Research Library

The unintended consequences of tougher U.S. sanctions on Iran continue to accumulate, including stronger ties between Saudi Arabia and Russia and an expansion of Russian geopolitical power, graduate fellow Peter Volkmar writes in a post for the Forbes blog: http://bit.ly/2CS9FE5.

Divisions across ethnic and religious lines in several Middle East countries since the 2011 Arab uprisings have brought renewed attention to the consociational model of governance. This student brief examines Lebanon’s consociational system in order to gauge whether it would be useful for other countries in the region experience similar ethnic or religious divisions.

While the U.S. still maintains the overall lead in Nobel prizes (with the exception of literature), the rate at which American scientists have been awarded the prize has declined since the late 1970s. Fellow Kirstin R.W. Matthews and postdoctoral fellow Kenneth M. Evans explore the state of scientific collaboration in the U.S. in this Baker Institute blog: https://bit.ly/2yiNhzF

Given the current dearth of women exercising Islamic authority, it may be assumed that for most of Islamic history, questions of religion and religious law were the near-exclusive domain of men. This brief discusses the various roles and contributions of women in Islam and religious scholarship and outlines recommendations for improving attitudes towards women in religious leadership in Muslim countries. This is one of 10 briefs in a series on pluralism and inclusion in the Middle East after the Arab Spring. The project is generously supported by a grant from the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

Nonresident fellow Valentine M. Moghadam analyzes Tunisian women’s employment patterns and challenges and offers some policy recommendations.

Mexico Center director Tony Payan weighs in on what President Trump calls "maybe the greatest trade deal ever" between the U.S. and Mexico.

By Imad Salamey, Ph.D., Lebanese American University Contemporary Arab politics have been overwhelmed by communitarian divisions. This research reviews rising transnational communitarianism in the Middle East and suggests communitarian plurality as a solution to ongoing political conflicts in the region. Imad Salamey discusses in both a short issue brief and longer research paper on pluralism and inclusion in the Middle East after the Arab Spring. The project is generously supported by a grant from the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

By Peter Salisbury, Chatham House; Arab Gulf States Institute This brief provides an overview of the evolution of aid and development resources by the GCC states over the past several decades and discusses the political context for their emergence as donor nations. Peter Salisbury discusses the GCC in aid and development in both a short issue brief and longer research paper on pluralism and inclusion in the Middle East after the Arab Spring. The project is generously supported by a grant from the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

By Hamad H. Albloshi, Kuwait University The organization of the Kuwaiti political system is conducive to the successive rise and fall of pluralistic social movements, writes the author. This brief is the third of four resulting from a May 2018 workshop held in Kuwait by the Baker Institute in partnership with the Alsalam Center for Strategic and Developmental Studies. This work is part of a two-year project funded by the Carnegie Corporation of New York on “Building Pluralistic and Inclusive States Post-Arab Spring.”

By Courtney Freer, London School of Economics Cross-ideological movements uniting Islamist and secular groups have increasingly focused on sweeping political reforms instead of social policies and ideology in post-Arab Spring Kuwait, writes the author. This brief is the second of four resulting from a May 2018 workshop held in Kuwait by the Baker Institute in partnership with the Alsalam Center for Strategic and Developmental Studies. This work is part of a two-year project funded by the Carnegie Corporation of New York on “Building Pluralistic and Inclusive States Post-Arab Spring.”