Diplomacy and International Politics

The 2016-2017 issue of the Middle East Initiative Mosaic newsletter highlights MEI programs and activities during the academic year. This year's issue features the diverse and exciting work of students, fellows, faculty, and staff on public policy issues in the Middle East, including a focus on the growing scholarly community at MEI and in-depth stories on our faculty research program, alumni connections, students' experiences from Cambridge to the Middle East, and much more!

The Summer 2016 issue of the Middle East Initiative Mosaic newsletter features highlights of MEI programs and activities over the 2015-2016 academic year. This year's issue features highlights from the diverse and exciting work of students, fellows, faculty, and staff on public policy issues in the Middle East over the past year, including a focus on the MEI community's response to Syria and in-depth stories on our research fellowship program, alumni connections, students' experiences from Cambridge to the Middle East, and much more!

An interview with MEI Faculty Affiliate Asim Khwaja on his work at the Center for International Development's Evidence for Policy Design (EPoD) program with the Saudi Ministry of Labor on labor market policy as well as EPoD's Smart Policy Design and Implementation methodology and implications for the future of informed, iterative policymaking.

In this issue, the Belfer Center is pleased to feature the contributions of Hedi Larbi, the 2015–2016 Kuwait Foundation Visiting Scholar at the Middle East Initiative. During his stay, Larbi led a dynamic study group of students, fellows, and faculty in examining social contracts. In 2014–2015, he served as Minister of Economic Infrastructure and Sustainable Development and as Economic Advisor to the Prime Minister of Tunisia.

Inspired by her Lebanese heritage and childhood visits to family in Lebanon during a tense occupation period in the 1980s and 90s, Amanda Rizkallah has devoted her dissertation research to unravelling the complications of a post-war Lebanon.

The Summer 2015 issue of the Middle East Initiative Mosaic newsletter features highlights of MEI programs and activities over the 2014-2015 academic year, along with research and analysis of critical global issues by members of our community. This issue includes Crisis of the Arab State, a report by spring 2015 Kuwait Foundation Visiting Scholar Michael C. Hudson's study group, a review of a selection of the 66 events MEI hosted, interviews with students and faculty, and more.

In 2011, the world watched in awe as Arab citizens poured into the streets of Tunisia, Egypt, and elsewhere in the Middle East, and, in some cases, managed to topple long-standing authoritarian regimes through persistent protest. The uprisings and the ensuing turbulence have forced scholars to re-examine previously accepted propositions about legitimacy, the state, civil society, religion, and regional stability.