Gregory Gause examines unchallenged US power in the Middle East and failed U.S. initiatives in the region by interrogating the concept of “hegemony” and exploring alternative ways to understand the challenges to US power in the region.
In our latest Middle East Brief, Hadi Kahalzadeh analyzes the Iranian "Chastity and Hijab" bill and how it leverages poverty and unemployment risks to reinforce the regime’s social order.
In this Crown Conversation, we spoke to Haian Dukhan and Daniel Neep about Assad’s legacy, the rise of HTS, and the immense challenges ahead for Syria after the Assad family’s five-decade rule and a brutal civil war.
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.
In May 2024, the Houthi movement initiated a crackdown on civil society actors and international organizations, disrupting essential humanitarian efforts. This campaign, which coincided with their attacks on Red Sea shipping and drone and missile strikes against Israel, along with counterstrikes from Israeli and U.S. forces, has received little attention from international media and policymakers. Yet, as Stacey Philbrick Yadav argues in our latest Middle East Brief, this is not simply a continuation of previous repression but an effort to consolidate the Houthis' decade-long rule. By targeting civil actors, the campaign aims to deepen Yemen’s institutional and economic fragmentation and entrench Yemenis' reliance on Houthi governance. Philbrick Yadav concludes these changes will further undermine regional security and worsen conditions for millions of Yemeni civilians.
Image credit: Hani Mohammed via AP
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.
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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