Response ·
After the Ayatollah: Is This the End of Political Shiite Islam?
By The EditorsJoin Hussein Aboubakr Mansour and Dan Schueftan live to discuss the war, the Islamic political project, and the future of the Middle East.
Middle East
Latest Mosaic Content for Middle East
Monthly Essay ·
After the Ayatollah
By Hussein Aboubakr MansourThe death of Ali Khamenei and the end of political Islam’s century-long experiment in power.
Response ·
How Islamism Took Over the Middle East
By Ze'ev Maghen, Hussein Aboubakr Mansour, Bernard HaykelThree experts on Arab and Islamic thought discuss the ideas that have mired the Middle East in grievance, instability, and authoritarianism
Monthly Essay ·
The Enchantment of the Arab Mind
By Hussein Aboubakr MansourToday’s Islamism promises authenticity but is postmodern in form, postcolonial in posture, and pretends to retrieve the sacred through the techniques of the profane.
Observation ·
Podcast: Michael Doran on Donald Trump’s Middle East Policy
By Tikvah Podcast at Mosaic, Michael DoranBringing clarity to the confusion.
Observation ·
The World Is Not Taking the Houthis Seriously Enough
By Ari Heistein, Jason M. BrodskyOf all the actors that have taken the world stage since October 7, the Houthis are surely the most surprising. Where did they come from and what do they want?
Monthly Essay ·
Ecstasy and Amnesia in the Gaza Strip
By Shany MorThree catastrophes, all marked by euphoria at the start and denial at the end, have shaped the Palestinian predicament. Has the fourth arrived, and is the same dynamic playing out?
Response ·
In the Yom Kippur War, Strategic Vision Mattered Most
By Michael DoranNixon and Kissinger understood Israeli military power to be an asset to America, not a liability, and they formulated a strategy designed to exploit that power.
Response ·
How the Jewish State Became So Important to the Self-Conception of the Arabs
By Ghaith al-Omari, Jonathan Silver, Hussein Aboubakr MansourWatch or read a discussion about the perennial power of the Nakba with Hussein Aboubakr and Ghaith al-Omari.
Observation ·
The Road to Israel-Saudi Normalization Runs Through Washington
By Richard GoldbergOpen ties between the two nations are in everyone's interest, but it will take serious intent and deft maneuvering from America to get there. Is the administration up to it?
Observation ·
Fouad Ajami’s “When Magic Failed” Captures Lebanon at Its Best and Worst
By Neil RogachevskyThe late historian's memoir, an unstinting portrait of the unhappy collision of tradition and modernity in Lebanon in the years following World War II, is one of the best of our time.
Observation ·
Checking In on Thomas Friedman
By Neil RogachevskyWhen it comes to Israel, the longtime columnist, a bellwether for conventional American opinion on the Middle East, is stuck three decades in the past.
Observation ·
Can Biden Seize the Moment in the Middle East?
By Richard GoldbergUntil now, the administration has failed to realize that America’s actions in one part of the globe have consequences in another. Can it change course?
Response ·
Making Sense of Israel, Erdoğan, and Turkey
By Hay Eytan Cohen YanarocakAn interview with the author of Mosaic's June essay on how to understand Turkish politics, and the prospects for its relations with America and Israel.
Response ·
Turkey Supports Hamas, Which Means an Alliance With Israel Isn’t Going To Happen
By Jonathan SchanzerAfter years of watching Erdoğan gut Turkey's institutions and offer jihadists of all stripes a warm welcome, Israel no longer trusts its former ally.
Response ·
Why Are So Many Observers Missing Turkey’s Potential as an Israeli (and American) Ally?
By Michael DoranMost American and Israeli foreign-policy thinkers are blind to what's really going on in Turkey, the opportunities there are, and the challenges it presents.
Monthly Essay ·
Can a Renewed Alliance Between Israel and Turkey Stabilize the Middle East?
By Hay Eytan Cohen YanarocakIn 1949, Turkey was the first Muslim nation to recognize Israel, but in the last few decades their relationship has hit the rocks. Can recent signs of rapprochement be trusted?
Monthly Essay ·
How Iran Thinks
By Ze'ev MaghenWith a new nuclear deal on the way, attention is again turning to Iran. Four recent books, plus the deal itself, suggest that America and Europe are blind to the regime's motivating spirit.
Observation ·
Saudi Arabia Is Changing Fast. Can the U.S. Keep Up?
By Richard GoldbergSaudis are joining the labor force, women are driving, and the taboo on Israel has practically vanished. America can support this shift—so why isn't it?
Observation ·
How Israel’s Former Allies Became Its Foremost Enemies, and Vice Versa
By Emmanuel NavonWhere Israel once aligned with Turkey and Iran against the Arab states, it now finds itself aligned with those former enemies against Turkey and Iran.
Observation ·
Did the Recent War Between Israel and Hamas Help Iran or Hurt It?
By Ray Takeyh, Assaf OrionTwo top analysts talk about how Iran sees the region these days, and especially how it thinks about its friends and its enemies.
Observation ·
What Saudi Arabia Is Thinking
By Richard GoldbergThere’s talk of the new American administration moving closer to Iran. Could a Saudi step toward peace with Israel protect Riyadh from the troubles that might ensue?
Observation ·
The Tremors of Muslim Reform
By Hussein Aboubakr MansourThe powers at the center of the Muslim world are refusing to tolerate radical Islamism, and a spirit of repair and renewal is at hand. Will it catch on?
Observation ·
A New Self-Understanding Dawns in the Middle East
By Hillel Fradkin, Lewis LibbyThe intellectual shifts revealed by the new peace agreements between Israel and three Arab nations could turn out to be as significant as their economic and military benefits.
Observation ·
How Israel Got Its Energy Groove Back
By Arthur HermanJust a few years ago, Israel's massive natural-gas fields were caught up in endless infighting. Now, thanks in part to the UAE deal, they're about to transform the region's economy.
Observation ·
Sudan Hints Yes to Israel, Then It Says No, Then It Says Soon
By James BarnettWill Sudan become the third member of the Arab League this year to normalize ties with Israel? Rumors and mixed messages abound. Here's what we know.
Observation ·
How America Helped Iraq Fall under Iran’s Grip
By Michael PregentThe U.S. has repeatedly chosen the wrong allies in Iraq. Now Iran is poised for total control over its old adversary, a development that carries grave costs.
Response ·
Podcast: Jared Kushner on How American Diplomacy Created the Conditions for the Israel-UAE Deal
By Tikvah Podcast at MosaicAn interview with the senior adviser to the president on the thinking behind the deal, and America's role in the Middle East.
Response ·
How the Israel-UAE Deal Demonstrates the Need for American Leadership in the Middle East
By John BoltonAn American-led alliance can be a strong deterrent to Iran and China.
Response ·
The New Agreement Breaks the Anti-Semitism at the Core of the Middle East’s Dysfunction
By Hussein Aboubakr MansourArabs are finally concluding that they need to move past the toxic legacies of Arab nationalism and Islamism—which means moving past the mythology of Palestine too.
