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Center for Middle East Public Policy

The RAND Center for Middle East Public Policy (CMEPP) provides expertise on the Middle East. CMEPP analysts are in touch with political, social, economic, and technological developments in and around the region. Through research and analysis, CMEPP helps public and private decision makers solve problems, tackle challenges, and identify ways to make society safer, smarter, and more prosperous.

Featured CMEPP Event

U.S. Policy in Afghanistan: Basic Questions — Strategic Choices

Daily Life in Afghanistan, Photo courtesy of Boston.com

On October 29, 2009, the RAND Center for Middle East Public Policy convened a half-day symposium of experts — including Dr. Zbigniew Brzezinski, Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad, Ambassador James Dobbins, Senator Carl Levin, and others — and journalists to address assumptions and alternatives for U.S. policy in Afghanistan.

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Tracking Public Sentiment in Iran After the Contested 2009 Election with Twitter — Oct 26, 2011

Social media was used in the 2009 protests to organize and communicate under government censorship. In this interactive tool, messages from Twitter taken during the protests have been analyzed and placed on an timeline, and the frequency of terms and types of language shows opinion over time.

Iran's Growing State of Civil Disobedience — Sep 8, 2011

A typical Iranian has many reasons to disobey the government, whether he or she is young, an ethnic minority, a poor teacher or laborer, or a struggling student, writes Alireza Nader.

Commentary

Commanding Democracy in Egypt: The Military's Attempt to Manage the Future — Aug 25, 2011

The SCAF's attempts to curtail dissent and the democratic process have fueled doubts about its true intentions. Will the military fulfill its promise to support democracy? Or will it seek to replace Mubarak's rule with its own or that of a friendly autocrat? write Jeffrey Martini and Julie Taylor.

Commentary

Libyan Nation Building After Qaddafi — Aug 23, 2011

If Libya is to have a chance of replacing Qaddafi with something better, the United States, its allies, and the rest of the international community will need to pivot very quickly from the rather straightforward requirements of war fighting to taking seriously the complex and demanding tasks of peace building, write James Dobbins and Frederic Wehrey.

Commentary

The Case for Keeping U.S. Troops in Northern Iraq — Aug 3, 2011

Both Iraqi and Kurdish officials have expressed concern that ethnic violence will break out in the north once U.S. troops withdraw. Though many state publicly that the U.S. "occupation" must end, some of these same officials say privately that they would like U.S. troops to remain as a go-between, writes Larry Hanauer.

Commentary

Ahmadinejad vs. the Revolutionary Guards — Jul 11, 2011

Khamenei and Jafari are unlikely to allow the political faction loyal to Ahmadinejad to win elections for parliament in 2012 and the presidency in 2013, writes Alireza Nader.

Commentary

Obama on Afghanistan: Strategic Drawdown or Rush for the Door? — Jun 23, 2011

Most major plots and attacks, including 9/11 and 7/7, were directly linked to the Afghanistan-Pakistan border region. Travel there has been essential to improving bomb-making skills, receiving strategic and tactical guidance, and undergoing religious indoctrination, writes Seth Jones.

Commentary

After bin Laden: The United States, Afghanistan, and Pakistan — Jun 16, 2011

On June 16, 2011, the RAND Corporation presented "After bin Laden: The United States, Afghanistan, and Pakistan" as part of its public outreach series in Santa Monica, California. The program featured senior political scientist Seth Jones, an expert on Afghanistan, Pakistan, and al Qa'ida who has worked abroad in conflict zones over the last several years.