Featured Content Slideshow

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New Crown Conversation — "Beyond Robots: Artificial Intelligence in the Middle East"

Nagla Rizk and Omer Shah shed light on how AI technologies are being used in Egypt and Saudi Arabia and reflect on the possibilities and challenges of AI in the region.

photo of protesters holding a syrian flag

April 3 Crown Seminar - The Politics of Disavowal: What Syria Can Tell Us about American Authoritarianism

Lisa Wedeen, in conversation with Daniel Neep, draws on findings of her book to reflect on lessons from the Syrian experience for the current attractions of authoritarianism in the United States.

Group photo of Crown-affiliated staff, faculty, fellows, and doctoral students

Who We Are

Crown Center faculty, staff, fellows, and doctoral students gathered recently at our day-long retreat, where the latest center-based research was shared, workshopped, and discussed.

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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.

Upcoming Events

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All Crown Seminars are held virtually.

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Latest Crown Publication

A visitor takes a selfie with a wandering robot at Expo 2020 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Friday, Oct. 1, 2021.

Since last year’s release of ChatGPT brought Artificial Intelligence (AI) to public attention, its disruptive and transformative powers have been widely analyzed by experts and the media. These debates, however, have rarely been concerned with the implications of AI for the Middle East, a region of rapidly expanding AI use and development. In this Crown Conversation, we ask Nagla Rizk and Omer Shah to shed light on how AI technologies are being used in Egypt and Saudi Arabia—in areas as varied as agriculture and pilgrimage—and reflect on the possibilities and challenges of AI in the region.

Image credit: Vahid Salemi via AP

Crown Center Analyses on Hamas and Israel

Seated on a stage from left to right: Michal Ben-Josef Hirsch, Khalil Shikaki, Shai Feldman, and Abdel Monem Said Aly

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

Counter/Argument: A Middle East Podcast

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