Middle East

The Middle East Program heads CSIS’s work on the region, which analyzes a wide range of political, security, and socioeconomic issues related to the Middle East and North Africa, with special attention to the ways that changes in the Middle East and North Africa have effects beyond the region.

The Truth of the Matter

U.S.-Israeli Military Exercises

Wall Street Journal Middle East Correspondent Dion Nissenbaum joins the podcast to discuss his reporting from aboard the U.S. George H.W. Bush in the Mediterranean Sea while the United States and Israel conducted their largest-ever military exercises, and Israel’s drone strike inside Iran just days later.  

Podcast Episode by H. Andrew Schwartz — February 2, 2023

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Experts

Jon B. Alterman

Jon B. Alterman

Senior Vice President, Zbigniew Brzezinski Chair in Global Security and Geostrategy, and Director, Middle East Program
Seth G. Jones

Seth G. Jones

Senior Vice President; Harold Brown Chair; and Director, International Security Program

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Babel: Translating the Middle East

A Mezze: Weed Whacking

As regional conflicts blaze, Lebanese and Israeli drug markets are feeling the heat: over the past two years, hashish prices have fallen 50 percent in Lebanon, while in Israel, prices are rising.

Podcast Episode — January 3, 2023

CSIS Babel
Babel: Translating the Middle East

Khalid Albaih: The Information Bubble

Jon Alterman speaks with Khalid Albaih about how he got his start in political cartoons and the role of the internet for debating political ideas and art.

Podcast Episode by Jon B. Alterman , Will Todman , and Lubna Yousef — December 27, 2022

CSIS Babel

Untying the Knot

As divorce rates fall in the West—where more and more couples are avoiding marriage in the first place—the number of divorces in the Arab world has been steadily climbing for decades.

Newsletter by Caleb Harper — December 22, 2022

Photo: Fadel Dawod/Getty Images
Babel: Translating the Middle East

A Mezze: Blame it on the Bitcoin

Libya's electricity grid has been struggling for years, but the government thinks it has found a new culprit: illegal bitcoin mining farms it says are popping up across the country.

Podcast Episode — December 20, 2022

CSIS Babel

The Humanitarian Influence of Yemen's Truce

Despite a six-month truce, humanitarian conditions in Yemen remain dire while the implications of the truce’s expiration remain uncertain. Ongoing humanitarian and protection concerns remain, while a funding gap impedes the ability of aid actors to respond.

Commentary by Sierra Ballard and Jacob Kurtzer — December 19, 2022

Photo: KHALED ZIAD/AFP via Getty Images

LGBTQ+ Advocacy in the Middle East Backfires

Will Todman challenges Western activists’ approach to supporting LGBTQ+ individuals in the Middle East, underscoring the importance of listening to queer voices from the region.

Commentary by Will Todman — December 16, 2022

Photo: Markus Gilliar - GES Sportfoto/Getty Images
Babel: Translating the Middle East

C. Raja Mohan: India's Middle East Strategy

Jon Alterman speaks with C. Raja Mohan about India's foreign policy in the Middle East and how Indian policymakers think about the region.

Podcast Episode by Jon B. Alterman , Will Todman , and Lubna Yousef — December 13, 2022

CSIS Babel
Babel: Translating the Middle East

A Mezze: Patching Jordan's Water Leaks

In the Jordan Valley, influential tribal members and landowners have steady access to water, while individual consumers and small farmers struggle.

Podcast Episode — December 6, 2022

CSIS Babel