Middle East Program

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

The CSIS Middle East Program provides fresh analysis of the drivers of change in the Middle East to decision makers and thought leaders in the United States and abroad.

The Middle East Program is a source for new ideas that go beyond the conventional wisdom, disseminated through written scholarship, events, and commentary in leading news outlets.

Follow us on Twitter @CSISMidEast and like us on Facebook.

Dr. Alterman serves as the director of the Middle East Program, a position he has held since 2002. Under his leadership, the Middle East Program has launched a biweekly podcast and numerous miniseries, convened events with many of the top thinkers in the field, and conducted innovative research on the Middle East including work on the Chinese influence, sustainability, and cultural shifts in the region.

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Saudi Arabia Steps Out

The recent China-brokered agreement between Saudi Arabia and Iran represents a new era of Saudi diplomacy, shifting away from passive agreement with the United States and toward greater independent engagement in the region and beyond. 

Commentary by Jon B. Alterman — March 22, 2023

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Babel: Translating the Middle East

A Mezze: Deus ex Trafica

In Saudi Arabia, religious leaders warn that there's a new sin to add to the list: flashing your emergency lights to warn other drivers of upcoming speed cameras.

Podcast Episode — August 31, 2022

CSIS Babel
Babel: Translating the Middle East

Marsin Alshamary: Iraq's Political Crisis

This week on Babel, Jon speaks with Marsin Alshamary, a research fellow with the Middle East Initiative at Harvard’s Belfer Center. We talk about the ongoing crisis happening outside of Iraq’s parliament, why the current intra-Shi’a conflict is unique and how it echoes similar crises before, and where Iran and the United States stand.

Podcast Episode by Jon B. Alterman , Will Todman , and Lubna Yousef — August 23, 2022

CSIS Babel
Babel: Translating the Middle East

A Mezze: Egypt's Killer Cuisine

Egypt doesn't have the most famous Middle Eastern cuisine, but few would call it deadly. That may be changing.

Podcast Episode — August 16, 2022

CSIS Babel
Babel: Translating the Middle East

Accountability in Syria

Jon speaks with Ambassador Beth van Schaack about the prospects for accountability in Syria and the role of criminal justice and accountability in U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East.

Podcast Episode by Jon B. Alterman and Natasha Hall — August 9, 2022

CSIS Babel
Babel: Translating the Middle East

A Mezze: Taking the Heat

More and more people in the Middle East are accusing their governments of lying about the weather—falsely reporting lower temperatures to skirt UN regulations that prevent workers from laboring in searing conditions. Government weather reports may be off by a few degrees, but the critics are off by a mile.

Podcast Episode — August 2, 2022

CSIS Babel
Babel: Translating the Middle East

Henry Rome: Nuclear Negotiations with Iran

Jon speaks with Henry Rome about U.S. negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program and where it might go from here.

Podcast Episode by Jon B. Alterman , Natasha Hall , and Caleb Harper — July 26, 2022

CSIS Babel

The Middle East Transition We Need to Talk About

Dr. Jon B. Alterman calls attention to a transition in the Middle East that receives little attention, and how the United States can help regional states approach the looming changes to the benefit of U.S. strategic interests.

Commentary by Jon B. Alterman — July 21, 2022

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

Babel: Translating the Middle East

A Mezze: 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 becomes riskier.

Podcast Episode — July 19, 2022

CSIS Babel
The Truth of the Matter

Biden’s Mideast Visit

CSIS’s Jon Alterman joins the podcast to discuss President Biden’s visit to the Middle East and what the administration can gain strategically from the trip.

Podcast Episode by H. Andrew Schwartz and Jon B. Alterman — July 13, 2022

CSIS the truth of the matter