Council of Councils
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About the Program
The Council on Foreign Relations' (CFR) Middle East program provides cutting-edge analysis of the region’s emerging political, economic, and social trends, offering insights into its current instability, where it might be headed, and U.S. policy toward the Middle East.
Since 2023, Middle Eastern countries have sought to manage the fallout of the war in the Gaza Strip and related conflicts in Lebanon, Yemen, and Iran. The Israeli and American strikes on Iran raise important questions about the status of Tehran’s nuclear program and the durability of the Islamic regime. At the same time, Syrians are grappling with what kind of political system they want after the collapse of the Assad regime. In Lebanon, a weakened Hezbollah has provided a new government the opportunity to extend its sovereignty to areas of the country that have been beyond its control for decades. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and other wealthy Gulf states continue to invest trillions of dollars into their own development, seeking to diversify their economies away from hydrocarbons in favor of tourism, artificial intelligence, financial services, entertainment, and advanced manufacturing.
The ongoing changes in the region pose new challenges and opportunities for the United States as it continues to ensure the region’s energy supplies, protect Israel's well-being, and preserve regional stability. The United States also seeks to confront the problems of extremism and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction as well as the challenges of great power competition. Yet, how the United States goes about achieving these goals is open to debate as America’s policymakers seek to define what an “America First” approach to the region means in practical terms.
By analyzing the forces both driving and frustrating change in the Middle East, CFR's Middle East team provides an unrivaled resource for policymakers and the public alike seeking to understand the changing dynamics of this region.