Why have Arab governments been so restrained in their response to the Gaza War? Nader Habibi argues that China’s rise in the Middle East has led to a new logic that favors economic development and stability over confrontation.
Join us as Andrea Wright, author of “Unruly Labor: A History of Oil in the Arabian Sea,” explores a time when Gulf oil workers staged strikes, challenged corporations, and shaped politics.
In June 2025, the United States and Iran entered their most direct confrontation in decades. We held a conversation about how Washington and Tehran understand—and misunderstand—each other, and where relations might go next.
In this Crown Conversation, former and current Crown fellows Killian Clarke, Candace Lukasik, and Kerem Uşşaklı discuss how de-Baʿathification still shapes Iraq’s political order and the everyday lives of its citizens.
Prof. Shai Feldman and Dr. Khalil Shikaki assess the newly brokered Gaza ceasefire agreement and discuss the key questions that will shape the next phases, including whether this moment can lead to a lasting political settlement.
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.
Why have Arab governments been so restrained in their response to the Gaza War? As Nader Habibi argues in our latest Middle East Brief, their restraint reflects a broader set of regional calculations, driven in large part by a new logic that favors economic development and stability over confrontation and marks a shift from geopolitics to geoeconomics. China’s rise as the Middle East’s leading trade and investment partner has accelerated this transformation, offering economic engagement without political conditions and compelling the United States to recalibrate its approach to a region increasingly shaped by economic interdependence rather than military competition. Habibi concludes that this emerging order is redefining the balance of power between Washington and Beijing, and reshaping how Middle Eastern states are pursuing influence across the region.
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.
Download, subscribe, rate and review, and most importantly, please share with a friend!
Image credit: Chae Lee
