Publications

Executive Summary The Doha Global South Health Policy Initiative (DGSHPI) was launched in 2024 by the Middle East Council on Global Affairs (ME Council), in partnership with the Gates Foundation and with the support of the Government of Qatar. This initiative emerged as a response to persistent challenges in many Global South health systems, where… Continue reading Annual Convening 2025 of the Doha Global South Health Policy Initiative

This issue brief examines the domestic impacts of the war with Iran across six dimensions to assess whether the U.S. can sustain a large-scale foreign conflict when the fiscal capacity and public trust required to support it are under severe strain, namely: (I) partisan political polarization, (II) media dynamics and narrative construction, (III) shifts in public opinion, (IV) economic pressures, (V) the escalating cost of defense and national security, and finally (VI) the psychological–strategic dimension and its implications for the future of America’s role in the world.

Executive Summary This report presents key takeaways from the roundtable entitled “Water Diplomacy and Governance in the MENA Region,” held on September 28-29, 2025 at the headquarters of the Middle East Council on Global Affairs (ME Council) in Doha, Qatar. The roundtable was co-organized with the Geneva Water Hub and the Blue Peace Middle East… Continue reading Water Diplomacy and Governance in the MENA Region

Since the U.S.–Israeli attack on Iran on 28 February 2026, Türkiye has had to manage a war within its security environment. Ankara’s response has rested on one central reading: the current turmoil was not an inevitable regional eruption, but the product of a U.S.–Israel strategic choice, with Israel widely cast in Turkish official and public discourse as the principal driver of escalation. Yet Türkiye’s room… Continue reading Iran War: Ankara Seeks to Reap Benefits of a Calibrated Response  

Lebanon is at a critical phase, perhaps the most delicate and dangerous in its modern history, as the war raging on its soil and a chronic, escalating domestic crisis intersect with developments across the region. After the launch of direct negotiations with Israel and the start of face-to-face talks between the United States and Iran in Islamabad, a temporary American-Iranian truce is holding, but the Strait of Hormuz is still blocked, and Lebanon teeters on a cliff edge.

Nearly two months after the launch of the U.S.-Israel-Iran war on February 28, 2026, global energy markets have moved past the “geopolitical risk premium,” a temporary price increase that reflects the uncertainty of armed conflict. Instead, they have now entered a far more perilous phase that the International Energy Agency (IEA) calls the “largest supply… Continue reading Iran War: Grappling With an Unprecedented Energy Crisis

The October 7 Hamas-led attack on Israel, and the Gaza Genocide that commenced that same day and continues more than two years later, mark a critical historical juncture for the Palestinian people. While the scale of destruction, loss of life, and displacement in Gaza has few contemporary parallels, the significance of this moment extends beyond the immediate catastrophe. For Palestinians, October 2023 did not simply usher in another episode in their protracted struggle for liberation; it exposed the cumulative consequences of decades of political fragmentation, institutional decay, and strategic paralysis within the Palestinian national movement itself.  

This policy note examines how Gulf states can transition from traditional security dependence to a diversified, proactive strategy shaping the post-war regional and global order.

This policy brief examines how water scarcity and extreme heat threaten AI data center expansion in the Gulf, and outlines strategies for sustainable growth.

This situation assessment explores how the integration of nuclear infrastructure within a volatile military calculus is signaling a dangerous evolution in strategic thinking.

this assessment offers an in-depth analytical reading of how maritime geography – and chokepoints in particular – has been reconfigured within Iran’s regional strategy, and how this reconfiguration is reshaping the strategic geography of conflict in the Middle East. 

A month into the conflict, the number of displaced persons across Lebanon has reached 1 million people. Displacement orders are estimated to cover approximately 14 percent of Lebanon’s territory covering southern Lebanon, Beirut’s southern suburbs, and the Bekaa. The displaced population has placed enormous strain on Lebanon’s battered economy. On 28 March, Yemen’s Houthi rebels entered the conflict, attacking Israel with a barrage of ballistic missiles. The potential for the conflict to escalate and encompass war-torn Yemen raises serious, potentially catastrophic, humanitarian concerns.