Mezze: Assorted Stories from the Middle East

A taste of the debates shaping the region in 270 words or less.

The monthly Mezze series puts a spotlight on under-discussed trends and debates in the region. It is part of the Middle East Program’s newsletter, Middle East Notes and Comment. To receive Middle East Notes and Comment and Mezze in your mailbox, subscribe to the newsletter below.

Sample past editions of Mezze HERE.

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Help Wanted, But Not Found: Emiratization in the UAE

As the UAE intensifies efforts to employ more nationals in the private sector, Emirati officials are finding that there are some jobs that Emiratis don’t want to take.  

Newsletter by Lubna Yousef and Caleb Harper — March 22, 2023

Saudi Arabia’s New Journey in Anime

As anime’s popularity grows, Saudi Arabia’s engagement in the production of Arabic anime content represents a new effort to shape the narrative at home and abroad.

Newsletter by Daniel Sharp — February 21, 2023

Babel: Translating the Middle East

A Mezze: On the Hook

Egypt's fish farmers have been struggling for years now. Media and industry groups claim its due to climate change and Cairo's growing pollution, but farmers say the Egyptian military is to blame. 

Podcast Episode — February 14, 2023

CSIS Babel
Babel: Translating the Middle East

A Mezze: Salmon Farming in the UAE

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) doesn’t seem like the ideal place for a salmon farm, but aquaculture is becoming an increasingly large part of the UAE's food security strategy.

Podcast Episode — February 1, 2023

CSIS Babel

Honey, I Froze the Kids

Israel’s generous subsidies for in-vitro-fertilization (IVF) have earned it the highest per capita rate of IVF procedures in the world, but that generosity may soon overflow.

Newsletter by Caleb Harper and Kobe Spells — July 21, 2022

Syrians Need Not Apply

Lebanon is facing yet another shortage: a lack of foreign workers to work as maids and nannies in Lebanese homes. Syrians living in Lebanon could be part of the solution, but there are obstacles to their acceptance.

Newsletter by Caleb Harper and Will McChesney — June 23, 2022

Lebanon's Brewing Crisis

Some Lebanese investors have turned to the beer and wine industry as the Lebanese economy tumbles and holding dollar deposits in banks become riskier, but a crisis is brewing, and alcohol may not be able to provide a pathway out of it.

Newsletter by Will McChesney — May 16, 2022

Locals Be Dammed

Years after Iraq declared victory over the Islamic State group (ISG), locals in the territory it formerly controlled continue to complain of a campaign of retribution.

Newsletter by Soukayna Lakhsassi — April 13, 2022

Dental Freelancers

Some find going to the dentist traumatic. In Morocco, it may be more so because the dentist may turn out never to have gone to dental school at all.

Newsletter by Will McChesney — March 28, 2022