We released a trove of disclosure records that detail the finances of more than 1,600 Trump appointees, including former lobbyists, industry executives and at least a dozen officials who declined to identify former clients.

The Journal of Democracy lives at CDDRL now! Excited to see this partnership grow and flourish. @jodemocracy.bsky.social @stanfordcddrl.bsky.social

I gave and you should, too! MERIP is a treasure!

NEW: Our latest issue features a roundtable with faculty organizers Lisa Hajjar @lisahajjar.bsky.social, Lara Deeb, Darryl Li, Andrew Ross, Meera Shah on the experience of fighting against repression on their campuses since October 7, 2023.

Please join us for a discussion of Scholasticide in Gaza. The resilience of Prof. Junina defies attempts to erase Palestinians. Please LMK if you have any issues with links. Attn: @diplomatofnight.com @erinbiba.bsky.social @observer46664.bsky.social

🙏 Many thanks to @jillianschwedler.bsky.social for her excellent talk at CÉRIUM as part of her residency. L’une des plus grandes spécialistes du Moyen-Orient qui a répondu généreusement aux questions des chercheur(euse)s, des étudiant(e)s et du grand public. 🤩 Passionnant ! @fasudem.bsky.social

CfP for our 3rd Annual HPE Conference @uscprice.bsky.social @usc.edu sponsored by @usccis.bsky.social and PIPE. Submit by May 30. If you work on MENA, I am running a smaller pre-conference for HPE papers focused on the region. @polisky.bsky.social docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

Ezra Klein now agrees with the One State Reality thesis: “that might have been a controversial claim when it was made. But what has happened since Oct. 7 has made it an undeniable reality.” Enjoy our podcast. www.nytimes.com/2026/04/14/opinion/ezra-klein-podcast-lynch-telhami.html

“I thought it was me as a doctor,” Mr. Napoleon said of the Antoine-Jean Gros' image of him as Christ-like figure healing lepers in Jaffa in 1804, which he deleted after an outcry. “Only the fake news could come up with that.”

💡 Vous avez envie de mieux comprendre le Moyen-Orient ? Pourquoi ne pas le faire avec LA grande spécialiste de cette région du monde Jillian Schwedler lors de sa conférence grand public jeudi prochain ! 👇 @jillianschwedler.bsky.social @hibazerrougui.bsky.social @fasudem.bsky.social

Trump: Cave or we kill you all. Iran: no Trump: Ok what if we give you everything you want and stop bombing you Iran: um ok Israel: shit, we better bomb Lebanon Lebanon: wtf Iran: wtf Vance: nobody mentioned you Pakistan: they were literally in the text Trump: … I totally won Iran: u ok?

All of these people who have offered bullshit analysis about Iran for the past 10-20 years, should just stay quite. Don’t add more harm to what you have done. Media has to hold these “Iran experts” accountable for ripping up the JCPOA, predicting revolution at every turn, and so much more

So honored and excited about this residency!

SUPPORT MERIP! From April 1 to May 7, MERIP is participating in Delco Gives. Every donation of $10 or more helps us expand our impact. Read more about the fundraiser and give below!

New York: Something really cool is coming to Hunter. We're bringing in a Virtual Reality project, called the Phoenix of Gaza, that takes you into Gaza pre-genocide. It is one of the most moving things I've seen. Each night is crowned with a panel of amazing speakers. RSVP ASAP, space is limited.

I’ve been reading applications for multiple organizations and awards for the past couple weeks, and I’m shocked at how many people think that a semi structured interview is ethnography. Underlines the need for qualitative methods training!

Lebanese military blocks the road to the US Embassy to prevent protesters from going there: Image Source: (Marwan Bou Haidar/The Public Source) From an excellent piece by Ziad Abu-Rish on the colonial roots of Lebanese army's deliberate ineffectiveness. thepublicsource.org/lebanese-arm...

💫 Dans le cadre de sa résidence au CÉRIUM, @jillianschwedler.bsky.social, prof. éminente en science politique @cuny.edu, nous offre cette conférence grand public, en anglais, animée par notre chargée de recherche sur le Moyen-Orient, @hibazerrougui.bsky.social : cerium.umontreal.ca/nouvelles-et...

Incredibly useful - how to run searches on Google to avoid all the slop. cardcatalogforlife.substack.com/p/google-has...

Really honored and excited for this!

I really think Hesgeth believed Iran would get knocked out in the first round and there was no need to plan for everything that was obviously going to happen next, Israel knew better but kept that to itself, Trump was incurious and easy to persuade, and nobody in administration dared push back.

“The hour of the barbarian is at hand. The modern barbarian. The American hour. Violence, excess, waste, mercantilism, bluff, conformism, stupidity, vulgarity, disorder.” Aimé Césaire, Discourse on Colonialism

“Gulf states can no longer believe the United States can or will protect them from existential threats. And even as they are forced to openly cooperate with Israel in its war, they increasingly view it as a threat.” My new piece on the Gulf and the Iran war. foreignpolicy.com/2026/03/05/i...

Good plan, there’s no way that the US would ever betray Kurds who fought on their behalf, or that Turkey would be upset by and seek to frustrate any US-backed Kurdish forces, or that an invasion from Iraq would trigger Iranian nationalist opposition. None of those things have ever happened.

Collective Bargaining is essential… @local6741.bsky.social @aaup.org @aft.org @aaupmason.bsky.social Don’t cut higher ed workers out!

NEW: "Reconstruction and Ruin" the Winter 2025 Issue of Middle East Report is now live! This issue captures the challenges facing ordinary people in the Middle East as the warfare politics of dispossession and division continue amidst efforts to rebuild urban landscapes.

Hope to see you all there!

I’m going to be speaking at Princeton 2/11 and Yale (with Rob Malley) on 2/13, with my official NYC stop with the incomparable @jillianschwedler.bsky.social in the middle. If you’re in any of those places please please come out for the conversation!

Trump, during an "economic" speech today in Detroit, can't help but fixate on "wine mom gangs," saying they're "doing these fake riots." They go practice. They go to areas, they take hotel rooms, and they all practice together. It’s a whole scam. We’re finding out who’s funding all this stuff."

Yemen’s Continuing Crack-Up – Gregory D. Johnsen agsi.org/analysis/yem...

All of our articles — the entire archive going back to 1971! — as well as our podcasts, newsletters and other content are available for free. We depend on our readers to keep it going. Please make a donation now!

Designating the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization is a bad idea because it isn’t one. As if little things like truth or reality still matter when there are rabid partisan extremists to feed and nurture. abuaardvarkghost.ghost.io/the-muslim-b...

The Southern Transitional Council is betting that if the South can be united under its leadership it can cordon the South off from the Houthis in the North, utilize oil and gas revenue, and create a stable and functioning state. – Gregory D. Johnsen agsi.org/analysis/the...

This year’s memorials take on particular poignance as the Trump administration has restricted how trans people can live publicly and privately while also eliminating federal data collection about anti-trans hate crimes and ending funding for an LGBTQ suicide hotline. www.advocate.com/news/transge...

Former al-Qaeda leader invited to White House, Peaceful Muslim Mayor gets Cold Shoulder

An end to the fighting would mean the Houthis are left with only the territory they currently control, none of which holds the economic resources the group will need to survive into the next decade. – Gregory D. Johnsen

“The data, compiled by the Middle East Studies Association and the American Association of University Professors and relying on publicly available records, offers a detailed account of how landmark civil rights legislation…has become a primary tool to restrict speech on campus.”

Mamdani is attacked for not embracing Israel's Jewishness. But as I noted in 2021 what's unique is the US stance: "There is no case except Israel’s where the US actively advocates for a form of ethno-nationalist state that discounts large portion of its population" www.brookings.edu/articles/ame...

Jordan is really in a political vise — it’s dependent on Israel for power and water, but Israel’s war in Gaza has created a chasm between the regime and its people.

It is all about political priorities. And popular pressure becoming louder than special interests and self-serving deals.

While the US & Europe ramp up military spending, millions live in poverty. Today, we launch Transition Security Project, investigating how militarisation makes us poorer and less safe amid climate crisis — and what genuine security could look like. 🧵 transitionsecurity.org

This was a brilliant event with @lalehkhalili.bsky.social @iliasalami.bsky.social @triofrancos.bsky.social @stephensemler.bsky.social Podcast recording coming next week on @macrodosepod.bsky.social

EVENT: Honoring Joe Stork, Live in DC! Join MERIP on 11.22.25 at Busboys and Poets 450K Street for a special event honoring Joe Stork, our co-founder and longtime editor. Featured speakers include Aslı Bâli, Sarah Leah Whitson, Joel Beinin and more! Click for info and to RSVP

A new @rooseveltinstitute.org report by @rfunkfordham.bsky.social empirically assesses the antidemocratic effects of Citizens United 15 years after it was decided. The findings speak for themselves: there is no place for big money in our political system. rooseveltinstitute.org/publications...

BREAKING: WE WON!!! 💥 💥 💥 Federal Judge William G. Young ruled today in our lawsuit against the Trump administration that the policy of arresting, detaining, & deporting noncitizen students & faculty members for their pro-Palestinian advocacy violates the 1st Amendment. Full ruling here:

This essay, by an Egyptian-American former New Yorker staff fact-checker, is an incredible read And incredibly damning Huge recommendation

I don't think a lot of people realize or know people who were on the receiving end of death threats for over a decade because of Turning Point USA. They made a watch list of professors that made them targets for not only hate mail but death threats. That's Charlie Kirk's legacy.

The Dept of Education has officially cancelled funding for this year’s previously awarded FLAS grants for critical language study as “inconsistent with administration priorities.” What’s left to say?

Calling all early-career #polisky scholars in the MENA region! Join the APSA #MENA Methods Workshop, January 5–8, 2026, in Doha, Qatar. All costs covered for selected participants. Applications are due Sunday, September 14th! buff.ly/4fa3u4v