Middle East Program

The CSIS Middle East Program covers all aspects of U.S. policy toward the region, concentrating especially on identifying new voices, framing emerging challenges, and developing opportunities for positive change in the Middle East. To the greatest degree possible, we seek to be "opportunity driven" rather than "threat driven."

Our work is intended to:

1. Identify and understand the drivers of social and political change in the Middle East, concentrating on relatively poorly understood issues such as information and communications technologies, demographics, and the regional media.
2. Create partnerships between academics and policy professionals in the United States, Europe, and the Middle East to frame and address questions in such a way as to promote the creation of new, constructive, and innovative solutions to problems.
3. Focus on activities that add value, follow from CSIS's regional and functional strengths, build on its comparative advantages over other think tanks and government efforts, and extend CSIS's core competencies.

In addition, the Middle East Program pursues an active, "traditional" think tank agenda of concentrating on key states (Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Iran) and key conflicts (Arab-Israeli, U.S.-Iranian, U.S.-Iraqi), holding periodic meetings and seminars, appearing on leading national and international news outlets, and publishing in both the academic and popular press.

To view a printable version of our program description click here.