The Middle East Program
The FPRI’s Program on the Middle East is dedicated to examining current developments and emerging trends in the Middle East and providing thoughtful analysis within the context of U.S. strategic interests in the region.
Scholars & Associates
- Tally Helfont, Coordinator, focuses on the Levant, regional balance of power, and radical ideologies.
- Sam Helfont, Ph.D. candidate in Princeton University´s Department of Near Eastern Studies and a FPRI Associate Scholar.
- Bruce Maddy-Weitzman, Senior Research Fellow at the Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies at Tel Aviv University, and FPRI Associate Scholar.
- Dr. Barak Mendelsohn, assistant professor of political science at Haverford College and FPRI Senior Fellow
- Dr. Barry Rubin , director of the Global Research for International Affairs Center, editor of the Middle East Review of International Affairs (MERIA) Journal and an FPRI Senior Fellow
- Gerald Robbins, an FPRI Associate Scholar, specializes in analyzing Turkey, the Caucasus region, and Central Asia.
- S. Abdallah Schleifer, professor emeritus at American University of Cairo and an FPRI Senior Fellow.
- Eric Trager, Ph.D. candidate at the University of Pennsylvania and an FPRI Associate Scholar.
- Edward Turzanski, a national security analyst at La Salle University in the Department of Political Science and an FPRI Senior Fellow
Events
Upcoming
Audio and Video from FPRI Events
- Contemporary Challenges Facing North Africa, Symposium, 11/30/2011
- The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, Samuel Helfont and Tally Helfont, 9/09/2011
- Egypt, Regime Change, and The Muslim Brotherhood, Symposium, 5/24/2011
- Bin Laden's Demise and Its Implications, Panel Discussion, 5/4/2011
- Reflections on the Arab Uprisings, Abdallah Schleifer, 4/21/2011
- The Second Arab Revolution, Michael Doran, 3/28/2011
- The Long Divergence: How Islamic Law Held Back the Middle East, Timur Kuran, 3/24/2011
- EGYPT: An Eyewitness Report, Eric Trager, 2/9/2011
- North Africa: Lessons in Counterterrorism, Ilan Berman, 7/21/2010
- Barak Mendelsohn on Combating Jihadism, May 10, 2010
- U.S. Foreign Policy and the Modern Middle East: A History Institute for Teachers , June 24–25, 2009
- Barak Mendelsohn on Al Qaeda´s Palestinian Dilemma, July 28, 2009
The Robert A. Fox Lectures on the Middle East:
Publications
Monographs
- The Palestinian Islamic Jihad’s U.S. Cell [1988–95]: the Ideological Foundations of Its Propaganda Strategy, Tally Helfont, 12/2009 (62 pages, 517K PDF)
- The Sunni Divide: Understanding Politics and Terrorism in the Arab Middle East, Samuel Helfont, 10/2009 (74 pages, 844K PDF)
- Iraq, Afghanistan & British Strategy, David Betz and Anthony Cormack, Spring 2009 (18 pages, 149K PDF)
Orbis Articles
Middle East Media Monitor
Middle East Media Monitor is a new FPRI E-Note series, designed to review once a month a current topic from the perspective of the foreign language press in such countries as Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, and Turkey. These articles will focus on providing FPRI’s readership with an inside view on how some of the most important countries in the Middle East are covering issues of importance to the American foreign policy community.
- Opposition Groups In Syria: Myths And Realities, Andrew Spath, 1/2012
- Jordan’s Quandary Over Syria, Tally Helfont, 11/2011
- Post-Mubarak Egyptian Attitudes Toward Israel, Michael Sharnoff, 10/2011
- In Their Own Words: Al Qaeda’s View Of The Arab Spring, Gilad Stern and Yoram Schweitzer, 9/2011
- Hezbollah On Trial: Lebanese Reactions to the UN Special Tribunal's Indictments, Benedetta Berti, 8/2011
- The Arab Summit That Wasn’t And The Deterioration Of Iraqi Politics, Samuel Helfont, 7/2011
- An Enemy From Within: The Iranian Regime And The New Political Challenge, Raz Zimmt, 6/2011
- Turkish Media Coverage Of The Western Intervention In Libya, Sevil Çakir Kilinçoglu, 5/2011
- The Rise And (Future) Fall Of A Turkish-Iranian Axis , Gallia Lindenstrauss and Yoel Guzansky, 4/2011
- Qaradawi's Return and Islamic Leadership in Egypt, Aaron Rock, 3/2011
- WikiLeaks in the Arab Press, Tally Helfont, 2/2011
E-Notes
- North Africa’s Democratic Prospects, Bruce Maddy-Weitzman, 12/2011
- Can Hezbollah Cope With A Changing Middle East?, Benedetta Berti, 11/2011
- Fixing The Facts Or Missing The Mark? Intelligence, Policy, and the War in Iraq, Joshua Rovner, 10/2011
- The Middle East Circa 2016, Martin Kramer, 10/2011
- U.S. Foreign Policy In Post-SOFA Iraq, Eric Davis, 9/2011
- Between Piracy And Persia: Mounting Threats To Maritime Chokepoints In The Middle East, Yoel Guzansky, Jonathan Schachter and Gallia Lindenstrauss, 9/2011
- Jordan’s Protests: Arab Spring Lite?, Samuel Helfont and Tally Helfont, 7/2011
- Libya: Our First Cosmopolitan War?, Jeremy Rabkin, 5/2011
- More FPRI Perspectives On Bin Laden’s Demise, 5/2011
- Egypt’s Revolution Foreseen In Fiction: Before The Throne By Naguib Mahfouz, Raymond Stock, 5/2011
- Bin Laden’s Demise And Its Implications, Tally Helfont, 5/2011
- FPRI Perspectives On Bin Laden’s Demise, 5/2011
- Turmoil In The Arabian Peninsula, J.E. Peterson, 4/2011
- Saudi Arabia’s Intervention In Bahrain: A Necessary Evil Or A Strategic Blunder?, Rachel Bronson, 3/2011
- Moroccan Democracy And The Future Of The Sahara, Ahmed Charai, 3/2011
- Libya In Crisis… What’s Next?, Dana Moss, 2/2011
- Turkey’s Changing Foreign Policy And Its International Ramifications, Efraim Inbar, 2/2011
- The Moroccan Exception, Ahmed Charai, 2/2011
- EGYPT: What the U.S. Should Do, Barry Rubin, 1/2011
- Tunisia: Exemplar Or Exception?, Bruce Maddy-Weitzman, 1/2011
Additonal FPRI bulletins on the Middle East
Education
In partnership with FPRI’s Wachman Center, The Middle East Program strives to provide a starting point for educators teaching about the region through history institutes, textbooks and a series of bulletins.
Recent History Institutes for teachers on the Middle East
For additonal information see FPRI's Program on Taching the Middle East and 911.
Footnotes
- What Our Students – And Our Political Leaders – Don’T Know About The Middle East, Adam Garfinkle, 12/2011
- Iran’s Internal Dynamics, Amin Tarzi, 12/2011
- Teaching about Jihadism and The War on Terror, Barak Mendelsohn, 10/2010
- Shiism: What Students Need to Know, John Calvert, 5/2010
- Sunni Islam: What Students Need to Know, John Calvert, 4/2010
- The U.S. and Iran in Historical Perspective, Shaul Bakhash, 9/2009
- Politics, Terrorism, and the Sunni Divide, Samuel Helfont, 9/2009
- The U.S. and Saudi Arabia Since the 1930s, David Ottaway, 8/2009
- The U.S. and Egypt Since the Suez Crisis, Trudy Kuehner (reporter), 7/2009
- U.S. Foreign Policy Traditions and the Middle East, Walter A. McDougall, 7/2009
- Gulf War I, Bernard Trainor, 6/2009
- Ten Things Students Need To Know About the Origins of Israel and Palestine, Alan Luxenberg, 4/2008
Books for Middle and Secondary Schools
- The World of Islam, 2009
- Radical Islam, Alan Luxenberg , Director of FPRI's Marvin Wachman Fund for International Education
- History of Islam, Barry Rubin, Senior Fellow, FPRI
- The Making of the Modern Middle East, 2007
- The Palestine Mandate and the Creation of Israel, 1920-1949, Alan Luxenberg, Director of FPRI's Marvin Wachman Fund for International Education
- The Iranian Revolution and the Resurgence of Islam, Barry Rubin, Senior Fellow, FPRI
- The Middle East in an Age of Uncertainty, 1991-Present, Barry Rubin, Senior Fellow, FPRI
American Policy and the Making of the Modern Middle East
Harvey Sicherman, June 25, 2009
Contact Information
For further details, contact Tally Helfont at thelfont@fpri.org or (215) 732-3774, ext. 218.
For additional information, please e-mail fpri@fpri.org
![[FPRI]](/images/logo.png){kind=logo}
Current Issue
Follow FPRI