Middle East Program

Providing fresh analysis of the drivers of change in the Middle East

The CSIS Middle East Program is dedicated to producing “opportunity driven” research rather than “threat driven” commentary. Rather than merely reacting to crises, the program seeks to understand how emerging trends, opportunities, and pressures affect the choices people and their leaders make, with an eye toward contributing to the policy debate in the United States and abroad. 

Our work ranges from detailed reports to brief analysis papers and can be found in both the academic and popular press. We frequently host roundtables and conferences inviting dignitaries and thought leaders to join us in unpacking the Middle East. You can follow our latest work on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook. 

Our research is broad, fitting mostly into four sub-regions and four thematic areas:

Sub-Regions

Warfare, volatile oil prices, economic and social reform, and environmental change are shifting the strategic logic of the Arabian Peninsula. The Middle East Program works with others to understand the new challenges and opportunities on the Arabian Peninsula and their impacts on regional affairs and global politics. The program’s Arabian Peninsula work includes the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Yemen, and adjoining Iraq. Find out more here. 

Iran and its allies across the region will play a crucial role shaping future regional conflicts and coloring the region’s geopolitics. Questions and uncertainty continue to surround the future of U.S. engagement with Iran. The Middle East Program examines evolving domestic trends within Iran, Iran’s regional engagement, and U.S. policy toward Iran. Find out more here.

The Israel-Hamas war has emerged as a defining moment for the region, Syria’s decades-long conflict continues to fester, and Egypt and Lebanon’s simmering economic stressors threaten to tip over into a broader crisis. The Middle East program analyzes the political, geopolitical, and humanitarian dynamics across Egypt and the Levant. Find out more here.

Migration, environmental degradation, and socio-political change have drawn the Maghreb—defined by the program as Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya—from the margins of U.S. Middle East policy toward mainstream concerns. The Middle East Program is examining the changing political, economic, and security trends in the region. Find out more here.

Themes

Russia and China are expanding their presence in the Middle East, while global trends that put new emphasis on middle powers and the Global South are reshaping the strategic approach of Middle Eastern states. The Middle East Program is examining key trends in Great Power engagement with the Middle East and the region’s evolving geostrategy. Find out more here.

For more than a decade, calls for social, political, and economic change have reshaped the region. The Middle East Program is tracking key socio-political dynamics to identify the trends that will continue to shape the region over the next decades. Find out more here.

The Middle East contains both the world’s largest energy reserves, as well as some of the most water-scarce nations in the world. As the region grapples with the global energy transition and accelerating climate change, the Middle East Program is exploring how these dynamics are restructuring state-society relationships and how governments and civic groups can respond. Find out more here.

From Gaza to Syria to Yemen, the Middle East is home to some of the world’s most complex humanitarian emergencies. The region receives billions of dollars in aid every year, but international donors are rethinking how best to scale and direct their assistance. The Middle East Program is investigating key trends in aid and reconstruction to inform international assistance. Find out more here.

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Media Queries

Featured Analysis

Photo: OMAR HAJ KADOUR/AFP/Getty Images

Photo: OMAR HAJ KADOUR/AFP/Getty Images

Natasha Hall in Foreign Affairs: The Day After Assad

CSIS’s Natasha Hall and International Crisis Group’s Joost Hiltermann discuss how Assad’s fall will shift the balance of power in the Middle East.

Commentary by Natasha Hall — December 9, 2024

See all analysis by the Middle East Program

Featured Projects

Babel: Translating the Middle East

Babel will take you beyond the headlines to discuss what’s really happening in the Middle East and North Africa. It features regional experts who explain what’s going on, provide context on pivotal developments, and highlight trends you may have missed. Jon Alterman, senior vice president, Zbigniew Brzezinski Chair in Global Security and Geostrategy, and director of the Middle East Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies hosts the podcast along with his colleagues from the Middle East Program. This podcast is made possible through the generous support of the Embassy of the United Arab Emirates. All views, positions, and conclusions expressed here should be understood to be solely of those of the speaker(s). Listen on Apple Podcasts.

Podcast Series by Jon B. Alterman, Will Todman, and Natasha Hall

All Middle East Program Content

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Nicholas Blanford: Hezbollah’s Struggle Against Israel

Jon Alterman speaks with Nicholas Blanford, a Beirut-based security consultant and non-resident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council about Hezbollah’s evolution, its ties to other actors in the region, and the role it's playing in the current Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Transcript — May 14, 2024

The Truth of the Matter

Israel’s Troubles

CSIS’s Jon B. Alterman joins the podcast to discuss the complex set of options that Israel and the United States are facing to secure peace in the Middle East.

Podcast Episode by H. Andrew Schwartz and Jon B. Alterman — May 9, 2024

CSIS the truth of the matter
Babel: Translating the Middle East

A Mezze: The Bonds of Marriage between Syria and Iraq

Desperate for stability and lured by promises of a life of luxury, a Syrian widow accepted a marriage proposal from a member of an Iraqi militia. She did not know that she would become one of dozens of Syrian women to fall victim to Iraqi marriage exploitation in the past year alone. 


 

Podcast Episode by Josh Phillips — May 7, 2024

CSIS Babel

The Bonds of Marriage between Syria and Iraq

Josh Phillips discusses the increasing number of Syrian women marrying Iraqi militia fighters leading to exploitation and abuse. Read more about why these marriages take place and the impact of gender-based discrimination and economic insecurity on women's lives.

Blog Post by Josh Phillips — May 1, 2024

Babel: Translating the Middle East

Hans Grundberg: Mediation in Yemen

This week on Babel, Jon Alterman speaks with Hans Grundberg, the United Nations' special envoy of the secretary-general for Yemen. They discuss what a UN mediator does, why successful mediation is about more than just reaching a peace agreement, and how the internationalization of conflicts complicates mediation. 

Podcast Episode by Jon B. Alterman, Natasha Hall, and Leah Hickert — April 30, 2024

CSIS Babel

Hans Grundberg: Mediation in Yemen

Jon Alterman speaks with Hans Grundberg, the United Nations special envoy of the secretary-general for Yemen, about why successful mediation is about more than just reaching a peace agreement and how the internationalization of conflicts complicates mediation. 

Transcript — April 30, 2024

Babel: Translating the Middle East

Iran and Israel: A Cycle of Retaliation

Leah Hickert speaks with Jon Alterman, director of the Middle East Program at CSIS, about the tensions rising between Iran and Israel, as well as the potential for regional escalation. A new Analysis from the CSIS Middle East Program.

Podcast Episode by Jon B. Alterman and Leah Hickert — April 23, 2024

CSIS Babel

China and the Middle East

China sees the Middle East as the point of the spear of creating a different world which is more mercantilist and less committed to international law and multilateralism.

Congressional Testimony by Jon B. Alterman — April 19, 2024