Daniel Neep, in conversation with Omar Dahi, discussed his new book 'Syria: A Modern History' on April 30, and the intricacies of conflict, dictatorship, and self-determination throughout contemporary Syria.
In our latest Middle East Brief, Nihal Kayali examines the rise of medical tourism in Turkey and its implications for the country’s universal health care system.
How should we understand Sudan’s war? Nada Ali and Anna Reumert discuss counterrevolution, the unfinished 2018–19 uprising, and how a stalled democratic transition became an extractive war economy.
Crown Center research and analysis to help contextualize the escalating conflict involving Iran, Israel, and the United States.
The Crown Center for Middle East Studies is committed to conducting balanced and dispassionate research of the modern Middle East that meets the highest academic standards. The Center seeks to help make decision- and opinion-makers better informed about the region. The scope of the center's research includes the 22 members of the Arab League as well as Turkey, Iran and Israel. The Crown Center's approach is multidisciplinary in its study of the politics, economics, history, security, sociology and anthropology of the region's states and societies.
Check back here soon to see upcoming Crown Center events for the 2026-27 academic year.
Please visit our Past Events page to view past recordings.
Few places are more closely associated with medical tourism than Turkey. In 2022 alone, roughly one million people traveled there for hair transplants, spending an estimated $2 billion. In our latest Middle East Brief, Nihal Kayali examines the rise of medical tourism in Turkey and its implications for the country’s universal health care system. She argues that the state’s promotion of medical tourism has intensified inequalities in access to care, as incentives to capture foreign-currency revenues have shifted investment, labor, and provider capacity away from domestic need. The result is a public health care system under growing strain, leaving citizens to contend with worsening access even as Turkey’s health care is marketed abroad.
The Crown Center is dedicated to sharing balanced and dispassionate research on the Middle East. Please see the Crown Center analyses which delve into the roots and evolution of the conflict between Hamas and Israel.
Image credit: Craig Bailey/Perspective Photo
Counter/Argument: A Middle East Podcast is produced by the Crown Center for Middle East Studies at Brandeis University. Through conversations with scholars and practitioners encompassing a variety of disciplines and perspectives, each episode will debunk key misconceptions about the contemporary Middle East. "Counter/Argument" is committed to a balanced and dispassionate approach to the region and to making scholarship more widely accessible. Available wherever you get your podcasts.
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Image credit: Chae Lee