Social and Political Change
Analyzing social and political trends throughout the region
For more than a decade, calls for social and political change have ricocheted throughout the region. Governments have responded, and their citizens have responded as well. The consequences of the resultant alliances and struggles affect events in individual countries, inspire regional observers, and help shape how governments engage regionally and globally. The Middle East Program tracks social and political trends on a national and regional level to better understand where the region is heading over the next few decades and where it came from.
Featured Analysis

Getting the Pandemic Completely Wrong
Commentary by Jon B. Alterman — January 12, 2022

Monica Marks: Tunisia’s Popular Authoritarian
Podcast Episode by Jon B. Alterman Will Todman and Caleb Harper — September 21, 2021

Photo: AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP/Getty Images
Ties that Bind: Family, Tribe, Nation, and the Rise of Arab Individualism
The Arab world is experiencing a revolution. States have relied on pyramids of authority that reach down through society, often through tribes into families. Yet those ties are fraying, and individualism is rising.
Report by Jon B. Alterman — December 2, 2019

Deaths of Despair
Commentary by Jon B. Alterman — February 21, 2023

Bessma Momani: Jordan’s Royal Intrigue
Podcast Episode by Jon B. Alterman Natasha Hall and Daniel Sharp

Citizens in Training: Conscription and Nation-building in the United Arab Emirates
Report by Jon B. Alterman and Margo Balboni

Photo: MOHAMED EL-SHAHED/AFP/Getty Images
The Middle East Transition We Need to Talk About
Commentary by Jon B. Alterman
All Social and Political Change Content
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Scaling Out: Lebanon’s Civil Society Joins Forces to Tackle the Waste Crisis
Commentary by Martin Pimentel — September 15, 2023
Israel’s Third Juncture in History
Commentary by Jon B. Alterman — July 24, 2023
Support for Refugees Erodes in the Middle East
Commentary by Will Todman — June 5, 2023
Libya’s Civil Society Crackdown Exacerbates Its Climate Woes
Commentary by Lubna Yousef and Will Todman — May 2, 2023
Deaths of Despair
Commentary by Jon B. Alterman — February 21, 2023
A Conversation with H.E. Hoshyar Zebari
Event — September 28, 2022
The Middle East Transition We Need to Talk About
Commentary by Jon B. Alterman — July 21, 2022
Rethinking Saudi Arabia
Commentary by Jon B. Alterman — June 23, 2022
Lebanon’s New Government
Critical Questions by Will Todman — September 10, 2021
Khaled Dawoud: Journalism and Politics in Egypt
Podcast Episode by Jon B. Alterman and Natasha Hall — May 4, 2021
