding of the ‘New Syria’ amid the Turkey‐Gulf Rapprochement.
  Hae Won Jeong.
  Middle East Policy. March 31, 2026
  ["Middle East Policy, Volume 33, Issue 1, Page 135-148, Spring 2026. ", "\nAbstract\nIn February 2026, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan traveled to Saudi Arabia and pledged to work with the kingdom on stabilizing and rebuilding post‐Assad Syria. The strategic alignment between Ankara and Riyadh, which had previously backed rival factions across the region, highlights how Syria's political transition is being shaped by regional rapprochement. This article argues that Turkey and key Gulf states can capitalize on their improved ties and pursue a two‐pronged division of labor: bolstering Syria's security sector through expanded partnerships and coordination, while mobilizing Gulf financing and Turkish operational capacity to accelerate reconstruction. The study traces Turkey's evolving security priorities toward the Kurdish‐led People's Protection Units and Syrian Democratic Forces, examines how Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar have supported Syria's diplomatic reintegration, and analyzes emerging cooperation in training security forces, developing trade routes, and securing energy agreements. This article is part of a series on Turkey‐Gulf relations, guest edited by Hamdullah Baycar and Betul Dogan‐Akkas, based on the Gulf Studies Symposium organized by the Gulf International Forum, April 11–12, 2025, at Georgetown University in Washington.\n"]

  March 31, 2026   doi: 10.1111/mepo.70054   open full text
• Explaining the Post‐October 7 Durability of Israel's Peace Deals with Egypt and Jordan.
  Chen Kertcher, Carmela Lutmar.
  Middle East Policy. March 31, 2026
  ["Middle East Policy, Volume 33, Issue 1, Page 67-86, Spring 2026. ", "\nAbstract\nCrafting and maintaining peace agreements is one of the most critical challenges in international relations and conflict resolution. Despite their initial promise, many such deals have failed, sparking renewed conflict and instability. This article argues that two primary factors influence the durability of these agreements: elite positions and interests reinforced by strong domestic institutions, and mediator involvement and guarantees. Through theoretical analysis and empirical evidence, the study demonstrates how these interconnected factors shape the likelihood of sustained peace and provides insights for improving future processes. Central to the analysis are case studies of two accords Israel forged with its neighbors—Egypt in 1979 and Jordan in 1994. While the details of how the deals were created are important, more crucial is the examination of threats to their implementation and reasons for their durability, especially since the October 7 attacks. The article therefore improves on contemporary studies that focus on strategies to achieve peace agreements but underplay the importance of the factors that determine endurance.\n"]

  March 31, 2026   doi: 10.1111/mepo.70053   open full text
• Turkey's Relations with Gulf States: Temporary Shift or Permanent Alignment?
  Engin Koç.
  Middle East Policy. March 31, 2026
  ["Middle East Policy, Volume 33, Issue 1, Page 149-167, Spring 2026. ", "\nAbstract\nIn July 2023, despite more than a decade of enmity, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan secured a string of multibillion‐dollar deals with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. What explains the abrupt thaw, and is this a durable realignment or a temporary detour? This article contends that interstate relations are shaped primarily by identity. In the early 2000s, Turkey abandoned its secular tradition and embraced political Islam. During the Arab Spring, this ideology led it to build links to the Muslim Brotherhood—a group that Saudi Arabia and the UAE saw as a threat to regime stability. Despite the political and economic risks, the analysis shows, Ankara's behavior was driven by its identity. The article compares the period of conflict to the post‐2020 opening between Turkey and the Gulf states. While economic interests have become more salient, resulting in cooperation, the findings indicate that the underlying ideological differences persist. Reconciliation is therefore likely to be reversible, not enduring. This article is part of a series on Turkey‐Gulf relations, guest edited by Hamdullah Baycar and Betul Dogan‐Akkas, based on the Gulf Studies Symposium organized by the Gulf International Forum, April 11–12, 2025, at Georgetown University in Washington.\n"]

  March 31, 2026   doi: 10.1111/mepo.70052   open full text
• Jordan's Role in Establishing a Sunni‐Israeli Alliance Against Iran.
  Ronen Yitzhak.
  Middle East Policy. March 31, 2026
  ["Middle East Policy, Volume 33, Issue 1, Page 36-50, Spring 2026. ", "\nAbstract\nFor two decades after Iraqi strongman Saddam Hussein was driven from power, Israel, Jordan, and the Gulf states formed a de facto Sunni‐Israeli tactical alliance out of shared concerns about the threat from Iran—its nuclear program, promotion of expanding Shiite power, and support for terrorism. This article analyzes leaked documents, reports in the regional press, and secondary literature to demonstrate how Jordan played a central role in building this cooperation, which included intelligence sharing and even discussions about military action against the Islamic Republic. During this period, the conflict with Iran overshadowed the Palestinian issue. However, the October 7 attacks and subsequent Gaza war have fundamentally changed the regional dynamics: The perception that Iran and its network are now diminished has reduced the urgency of the alliance. Critically, the priorities of the Gulf states have shifted. They are focused on economic growth and regional stability, and they increasingly see Israel's aggressive stance as destabilizing. This shift, reflected in President Donald Trump's diplomatic efforts since October 2025, suggests that the Gulf states are becoming less cooperative with Israel. The potential weakening of the anti‐Iran front threatens to isolate Israel and its strategic ally, Jordan, in the ongoing campaign against Tehran.\n"]

  March 31, 2026   doi: 10.1111/mepo.70031   open full text
• Jerusalem and the Unresolved Question of Sovereignty.
  Havva Yavuz.
  Middle East Policy. March 31, 2026
  ["Middle East Policy, Volume 33, Issue 1, Page 21-35, Spring 2026. ", "\nAbstract\nThe de facto annexation of East Jerusalem has advanced incrementally through a legal‐administrative architecture that includes land registration, zoning, and permitting; residency rules; and redesign of municipal boundaries. These measures affect how everyday rights like movement, worship, development, and residence are controlled. Crucially, they will determine whether the Old City and its surrounding areas can function as the capital of a future Palestinian state. This article evaluates three policy levers that could curb the takeover of East Jerusalem: accountability through the International Criminal Court, complemented by universal‐jurisdiction filings; targeted, reversible sanctions on orchestrators of settlement expansion and violence; and a reinforced custodianship/monitoring regime for holy sites. The piece further analyzes the feasibility of each lever and specifies measurable benchmarks, such as charging and cooperation indicators for accountability; listing, licensing, and compliance actions for sanctions; and access parity, incident reporting, and third‐party audit cycles for custodianship. The examination thus shifts the focus from rhetorical support for Palestinian autonomy to the enforceable rollback of East Jerusalem's occupation.\n"]

  March 31, 2026   doi: 10.1111/mepo.70029   open full text
• ‘I Thought I Would Die’: Testimony from Palestinian Women Jailed by Israel.
  Oqab Jabali, Saqer Jabali.
  Middle East Policy. March 31, 2026
  ["Middle East Policy, Volume 33, Issue 1, Page 3-20, Spring 2026. ", "\nAbstract\nAfter the Hamas attacks of October 7, 2023, Israel sharply expanded the arrest and detention of Palestinian women, resulting in allegations of violence, torture, and enforced disappearance. This study explores the experiences of 50 formerly imprisoned Palestinian women, drawing on their own words and reports by human‐rights organizations. Many interviewees describe beatings, strip searches, solitary confinement, and denial of medical care, often in overcrowded, unsanitary conditions with little access to legal support. Pregnant women and minors were especially vulnerable. Many also report enduring trauma, stigma, and economic hardship following their release. The findings suggest that Israel's carceral practices involve the use of gender‐based violence as a tool of domination, which may constitute violations of the Fourth Geneva Convention and other international laws. The authors call for global action to ensure accountability, protect detainees’ rights, and secure the release of all Palestinian female prisoners. Reforms are required to prevent any further Israeli violations as the Gaza war ceasefire slowly takes hold.\n"]

  March 31, 2026   doi: 10.1111/mepo.70028   open full text
• Ottoman Coup Traditions and the Republican Army's Legacy.
  Sertif Demir, Yaşar Ertürk.
  Middle East Policy. March 31, 2026
  ["Middle East Policy, Volume 33, Issue 1, Page 116-134, Spring 2026. ", "\nAbstract\nThis article explores the historical and institutional origins of military coups in Türkiye, tracing their roots well before the republican era, to the late Ottoman Empire. Between 1839 and 1914, the empire undertook military reform, political experimentation, and bureaucratic modernization, which shaped the later republic's civil‐military dynamics. Using a historical‐institutional and comparative framework, the study employs qualitative and narrative‐analysis methods based on Ottoman and republican archival materials, scholarly works related to civil‐military relations in general and in Türkiye, and contemporary studies. The analysis argues that the ideological and institutional patterns of military intervention established during the early period continue to shape the logic, methods, and legitimacy of relations between civilians and the armed services in contemporary Türkiye. It shows that the military's self‐ascribed role as the guardian of the state—and the normalization of coups as instruments of national salvation—originated not solely through the foundation and practices of the Turkish Republic but from developments in political culture and institutional practices created long before.\n"]

  March 31, 2026   doi: 10.1111/mepo.70024   open full text
• Geopolitics and Aspirations for Sustainability: Turkey's Emergence as an Energy Hub.
  Umud Shokri.
  Middle East Policy. March 31, 2026
  ["Middle East Policy, Volume 33, Issue 1, Page 102-115, Spring 2026. ", "\nAbstract\nTurkey is pursuing three main objectives in the energy sector: enhancing its geopolitical position, expanding its domestic production and renewable energy capacity, and becoming a natural gas hub linking producers from the Middle East, the Caspian region, and Russia to European markets. Ankara hopes to take advantage of its advantageous location and establish a gas trading hub in Istanbul. Through new partnerships and long‐term contracts for liquefied natural gas, replacing expiring agreements with Russia and Iran, Turkey seeks to diversify its natural gas suppliers. And it is investing in nuclear power, renewables, and efficiency under the National Energy Plan 2020–2035, which includes aiming for trial production at the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant by the end of 2025. This article analyzes the plan and assesses how Turkey may become a global energy leader and strengthen its integration into regional markets while also advancing sustainability goals. The investigation enhances our understanding of how governments can handle this challenge.\n"]

  March 31, 2026   doi: 10.1111/mepo.70022   open full text
• Regime Change in Syria and the Emerging Israel‐Turkey Conflict.
  Mehmet Doğan Üçok.
  Middle East Policy. March 31, 2026
  ["Middle East Policy, Volume 33, Issue 1, Page 87-101, Spring 2026. ", "\nAbstract\nThis study examines the transformation of the eastern Mediterranean into a contested geopolitical arena following the collapse of the Assad regime in Syria. Drawing on the framework of offensive realism, it explores the intensifying rivalry between Israel and Turkey, tracing how energy resources, maritime zones, and proxy alignments have evolved into a militarized contest for regional hegemony. Tel Aviv's efforts to assert dominance over the Gaza Strip, Lebanon, and Syria—supported by the United States—are interpreted by Ankara as part of an encirclement strategy, rooted not only in strategic interest but in the ideological construction of the “promised land.” This has driven Turkey to adopt a doctrine that integrates military operations, maritime law, and alliances to counter what it perceives as a reordering of the post‐Assad Levant. The analysis contrasts this trajectory with liberal governance theories and argues that potential venues for collaboration, such as the East Mediterranean Gas Forum, are being instrumentalized for exclusionary purposes. By situating energy securitization, territorial expansion, and ideological projection within realism, the article reframes the eastern Mediterranean not as a zone of cooperation but as a hardened front in a contest for power stretching from Gaza to the Euphrates.\n"]

  March 31, 2026   doi: 10.1111/mepo.70019   open full text
• Plastics Pollution in the Gulf Countries: Problems and Policy Solutions.
  Richard Rutter, Stuart Barnes, Konstantinos Chalvatzis, Meshari Al‐Harbi.
  Middle East Policy. March 06, 2026
  ["Middle East Policy, EarlyView. ", "\nAbstract\nPlastics pollution is one of the most pressing environmental issues humanity faces; its ever‐increasing production is overwhelming nations’ capacities to address the long‐term consequences, including the impact on ecosystems. Different policy approaches have been developed to minimize plastics consumption and pollution, especially with regard to packaging and the use of the materials in consumer goods. Kuwait and the Gulf countries generate considerable plastic waste but appear to lag regarding the implementation of public policies designed to mitigate the negative effects. Analysis of policy approaches to the plastics pollution issue in the Gulf is sparse. This article reviews the effect of plastic pollution in the Gulf countries and outlines some of the measures that could be put in place in Kuwait to create a more sustainable future for the ecosystems in the subregion. Using key stakeholder interviews and synthesizing governance and policy approaches, the authors develop an environmental policy integration framework for Kuwait. This harmonizes regulatory, market, and voluntary measures, including awareness campaigns, curriculum integration, public health initiatives, media campaigns, financing, community participation, sustainable development concepts, tax incentives, and environmental cleanup efforts.\n"]

  March 06, 2026   doi: 10.1111/mepo.70034   open full text
• Federalism in Post‐Assad Syria: Toward Durable Peace in a Pluralist Society.
  Dilan Okcuoglu.
  Middle East Policy. February 25, 2026
  ["Middle East Policy, EarlyView. ", "\nAbstract\nSyria's civil war has left behind a fractured state. While the new president, Ahmed al‐Sharaa, seeks to unify the country and restore centralized governance, this appears unworkable. Instead, this article contends, asymmetrical federalism offers a pathway toward stability. The analysis identifies three dimensions necessary for a durable settlement: regional security autonomy; equitable management of key resources, particularly oil and agriculture; and credible international guarantees to maintain autonomy. Drawing on cases from Iraq, Bosnia‐Herzegovina, and Canada, the examination shows how asymmetrical arrangements can accommodate powerful regional actors, such as the Kurdish‐led Syrian Democratic Forces, while preserving national cohesion. The article outlines mechanisms to address Syria's pluralism, including constitutional recognition of regional jurisdictions, a Federal Security Council with veto provisions, binding revenue‐sharing agreements, and joint security protocols. It also evaluates the role of international actors, especially the United States, as potential guarantors of autonomy and security in the absence of a strong central state. By grounding asymmetrical federalism in Syrian realities, the article demonstrates its potential for representative governance.\n"]

  February 25, 2026   doi: 10.1111/mepo.70033   open full text
• Fallen Cedar: Lebanon's Debt Diplomacy, 2015–2020.
  Kevin Rosier.
  Middle East Policy. February 22, 2026
  ["Middle East Policy, EarlyView. ", "\nAbstract\nThis article examines Lebanon's economic crisis, with a focus on the international debt negotiations and financial interventions from 2015 to 2020, arguing that it stemmed from a failure not only of economic policies but of trust—both between Lebanon and its creditors as well as among domestic actors. The study traces the limitations of Western‐led debt diplomacy, from the unsuccessful Paris conferences to the 2018 CEDRE initiative, which conditioned financial assistance on neoliberal reforms without collaboratively addressing Lebanon's underlying structural economic and governance deficiencies. The Banque du Liban's financial‐engineering strategies, designed to sustain capital inflows, ultimately exacerbated economic instability, leading to currency devaluation, capital controls, and social unrest. The article concludes that Lebanon's default was not a strategic reset but an economic surrender that followed decades of conducting economic policy in an environment devoid of trust among relevant actors. The Lebanon case demonstrates the need for a reimagined approach to debt diplomacy, one that de‐emphasizes ad hoc, transactional financial arrangements and prioritizes trust building, shared responsibility for reform and reconstruction, and a collaboratively agreed‐upon and funded plan for sustainable economic growth.\n"]

  February 22, 2026   doi: 10.1111/mepo.70030   open full text
• Saudi Arabia's Deepening Engagement With Asia‐Pacific Nations.
  Ghulam Ali.
  Middle East Policy. September 08, 2025
  ["Middle East Policy, EarlyView. ", "\nAbstract\nSince coming to power in 2015, the leadership of King Salman bin Abdulaziz and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has increased Saudi Arabia's economic, energy, investment, and diplomatic engagement with the Asia‐Pacific region, and it has become a major player in the region. This article demonstrates the extent of this activity and explains the motivations behind it. The analysis identifies key drivers of Riyadh's ambitious policies, which include changes in petrodollar arrangements due to waning US interest in Saudi security and oil, economic diversification under Vision 2030, and diplomatic experience from the G20, as well as the receptiveness of Asia‐Pacific countries to Saudi overtures and shifts in the global power structure. Reforms within the kingdom have facilitated this engagement, which is not limited by the size, distance, or religious and political orientation of other countries. This engagement is parallel to Saudi Arabia's longstanding relationship with the United States, which is likely to strengthen during the second term of President Donald Trump. The findings of this article also provide insights into the Saudi diplomatic approach to regions outside the Asia‐Pacific.\n"]

  September 08, 2025   doi: 10.1111/mepo.70007   open full text
• Chinese‐Arab Scientific Cooperation and Effectiveness.
  Minglian Long, Yijia Luo, Yi Zhang.
  Middle East Policy. July 15, 2025
  ["Middle East Policy, EarlyView. ", "\nAbstract\nThis analysis of scientific cooperation between China and the Arab world uncovers the common concerns, research domains, achievements, and competitiveness of this output. The 22 Arab countries in this study have established extensive relations with China in fields like chemistry, engineering, agriculture, and medicine, as well as emerging areas like computer science, environmental science, green finance, sustainable development, and technological innovation. While the scope of scientific cooperation between China and the Arab world has expanded over time, there are disparities. Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates, for instance, have achieved high levels of cooperation, competitiveness, and achievement in collaborations between their scholars and those from China. Other countries, such as Qatar and Morocco, are less engaged with China in scientific fields, and they have enjoyed fewer cooperative achievements and lower levels of competitiveness. This suggests that Beijing may seek to implement policies to address such imbalances. The findings also provide insights into how this cooperation can increase and achieve greater success in science, technology, and innovation.\n"]

  July 15, 2025   doi: 10.1111/mepo.12820   open full text
• China's Hajj‐Related Infrastructure Diplomacy with Saudi Arabia.
  Song Niu, Danyu Wang.
  Middle East Policy. March 13, 2025
  ["Middle East Policy, EarlyView. ", "\nAbstract\nSaudi Arabia's Vision 2030 calls for promoting modernization and developing the industry centered around the hajj, the annual Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca. China, with its robust capabilities in transportation and high‐tech infrastructure, sees assisting in these processes as a way to advance its Belt and Road Initiative and strengthen its relationship with Riyadh. The government in Beijing and its enterprises provide expertise in road transportation, high‐tech communications, and cutting‐edge energy technologies that can serve the hajj. This includes the construction of the Mecca Light Railway and the Haramain High Speed Railway, the provision of 5G telecommunications, and exports of buses, both traditional and electric. The article examines these projects and shows how China uses them as a form of diplomacy that increases mutual trust, which can enhance other areas of the political and economic relationship between the East Asian giant and the Gulf power.\n"]

  March 13, 2025   doi: 10.1111/mepo.12804   open full text
• Israel, Palestine and Nonterritorial Governance: A Reconfigured Status Quo.
  Stephen Deets.
  Middle East Policy. March 19, 2017
  There is no abstract available for this paper.

  March 19, 2017   doi: 10.1111/mepo.12255   open full text
• The GCC and the Muslim Brotherhood: What Does the Future Hold?
  Matthew Hedges, Giorgio Cafiero.
  Middle East Policy. March 19, 2017
  There is no abstract available for this paper.

  March 19, 2017   doi: 10.1111/mepo.12256   open full text
• Qatar's LNG: Impact of the Changing East‐Asian Market.
  Steven Wright.
  Middle East Policy. March 19, 2017
  There is no abstract available for this paper.

  March 19, 2017   doi: 10.1111/mepo.12257   open full text
• Book Reviews.
  
  Middle East Policy. June 13, 2013
  There is no abstract available for this paper.

  June 13, 2013   doi: 10.1111/mepo.12027   open full text
• Review Essay.
  
  Middle East Policy. June 13, 2013
  There is no abstract available for this paper.

  June 13, 2013   doi: 10.1111/mepo.12028   open full text
• Revolutionary Iran's 1979 Endeavor in Lebanon.
  Mohammad Ataie.
  Middle East Policy. June 13, 2013
  There is no abstract available for this paper.

  June 13, 2013   doi: 10.1111/mepo.12026   open full text
• Turkey's graduation from the international monetary fund.
  Ozlem Arpac Arconian.
  Middle East Policy. June 13, 2013
  There is no abstract available for this paper.

  June 13, 2013   doi: 10.1111/mepo.12025   open full text
• Turkish‐Israeli Reset: Business As Usual?
  Kilic Bugra Kanat.
  Middle East Policy. June 13, 2013
  There is no abstract available for this paper.

  June 13, 2013   doi: 10.1111/mepo.12024   open full text
• The Kurdish Mirage: A Success Story in Doubt.
  Kawa Jabary, Anil Hira.
  Middle East Policy. June 13, 2013
  There is no abstract available for this paper.

  June 13, 2013   doi: 10.1111/mepo.12023   open full text
• Reopening turkey's closed kurdish opening?
  Michael Gunter.
  Middle East Policy. June 13, 2013
  There is no abstract available for this paper.

  June 13, 2013   doi: 10.1111/mepo.12022   open full text
• The Arab Cold War Revisited: The Regional Impact of the Arab Uprising.
  Nabeel A. Khoury.
  Middle East Policy. June 13, 2013
  There is no abstract available for this paper.

  June 13, 2013   doi: 10.1111/mepo.12021   open full text
• Creating democrats? Testing the Arab Spring.
  Ashley Barnes.
  Middle East Policy. June 13, 2013
  There is no abstract available for this paper.

  June 13, 2013   doi: 10.1111/mepo.12020   open full text
• Order, Freedom and Chaos: Sovereignties in Syria.
  George Abu Ahmad.
  Middle East Policy. June 13, 2013
  There is no abstract available for this paper.

  June 13, 2013   doi: 10.1111/mepo.12019   open full text
• Russia and the Conflict in Syria: Four Myths.
  Mark N. Katz.
  Middle East Policy. June 13, 2013
  There is no abstract available for this paper.

  June 13, 2013   doi: 10.1111/mepo.12018   open full text
• Israel Needs a New Map.
  Ian Lustick.
  Middle East Policy. June 13, 2013
  There is no abstract available for this paper.

  June 13, 2013   doi: 10.1111/mepo.12017   open full text
• Symposium: The Future of Israel and Palestine: Expanding the Debate.
  Stephen M. Walt, Philip Weiss, Henry Siegman.
  Middle East Policy. June 13, 2013
  There is no abstract available for this paper.

  June 13, 2013   doi: 10.1111/mepo.12016   open full text