A year ago, the Middle East region was in a state of flux in certain ways, but seemed to be stabilising in others. Confrontation paradigms were giving way to what seemed to be de-escalation plans: Normalisation of relations between Saudi and Iran, and the widening of the Abraham Accords, among others. October 7 upended all of that – or did it? Dr H…

Between Xi Jinping’s December 2022 visit to Riyadh and the August 2023 expansion of BRICS to include several Middle Eastern countries, China’s power and influence in the MENA region appeared to gain significant momentum. Regional expectations of China as a major external actor also grew, with many countries deepening their bilateral cooperation wit…

On March 1, 2024, the Islamic Republic of Iran will hold elections for the sixth term of the Assembly of Experts. The major responsibility of this 88-man institution, comprising qualified clerics, is to choose the future supreme leader after Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s death, or is rendered incapable of fulfilling the position’s responsibilities. Tehr…

The post-Arab Spring collapse of decades-old regimes inaugurated a decade of re-shaping for the geopolitical order in the Middle East and North Africa region. A multipolar disorder ensued, solidified by the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Amid general bewilderment, the small monarchies of the Gulf Cooperation Council …

Between November 30 and December 12, 2023, the United Arab Emirates hosted the 28th meeting of the Conference of Parties (COP 28) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). A major outcome of COP 28 was the conclusion of the first-ever Global Stocktake — a mechanism to measure collective progress towards meeting the goal…

The aim of the S R Nathan Distinguished Lecture is to provide greater awareness and understanding of the modern Middle East. This lecture provides a forum for statesmen, internationally prominent scholars and public intellectuals to express their views on key issues. The lecture series is named in honour of Singapore’s late former president, Mr S R…

Between November 30 and December 10, 2023, the United Arab Emirates will host the 28th meeting of the Conference of Parties (COP 28) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). It becomes the fourth Arab country to host the event. COP 28 brings the world together at a critical moment for humanity, as we stand at the halfw…

Throughout history, the Middle East has been locked in engagements with the West through crusades, wars, colonialism and terrorism. However, beyond the clichés and convenient facades lie many lesser known facets from economic transformation to climate change. This last closing lecture aims to summarise the different sessions and give you an overvie…

Are Islam and Malay culture in Southeast Asia becoming more Arabised? Several academics and policymakers reckon that Muslims in Southeast Asia, whom they once regarded as the “smiling face of Islam”, are now alienating their cultural practices by mimicking Middle Eastern fashion and lifestyle. They shun Malay words, dressing, and food, in favour of…

The lecture will discuss shifting patterns of further and higher education choices of young people in Saudi Arabia under Vision 2030 and how these shifts influence and are influenced by new labour market trends in the Kingdom.De către mei-nus

This talk offers a lively discussion of five common stereotypes of oil/gas in the Middle East including ‘Oil and gas is just about the only thing the Middle East exports’; ‘The decline of oil demand in future is bad for the Middle East’, ‘The oil and gas exporting states in the Middle East are climate deniers’. Participants should come away with a …

Marked by hot and arid climate and vast disparities of security and wealth, climate change brings unique challenges to the Middle East. The region is already battling with common challenges of water scarcity, desertification, biodiversity loss and low levels of food self-sufficiency, aggravated by climate change. Temperatures in the region have alr…

This lecture will provide insights into the latest developments in the socio-cultural landscape of the Gulf Arab states. Conceptually, the long-held rentier model in academic scholarship no longer has the same purchase that it once did, owing to a slew of domestic reforms implemented notably in the UAE and Saudi Arabia. Economic diversification and…

In the last decade, rulers in Gulf regimes have aspired to greater strategic autonomy and putting some distance between them and the West. Coined the “Gulf moment” by local commentators, this regional trend reflects a redistribution of power in the Arab world. This new book from Jean-Loup Samaan, Senior Research Fellow at the Middle East Institute,…

This lecture will cover the latest developments in the great power competition – namely between the US, Russia, and China – and its effects on the Middle East. It will study the current foreign policy agenda of Washington, Beijing, and Moscow towards the Middle East and assess how this rivalry takes different forms, be it military, diplomatic, econ…

This lecture will study and compare the evolution of the foreign policies of Israel and Turkey. As two non-Arab Middle Eastern countries, Israel and Turkey historically built a bilateral partnership that went through multiple crises in the past decade. However, the recent warming-up of ties between both governments suggest a restoration of the bila…

China’s growing footprint in the Middle East culminated in March 2023 when Saudi Arabia and Iran announced a historic rapprochement in Beijing. The PRC was not just the host but directly mediated the final rounds of talks between the two Persian Gulf rivals. Only a few months later, building on the momentum of the KSA-Iran diplomatic success, China…

The Syrian civil war, which began over a decade ago, created a massive humanitarian crisis which displaced more than five million people, with many escaping into neighbouring countries. Turkey harbours the most Syrian refugees, at three million, while Jordan and Lebanon have taken in over a million each, respectively. Their plight has attracted the…

The launch of the Hope probe in July 2020 made the United Arab Emirates the first Arab nation to undertake inter-planetary exploration. The unmanned spacecraft has been in orbit around Mars since February 2021, and reports have it that the mission is now studying the moons of the Red Planet. The UAE’s space agenda does not stop there: Sultan Al Ney…

Countries around the world – from oil-producing Gulf Arab states to net-energy importers in South-east Asia – have turned to hydrogen for energy security, environmental, and economic reasons. Hydrogen has been largely seen as a clean fuel with potential to decarbonise sectors such as transportation (shipping and aviation) and industry (e.g., steel …

Qatar’s newly-appointed Prime Minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, who is also the country’s foreign minister, recently reaffirmed the importance of soft diplomacy in an interview, adding that it “contributes greatly” to Doha’s “position as a major and important player in the region and the world”. Qatar’s quest to cement its place i…

To match the breakneck speed of their progress, the United Arab Emirates and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia have both initiated bold social reforms recently. In its drive to attract foreign talent, a condition for stronger competitiveness, the Emirates relaxed laws banning the cohabitation among unmarried couples and alcohol consumption. In Saudi Arab…

For decades, diplomats have pursued a resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian, and Israeli-Arab conflicts. Unfortunately, many have incorrectly believed that peace with Israel and the wider region could only come after a negotiated settlement was reached between Israel and the Palestinians. The Abraham Accords, negotiated by Jared Kushner and Avi Ber…

The new book from Frédéric Grare and Jean-Loup Samaan analyses the emergence of the Indian Ocean as a strategic space of central importance. For a long time, the Indian Ocean was a “neglected ocean”, almost marginal compared to the global centres in the East and West. However, by the end of the 2000s, China’s global growth triggered new interest in…

The agreement between Saudi Arabia and Iran to restore their diplomatic ties is a significant development with potential to which will reverberate throughout the Middle East region and beyond. The next few months will be crucial to determining if the deal lives up to its promise, and whether China’s role is a reflection of its new clout in the regi…

The United Nations’ Women agency, in an explainer, stated categorically that the global climate crisis is not “gender neutral”, since women and girls experience the greatest impacts of this phenomenon, which in turn amplifies existing gender inequalities. Conversely, the findings by Project Drawdown, a non-profit organisation that researches on cli…

Most violent jihadi movements in the twentieth century focused on removing corrupt, repressive secular regimes throughout the Muslim world. But following the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, a new form of jihadism emerged – global jihad – turning to the international arena as the primary locus of ideology and action. With his new book published…

Gulf stability is beginning to play a larger role in the foreign policy calculus of many states, but the evolving role of Asian powers is largely under-represented in the International Relations literature. To fill this gap, MEI will host a discussion with the editors and contributors of a new book that provides fresh perspectives on the topic. The…

The Middle East Institute at the National University of Singapore, in coordination with Wardah Books, invites you to join Dr Hisham A. Hellyer, a scholar in the Middle East Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (USA), Dr Suzaina Kadir, Vice Dean and Associate Professor, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, NUS and Mr Fazlur Rah…

As China deepens its engagement in the Middle East, the United States is relooking its posture in the region. These moves will impact ties between Washington and its traditional partners. Join us as experts from the Washington Institute, dissect the issue.De către mei-nus

China’s rise is changing the world. Much attention has been given to how China’s geo-economic vision is playing out in the global economy, or how its technology is reshaping the planet. Yet, it is over its western borders, in Central Asia, that China’s influence has been quietly expanding in a more pervasive way. It is here that you can find the fi…

The 27th Conference of the Parties (COP) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) will take place in Egypt from 6 to 18 November 2022. The location in Egypt, part of a wider Middle East region vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, offers a better opportunity to reflect regional concerns, challenges, and diverse n…

Throughout history, the Middle East has been locked in engagements with the West through crusades, wars, colonialism and terrorism. However, beyond the clichés and convenient facades lie many lesser known facets from economic transformation to climate change. This lecture series will give you a comprehensive overview of the region and its impacts o…

In the past, media and think-tanks have published numerous reports and papers on the social transformations happening in the Arabian Peninsula, and, more specifically, inside Saudi Arabia. However, this analysis too often focused on the changes brought about from the top, via government initiatives like the emblematic Saudi Vision 2030. The newly-p…

Throughout history, the Middle East has been locked in engagements with the West through crusades, wars, colonialism and terrorism. However, beyond the clichés and convenient facades lie many lesser known facets from economic transformation to climate change. This lecture series will give you a comprehensive overview of the region and its impacts o…

Throughout history, the Middle East has been locked in engagements with the West through crusades, wars, colonialism and terrorism. However, beyond the clichés and convenient facades lie many lesser known facets from economic transformation to climate change. This lecture series will give you a comprehensive overview of the region and its impacts o…

Throughout history, the Middle East has been locked in engagements with the West through crusades, wars, colonialism and terrorism. However, beyond the clichés and convenient facades lie many lesser known facets from economic transformation to climate change. This lecture series will give you a comprehensive overview of the region and its impacts o…

Throughout history, the Middle East has been locked in engagements with the West through crusades, wars, colonialism and terrorism. However, beyond the clichés and convenient facades lie many lesser known facets from economic transformation to climate change. This lecture series will give you a comprehensive overview of the region and its impacts o…

Throughout history, the Middle East has been locked in engagements with the West through crusades, wars, colonialism and terrorism. However, beyond the clichés and convenient facades lie many lesser known facets from economic transformation to climate change. This lecture series will give you a comprehensive overview of the region and its impacts o…

Concerns about food global food supplies have been exacerbated by the Russia-Ukraine crisis, compelling states across the Middle East and North Africa to revisit their food security policies. The UAE, for one, announced its “National Food Strategy 2051” in 2018, and has since acquired substantial agricultural and food production assets from Latin A…

Throughout history, the Middle East has been locked in engagements with the West through crusades, wars, colonialism and terrorism. However, beyond the clichés and convenient facades lie many lesser known facets from economic transformation to climate change. This lecture series will give you a comprehensive overview of the region and its impacts o…

Dr. Marc Owen Jones discusses digital authoritarianism, the recent developments in technology and tactics of repression in the Middle East. This podcast series is presented by Dr Alessandro Arduino, Principal Research Fellow at the Middle East Institute, National University of Singapore.De către mei-nus

Throughout history, the Middle East has been locked in engagements with the West through crusades, wars, colonialism and terrorism. However, beyond the clichés and convenient facades lie many lesser known facets from economic transformation to climate change. This lecture series will give you a comprehensive overview of the region and its impacts o…

Towards the end of 2021, the late President of the UAE, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed approved an extensive list of legal reforms. New laws and updated legislation span the business, labour, family, personal status, crime, intellectual property and e-commerce sectors. Of note is a new law permitting investors and entrepreneurs to completely own onshore …

Disinformation can lead to indoctrination, which can in turn lead to incitement. The Arab world has been a victim of violence incited by an information disorder. Who wields the “stick” of (dis)information? Social media and digital technology, which helped fuel the Arab Spring, is now being used as a tool of counter-revolutionary repression to prote…

Mr Roy Zur, retired major from the Israeli Defence Force – Unit 8200 – discusses the future of cyber warfare and cyber intelligence. This podcast series is presented by Dr Alessandro Arduino, Principal Research Fellow at the Middle East Institute, National University of Singapore.De către mei-nus

Since the introduction of a quota system for the Muslim pilgrimage in 1988, calls for increased hajj quotas by different countries have been ceaseless. Annually, administrative arrangements, including the deployment of speedy transportation, have been constantly revisited and improved. Technology, particularly the mobile phone, has not only brought…

In this episode, Meia Nouwens discusses Chinese private security companies and artificial intelligence. This podcast series is presented by Dr Alessandro Arduino, Principal Research Fellow at the Middle East Institute, National University of Singapore.De către mei-nus