The RAND Center for Middle East Public Policy (CMEPP) brings together analytic excellence and regional expertise from across the RAND Corporation to address the most critical political, social, and economic challenges facing the Middle East today. Our goal is to inform policy in ways that help improve the security and well-being of people living in the region.
Since 2011, 12 million Syrians have fled their homes, either inside Syria or crossing its borders as refugees. To help shape policy that will improve the lives of refugees and support host communities over the longer term, RAND focuses its work on the greatest challenges related to this crisis: humanitarian assistance, education, jobs, and regional and global security.
This report investigates humanitarian and stabilization needs in Iraq, through a case study of Mosul, and offers recommendations for actions for stabilization after liberation from ISIS. The research team examined humanitarian needs, security implications, infrastructure and services, and governance and reconciliation. All of these activities will affect the immediate stabilization of Iraq and Mosul more specifically, including whether civilians can return home.
This report examines what binds and divides the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states — Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates — and presents the outlook for the GCC's evolution over the next ten years. The study aims to help policymakers better understand intra-GCC dynamics and prepare for future trends in a region with high stakes for U.S. strategic interests.
This Perspective examines how Iranian factional divisions may impact the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) nuclear agreement between Iran and the P5+1 (the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Russia, China, and Germany) and the viability of the JCPOA if major events were to occur, such as the death of the supreme leader or heightened U.S.-Iran tensions.
In this third paper in a series addressing Syria's conflict, RAND researchers examine how recent developments in Syria and the region -- including the cessation of hostilities that was sponsored by Russia, Iran, and Turkey -- reinforce the prospects for a national ceasefire based upon agreed zones of control backed by external powers. The authors also propose a plan for international administration of Raqqa province.
Director, Center for Middle East Public Policy; Senior Political Scientist
RAND CMEPP Experts are available to the media on a wide range of topics.
Office of Media Relations
Latest Work
Could America Use Its Leverage to Alter the Saudis' Behavior?
Nov 15, 2018
Tabatabai @ArianeTabatabai, et al.
As the Saudis' chief political and military partner and the undisputed security guarantor in the Middle East, the United States has considerable influence it can wield over Saudi decisionmaking. The Trump administration could consider using its influence to encourage Saudi leadership to moderate its assertive and damaging policies abroad.
Is Major Realignment Taking Place in the Middle East?
Oct 31, 2018
Clarke @ColinPClarke, et al.
The shifting alignments in the Middle East have intensified since the murder of the Saudi journalist Khashoggi in Istanbul. Turkey has drifted away from NATO and toward Iran and Russia. Like Tehran and Moscow, Ankara is now more anti-Western than at any point in recent memory. What does this mean for the United States?
What if Palestinians Start Voting in Jerusalem City Elections?
Oct 25, 2018
Blake, et al.
Since 1967, most Palestinian residents of Jerusalem have boycotted municipal elections to avoid legitimating Israeli rule. But recent polls suggest that some might be warming to the idea of voting. A game with Israeli and Palestinian policy experts examined possible consequences of the boycott ending.
The Khashoggi Case and the Cost of Subcontracting U.S. Policy
Oct 23, 2018
Dobbins @Jim_Dobbins
Following the killing of the Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, the United States needs to, at minimum, return toward a distinctly American policy toward the Middle East, one which can be distinguished from that of its local partners.
America's Indefinite Endgame in Syria
Oct 16, 2018
Clarke @ColinPClarke, et al.
The Trump administration's position on the Syrian civil war has shifted from countering ISIS to containing Iran. America will remain in Syria as long as Iran does. But an unending timetable for the withdrawal of troops is far more problematic for Washington than it is for Tehran.
ISIS's New Plans to Get Rich and Wreak Havoc
Oct 10, 2018
Clarke @ColinPClarke
Although the Islamic State has lost nearly 98 percent of the territory it once controlled, it is ripe for a comeback in Sunni-majority areas of Iraq and Syria. The group has proven that it is capable of making money even without controlling large population centers.
The Power of Affiliates: Which ISIS Franchise Could Become the Most Capable?
Oct 9, 2018
Clarke @ColinPClarke
With ISIS's caliphate in ruins, one of its affiliates could grow to become even deadlier and more capable than the core organization was during its peak. And with franchise groups and affiliates across the globe, there's no shortage of contenders to supplant ISIS as the world's most dangerous terrorist group.
How to Solve the Water Crisis in Gaza
Sep 26, 2018
Efron @ShiraEfron, et al.
Gaza has long had water and sanitation challenges, but today it's in a state of emergency. The crisis could be resolved through greater investment in water and power infrastructure as well as more water or electricity purchases. But political complications and other barriers remain.
Blaming Sunni-Shi'a Split for Middle East Unrest Is Too Simplistic
Aug 30, 2018
Robinson, et al.
Policy decisions are being made based on the assumption that the Middle East is riven by a purely dualistic sectarian war between Sunni and Shi'a Muslims. While sectarianism is relevant, geopolitical competition, local disputes, and political rivalries are the core drivers of conflict in countries like Iraq and Syria.