Foreign Policy Blogs

Tag Archives: Middle East

Transitional Justice in the Arab World

Transitional Justice in the Arab World

The Arab Spring, or rather the Arab Uprising, has made history.  Future generations will study this brave series of uprisings as a new chapter in the history of the Middle East-North African (MENA) region. Current generations are both proud and anxious as they watch history unfold before their eyes. Governments throughout the world are worriedly […]

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The Iranian Women in American Journalism Project (IWAJ): Elahe Izadi

The Iranian Women in American Journalism Project (IWAJ): Elahe Izadi

Born in the U.S. to Iranian parents and based in Washington D.C., Elahe Izadi is an emerging figure on the American journalism scene, whose work and firm belief in diversity have won her wide recognition in the industry. She has covered such issues as demographics, immigration, government, crime, and development. Until recently at DCentric, where she covered race and […]

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The Iranian Women in American Journalism Project (IWAJ): Setareh Derakshesh

The Iranian Women in American Journalism Project (IWAJ): Setareh Derakshesh

  Source: Google Images The ongoing rivalry between Iran and the United States has always gone beyond the sphere of geopolitics to include the control of Iran’s airwaves and influence the Iranian public opinion. Voice of America/Persian News Network (VOA/PNN) has been at the center of U.S. efforts to provide the Iranian public with news […]

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Comment: Syria – the Murder of Tolerance

Comment: Syria – the Murder of Tolerance

The following piece was originally published in YOUR MIDDLE EAST. Reprinted with Permission by Eliot Benman I was standing in the kitchen of an old Damascene house in the Christian quarter of Bab Touma when a figure burst through the door, brandishing a gun and crying “Kill the Islamists, kill the Islamists!” He pointed the gun […]

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Questions About Turkey’s Role in Syria

Questions About Turkey’s Role in Syria

Syrian refugees sit outside their tents at Reyhanli refugee camp in Hatay province on the Turkish-Syrian border in April. Turkey’s prime minister recently warned that ‘Syria must be aware that in the event of a repetition of border violations, Turkey’s stance will not be the same.’ A fifth of Turkish military’s top brass is under […]

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Could Unilateral Actions be the Panacea?

Could Unilateral Actions be the Panacea?

Jump-starting Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations with unilateral declarations of statehood have long been considered a highly controversial and dangerous step that could ignite the conflict even further. Generally, a unilateral declaration of statehood from the Palestinians has been expected to emerge from West Bank leadership and not Jerusalem. That dynamic might be turned on its ear, […]

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The Bahrain Share of “Spring”

The Bahrain Share of “Spring”

  The “Arab Spring” that began with the self-immolation of a vendor in the streets of Tunisia spread potently throughout the Middle East-North Africa (MENA). The small country of Bahrain in the Persian Gulf was also hit by the wave of the regional quest for political transformation in 2011. Due to the crisis caused by […]

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Did an Arab Winter Yield an Unexpected Spring?

Did an Arab Winter Yield an Unexpected Spring?

It was a simple statement from the State Department, almost lost in the daily flurry of transcripts, very public reactions and carefully nuanced policy papers aimed at high profile flash points in the world. The statement was from U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton congratulating the people of Algeria on their elections in mid-May. The […]

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Sanctions Block Syria’s Vital Grain Trade

Sanctions Block Syria’s Vital Grain Trade

Posted by contributor Andres Santamaria. The sanctions imposed by the West on Syria are proving to have an overwhelming affect on the people within this unsteady country, writes Jonathan Saul for Reuters. Sanctions imposed by the European Union and the United States mainly target the assets and finances of President Bashar al-Assad’s regime but are […]

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The Iranian Women in American Journalism Project (IWAJ): Davar Ardalan

The Iranian Women in American Journalism Project (IWAJ): Davar Ardalan

Davar Ardalan, Senior Producer NPR News Davar is responsible for producing the live daily news broadcast for NPR’s Tell Me More (TMM) with Michel Martin. From the opinions of global newsmakers to listeners, to the wisdom of renowned thinkers, activists and spiritual leaders, NPR’s TMM brings fresh voices and perspectives to public radio. Prior to […]

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Gay Couples Courted for Middle East Stance with Mural

Gay Couples Courted for Middle East Stance with Mural

Obama’s Endorsement is Already Creating New Political Realities   NEW YORK – Engaged gay couples are the newest group to be courted in the Mid-East Conflict. A massive outdoor mural in Manhattan’s West Village depicts two men holding hands while looking at scales that weigh the gay rights enjoyed in Israel versus the homosexual persecution in […]

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Visiting Mousa in Abu Mousa

Visiting Mousa in Abu Mousa

  I recall having a hard time remembering all the Southern islands of Iran for exams during school years. I remember the name of “Abu Mousa” from those years. I had never thought about this island ever since. When I read the news about President Ahmadinejad’s visit to Abu Mousa, I still did not detect […]

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Famine grows behind closed doors in Yemen

Famine grows behind closed doors in Yemen

In a recent article written for The Economist, the hardships facing many Yemenis, mostly due to malnutrition, are being brought to light on a country that is often hesitant to ask for help. Even before 2011 when recent tribulations involving the military and local factions broke out, the conditions facing the population were already dramatic. […]

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Ben’s Words of Advice

Ben’s Words of Advice

  The American Revolution and the broad romantic view of U.S. democracy have often provided inspiration and guidance to those seeking democracy in their own nations – and for good reason. The amazing set of circumstances that made the American Revolution spark and then succeed, the lofty words of human rights that fueled the new […]

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No Different

No Different

Israeli politics more so than in many other countries tends to focus on larger than life characters and individuals placed in larger than life situations. Former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, a war general at the heart of a major controversy in the Lebanon War, rose to power after decades in politics, dumped his party’s long […]

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