DOCSLIB.ORG

The Iranian Revolution: Revalidating Crane Brinton's Model of Revolutions for the Operational and Strategic Planner

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The Iranian Revolution: Revalidating Crane Brinton's Model of Revolutions for the Operational and Strategic Planner The Iranian Revolution: Revalidating Crane Brinton's Model of Revolutions for the Operational and Strategic Planner A Monograph by Major James H. Muhl, Jr. Armor School of Advanced Military Studies United States Army Command and General Staff College Fort Leavenworth, Kansas SCHOOL OF ADVANCED MILITARY STUDIES MONOGRAPH APPROVAL Major James A. Muhl, Jr. Title of Monograph: The Iranian Revolution: Revalidating Crane Brinton's Model of Revolutions for the Operational and Strategic Planner Approved by: 0. Monograph Director LtCol Doflglas 0. Hendricks, MA A,4&'.fi.a. /- Director, school of Colonel William H.($anes. PlA. MMAS Advanced Military 5" Studies Director, Graduate Philip J. Brookes, Ph.D. Degree Program Accepted this 1990 ABSTRACT Crane Brinton's analysis of popular revolutions offers the strategic and operational planner a valid model for checking the consistency of ends, ways and means, for campaign plans. As a planning tool, Brinton's model fills a gap in FM 100-20, which all but ignores "popular" revolutions. Futhermore, Brinton's model discusses post-revolt dynamics, another area devoid of good analysis. This monograph revalidates Brinton's 1938 model using the Iranian Revolution as a test case, proving the timelessness of sound thought. Table of Contents Chapters: Page Introduction ........................ 1 Background Theory ............. Description of Brinton's Model of Revolution The Old Regime and Prodromal Signs ..... Iran's Old Regime ............ Types of Revolutionists .......... Revolutionist Types in Iran ....... First Stages of Revolution ......... First Stage of Revolution in Iran .... Rule of the Moderates ........... Rule of the Moderates in Iran ...... Accession of the Extremists ........ Accession of the Extremists in Iran ... Reign of Terror and Virtue ......... Reign of Terror and Virtue in Iran ... Thermidor Stage .............. Thermidor Stage in Iran ......... Implications for Strategists and Operational Planners Appendices : A . Iran: a Case Study of Operational Ways and Means . 40 B . James C . Davies' "J Curve" explained ........ 51 Endnotes .......................... 52 Bibliography ........................ 56 THE IRANIAN REVOLUTION Revalidating Crane Brinton's Model of Revolutions for the Operational and Strategic Planner Introduction The popular revolutions sweeping over Eastern Europe in 1989-90 have been enthusiastically received in the US But brutal backlashes within these revolutions could soon shock the American public, warns historian Daniel Boorstin in a February 1 1990 article about the Eastern Bloc revolts. Boors tin's analysis is based, in large part, upon the observations and caveats of Crane Brinton, who published -The Anatomy -of Revolution in 1938. Brinton postulated a pattern of predictable stages for popular revolutions based'on his "post-mortem" studies of the English, American, French and Russian revolts. According to his model, for example, the fifth revolutionary stage usually entails ruthless oppression, such as seen in the French Reign of Terror or in the Soviet Red Terror of this century. Today's world of rapid political change should compel strategists and operational thinkers to study these stages of revolution and the political ramifications of each. Understanding the course of revolution would provide invaluable guidance to military planners in setting and achieving objectives, were the U.S. called upon for a military response to a revolutionary regime. However, since the 1917 Russian Revolution was Brinton's last test case, is his model still valid? The Iranian Revolution of 1978-79 provides an excellent test case to revalidate Brinton's model for the late twentieth century. Identifying the stages of Iran's revolution potentially extends the data base of Brinton's research to include a non-Western culture. Additionally, the utility of Brinton's model for operational planners can be nominally demonstrated in the case of the Iranian Revolution. Appendix A examines the appropriateness of specific ways and means used by the U.S. to project power toward revolutionary Iran at each stage of its revolution. Background Theory Brinton's model, as well as those of other theorists to be discussed, apply only to I,popular", or democratic, revolutions. The revolutions Brinton case studied were: carried out in the name of freedom for a majority against a privileged minority, and were successful; that is, they resulted in the revolutionists becoming the lega1 government. 2 By contrast, "rightest" revolutions are transfers of power initiated at the top of a social structure by authoritarian or oligarchical interests. Often, these entail coups d'etat in which one general replaces another. Another type of revolution Brinton does not model is the "territorial- nationalist" revolt, a war of liberation from an imperialist or colonial power. Based on social and economic factors, most models of revolution deal primarily with the "why" and not the "how" of revolution. Marx and Engels' socio-economic model posits the social sources of revolt, such as the discontent of deprived elements within a society. They believed the progressive degradation of the working classes would force them into revolt against the capital owning classes. Social conflict would arise even if worker conditions improved but did not keep pace with the 3 capitalists' welfare. Marx also asserted, and more accurately as Brinton's case studies bear out, that the failed expectations of a population at large can ignite a revolution. James C. Davies elaborated on Marx's "failed expectations" theme in his J Curve economic model Revolutions are most likely to occur when a prolonged period of objective economic and social development is followed by a short period of sharp reversal. People then subjectively fear that ground gained with great effort will be quite lost; their mood becomes revolutionary.4 But while Davies' model adequately explains the roots of revolt in the French, Russian, English and even Iranian revolutions, it does not account for actions occurring after the overthrow of the old regimes. For a further explanation of Davies' J curve, see Appendix B. Both Marx and Davies have given us good strategic- political concepts for anticipating revolts. However, their models are of marginal utility to the operational planner once an initial revolt is successful. What has been needed is a comprehensive theory of revolution that embraces more than the progression of causes and events leading up to revolt, as is normally given in low intensity conflict (LIC) and foreign internal development (FID) environment assessments. By identifying patterns and sequencing throughout a revolution, Brinton's work could give the military planner better insight into post revolt stages. Description of Brinton's Model of Revolution Brinton acknowledges that the social sciences are not exact sciences, since they depend more on observation than on clinical experimentation. This makes the use of a conceptual scheme essential to any study of revolutions. Brinton borrows an extended metaphor from pathology when he compares the stages of revolution to the course of a fever. According to Brinton, there are early "prodromal signs", or preconditions, in evidence in an old regime before the "fever" of revolution breaks out. Full-blown fever symptoms represent the rage of revolt, such as recently seen in Eastern Europe. After feverish advances and retreat, a crisis usually occurs. In the delirium of this stage, the most violent revolutionists ruie during what is known as the as the Reign of Terror. Once the fever "breaks", the convalescence, or Thermidor stage, may include a relapse or two. Finally, the fever is completely gone during the restoration period. The patient/ nation remains immunized for awhile and is, in fact, strenthened from the ordeal. But a post-revolution country has experienced wrenching 5 change and is never restored to its former "self". In Brinton's studies, only the American Revolution does not adhere to Brinton's fever analogy, since the moderates were able to maintain power throughout the fever "crisis" period. The American Revolution was less radicalized because it was not animated by class conflict. Fueled by ideology and aspects of national liberation, our "popular" revolution may have been more of a "territorial- national" revolt. The English, French and Russian revolutions closely follow Brinton's stages of revolution1 fever. Although a11 three began with hopes of high ideals and moderation, each succumbed to a Reign of Terror, or delirium, and ended in dictatorship, or the convalescence. Their revolutions were class and ideology based, similar to Iran's and, perhaps, to the recent revolts in Eastern Europe. The Old Regime and Prodromal Signs In medical parlance, Brinton has diagnosed the warning symptoms indicating the onset of disease, or, in this case, impending revolution. These "prodromes" are the preconditions and seeds of revolt that either must be addressed by the old regime to maintain power or by a new regime to retain newly gained power. In the countries he studied, Brinton found a structural weakness along political and economic lines which the "failed expectations" theories of Marx and Davies predict. In each of Brinton's case studies, the societies were economically advancing. The revolutionary movements were not comprised of unprosperous people who experienced severe deprivation and oppression. Rather, economic "want" superseded I,need" in fomenting unrest. The chief enterprising groups perceived
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Richard V. Allen Papers
    http://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/kt696nf2n3 No online items Register of the Richard V. Allen papers Finding aid prepared by Hoover Institution Library and Archives Staff Hoover Institution Library and Archives © 2009, 2016 434 Galvez Mall Stanford University Stanford, CA 94305-6003 [email protected] URL: http://www.hoover.org/library-and-archives Register of the Richard V. Allen 2007C17 1 papers Title: Richard V. Allen papers Date (inclusive): 1948-1999 Collection Number: 2007C17 Contributing Institution: Hoover Institution Library and Archives Language of Material: English Physical Description: 123 manuscript boxes, 9 oversize boxes(59.1 Linear Feet) Abstract: Contains correspondence, speeches, interviews, legal files, subject files, photographs, audio and video recordings, clippings, and notes relating to Allen's work in American politics and government. As a specialist in security and foreign policy, Allen worked on the Nixon and Reagan campaigns and held posts on the National Security Council under each of them. Topics of note include: Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, Richard Nixon, foreign policy, national security, political campaigns, Iran hostage crisis, Republican National Committee, libel and media abuses, Korea, and Taiwan. Creator: Allen, Richard V. Hoover Institution Library & Archives Access Boxes 3, 13-18, 36-42, 51-53, 60-61, 77, 85-88, and an audiocassette in Box 105 closed during the lifetime of Richard V. Allen. The remainder of the collection is open for research; materials must be requested at least two business days in advance of intended use. Publication Rights For copyright status, please contact the Hoover Institution Library & Archives. Acquisition Information Acquired by the Hoover Institution Library & Archives.
    [Show full text]
  • CLASSROOM | 9-12 Lessons
    CLASSROOM | 9-12 Lessons : JIMMY CARTER AND THE IRANIAN HOSTAGE CRISIS President Carter announces sanctions against Iran in the White House Press Room. Jimmy Carter Library Jimmy Carter would say later, “No matter who was with me, we watched the big grandfather clock by the door.” Time was running out, for it was Tuesday, January 20, 1981. The scene was the Oval Office. In just hours this president would leave it for good, and a new leader, Ronald Reagan, would move in. As the clock ticked the time away, Carter tried to resolve a crisis that had almost destroyed his presidency. He was close, very close, and as he said, “At stake were the lives of 52 precious human beings who had been imprisoned in Iran for 444 days–and almost 12 billion dollars of Iranian assets.” 1 Prelude The beginnings of this crisis preceded Jimmy Carter’s term by almost thirty years. For that long, the United States had provided political support and, more recently, massive military assistance to the government of the shah of Iran. Iran was important because it provided oil to the industrial West and separated the Soviet Union from the Persian Gulf and the oil states. The United States had an enormous stake in keeping it stable and independent. By 1979, however, when Carter had been in office three years, the shah was in trouble, reaping the harvest of years of brutal and unpopular policies, including the use of secret police that controlled dissent with arbitrary arrests and torture.2 It was clear that the shah had lost the (next page) White House Historical Association | http://www.whha.org | Pg.
    [Show full text]
  • GPO-CRECB-1992-Pt3-2.Pdf
    February 24, 1992 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-HOUSE 8159 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES-Monday, February 24, 1992 The House met at 12 noon. But I think it also goes back to some PROGRAM The Chaplain, Rev. James David of the legislation passed in this body Opening: Arnold Goldstein, Superintend­ Ford, D.D., offered the following pray­ and the other body on title IX and ent, National Capital Parks-Central, Na­ er: some of the efforts that we have made tional Park Service. Presentation of the Colors: Joint Armed Teach us in all our ways, 0 God, to to make sure that Federal money is Services Color Guard, Military District of look upon others with the respect and spent equally on men and women ath­ Washington. honor that is due every person. We letes in the various programs that are "The National Anthem" : U.S. Air Force admit our disagreements and conflicts, sanctioned at the college level. Band, Chief Master Sgt. Alan Sine, Director. our disputes and quarrels, and yet we Mr. Speaker, certainly we want to Welcome by the Master of Ceremonies: Ar­ acknowledge You as the Creator and give tribute to our Olympic women and nold Goldstein, Superintendent, National Judge of the whole human family, a to all of the young Bonnie Blairs and Capital Parks-Central, National Park Serv­ ice. family bound together by Your gift of Kristi Yamaguchis who watched these Remarks: Honorable Russell E. Train, life and Your sustaining spirit. May Olympics and will be our Olympians in First Vice President, Washington National the spirit of tolerance mark our voices future years.
    [Show full text]
  • Extension of Remarks
    February 3, 1981 EXTENSIONS OF REMARKS 1605 EXTENSION OF REMARKS HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLU­ images off satellites in space and transmit which made it noteworthy, as did the am­ TION 52 AND TERRORISM them widely and instantly to millions of biguous quasi-governmental nature of the AGAINST DIPLOMATS others a.Cross the globe. In this weird world hostage-keeping, but in themselves they in which we live, fragments of experience hardly explain why this became the "Iran from afar can be hurled into the national crisis" which shook the United States and HON. FLOYD J. FITHIAN consciousness with incredible velocity and involved most of the world. OF INDIANA impact. The effect is all the greater when In Washington's inner circle as well as on IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES the event is not only dramatic and symbolic the outside, the events of Nov. 4, 1979, were but also intensely personal, involving the very personal. The high officials along with Tuesday, February 3, 1981 suspended fate of identifiable people. the rest of the country saw the television The world stage was not lit nor the cam­ pictures of screaming crowds waving their e Mr. FITHIAN. Mr. Speaker, I am in­ eras rolling in 1796, when the United States serting today for the benefit of my col­ fists outside the embassy while the blind­ signed an early day "agreement of Algiers" folded hostages were paraded inside. "I leagues an article taken from the and paid $992,463.25 for the ransom of the knew this was going to be overwhelming," Washington Post of February 1, 1981.
    [Show full text]
  • Extensions of Remarks
    July 9, 1991 EXTENSIONS OF REMARKS 17467 EXTENSIONS OF REMARKS SADDAM HUSSEIN'S THREATS OF Welcome to the "phony war" that has been of "face-to-face" communication, such as TERRORIST REPRISALS GO played out in numerous cities across the teleconferencing. Teleconference companies UNFULFILLED United States, and elsewhere around the were unable to keep up with demand. world, since the onset of Operation Desert Although it certainly made sense to avoid Storm. Each day brings new bomb threats travel to countries in the theater of conflict HON. ~.S. BROOMFH[D and terrorist scares. Someone has just seen and to Islamic nations where there was a OF MICHIGAN Abu Nidal at a popular shopping mall. There high possibility of anti-American demonstra­ IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES is a suspicious box in the lobby of a federal tions or terrorist attacks, the drastic falloff Tuesday, July 9, 1991 building. "Iraqi agents" have been spotted of travel within the comtinental United casing the Alaskan pipeline. A caller identi­ States and to other areas of the world like Mr. BROOMFIELD. Mr. Speaker, I want to fying himself as "Saddam Hussein" has just Latin America and the Far East certainly commend the administration for effectively threatened to "burn down" Germantown, was not warranted. In February, to stimu­ dealing with the threat of Iraqi-backed terror­ Md. The mayor of Detroit has declared a late domestic travel, First Lady Barbara ism during the recent gulf crisis. Although state of emergency over the "terrorist Bush took a highly-publicized commercial Saddam Hussein's terrorist brigades may threat" and called on the governor to acti­ flight to Indianapolis.
    [Show full text]
  • The Tragedy of the Iran Hostage Crisis
    GETTING THE AYATOLLAH WRONG: PERCEPTIONS AND MISPERCEPTIONS OF IRAN’S REVOLUTIONARY LEADERSHIP DAVID PATRICK HOUGHTON DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE P.O. BOX 161356 UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL FLORIDA ORLANDO, FL 32816 USA EMAIL: [email protected] TEL: (407) 823-6025 FAX: (407) 823-0051 Paper presented at the Annual Convention of the International Studies Association, San Diego, CA, April 2012. Abstract Relations between Iran and the West have long been plagued on both sides by misunderstandings and misconceptions of the motivations and beliefs which drive the behavior of foreign policy elites. This paper focuses in particular on script-driven misperceptions of the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, and on how and why these changed over time. Why in particular did the Carter administration get Khomeini so wrong? It is argued here that a ‘cult of the Shah’ left the American intelligence community singularly unprepared to deal with any new regime after Mohammed Reza Pahlavi’s fall, and that the prevalence of the Cold War strategic script in particular led many to downgrade the importance of the Iranian clergy. Perceptions of Khomeini, it is suggested, passed through three stages: he was initially viewed as a figure of irrelevance by many in the West, or as someone who could not possibly influence the course of events in Tehran. This misperception then gave way by late 1978 to another: the notion that Khomeini was a ‘Gandhi-like’ figure with whom American leaders could bargain, but ignorance about Khomeini’s background and aims within the White House and other elements of the administration led to a disastrous attempt to court his moderate allies within the provisional government.
    [Show full text]
  • Summary - Gulf Roundtable Series
    April 30, 2010 SUMMARY - GULF ROUNDTABLE SERIES Regional Reverberations: What If Israel Strikes Iran? PARTICIPATING SCHOLARS ................................................................................... Gary Sick is a senior research If Israel struck Iran militarily, experts say, Iran would likely seek to retaliate against scholar at Columbia Univer- U.S. and GCC interests in the Gulf, Iran and Afghanistan. While Dr. Gary Sick sity’s Middle East Institute and argued that the aftermath of such a strike would be so profound as to make it both also is the executive director undesirable and unlikely, Dr. Kenneth Katzman suggested that contingencies are al- of Gulf/2000, an international ready in place to help manage the consequences. Both men spoke at a Gulf Round- online research project on po- table hosted by the CSIS Middle East Program on April 21, 2010. litical, economic and security Sick claimed that Iran’s regional clout, coupled with decades of asymmetric war- developments in the Persian fare planning by its Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), have enhanced the coun- Gulf. Sick served on the Na- try’s “capacity to absorb punishment.” He asserted the U.S.-led invasions of Iraq tional Security Council under and Afghanistan strengthened Iran’s position in the region as its enemies became Presidents Ford, Carter, and embroiled in sectarian conflict. Additionally, Iran’s financial and military ties with Reagan, and was the principal Hamas, Hizbullah, and a host of insurgent groups in Iraq have ensured that it re- White House aide for Iran dur- mains consequential in the region. ing the Iranian Revolution and Internally, Sick asserted that “Iran is ready [for an external attack] and has devel- the hostage crisis.
    [Show full text]
  • Visions of Gulf Security March 25, 2014
    Visions of Gulf Security March 25, 2014 POMEPS Studies 25 Contents Visions of Persian Gulf security . 5 By Mehran Kamrava, Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Qatar Saudi-Iranian rapprochement? The incentives and the obstacles . 7 By F. Gregory Gause, III, University of Vermont The Obama Doctrine . 10 By Gary Sick, Columbia University The elusive project of common security in the Persian Gulf . 13 By Rouzbeh Parsi, Lund University Saudi Arabia’s Muslim Brotherhood predicament . 16 By Stéphane Lacroix, Sciences Po The Gulf states and the Muslim Brotherhood . 19 By Guido Steinberg, German Institute for International and Security Affairs Qatar, the Ikhwan, and transnational relations in the Gulf . 22 By David Roberts, Kings College London The roots and future of sectarianism in the Gulf . .. 27 By Frederic M. Wehrey, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace Seeking to explain the rise of sectarianism in the Middle East . 30 By Toby Dodge, London School of Economics and Political Science Explaining the spread of sectarian conflict . 36 By Fred H. Lawson, Mills College Courting fitnah: Saudi responses to the Arab Uprisings . 41 By Augustus Richard Norton, Boston University The contest for “youth” in the GCC . 45 By Kristin Smith Diwan, American University School of International Service Human security in the Gulf . 48 By Kristian Coates Ulrichsen, Research Fellow, Rice University’s Baker Institute The Project on Middle East Political Science The Project on Middle East Political Science (POMEPS) is a collaborative network which aims to increase the impact of political scientists specializing in the study of the Middle East in the public sphere and in the academic community .
    [Show full text]
  • Gary Sick, Discredited but Honored by Emanuele Ottolenghi
    Gary Sick, Discredited but Honored by Emanuele Ottolenghi he so-called “October Surprise” plot that briefly enthralled the American public twenty years ago is one of the most influential political conspiracy theories in U.S. Thistory. As the story goes, fearful that the release of fifty-two American hostages in Iran before the November 1980 presidential election would secure President Carter a second term in office, the campaign of Republican candidate Ronald Reagan agreed to funnel weapons to the Islamic Republic in exchange for a delay in the hostage release until after the vote. First floated by Lyndon Larouche and his followers shortly after Reagan’s landslide victory,1 the conspiracy theory remained obscure until the Iran-Contra scandal suddenly gave the idea of such collusion an aura of plausibility. Since the Iranians clearly had it in their power to have an impact on the 1980 election, it was not unreasonable to surmise that they would have sought to leverage this influence. Those who loathe the political right in the United States found it difficult to accept that the Iranians held off on releasing the hostages until after Reagan’s inauguration without some form of quid pro quo. The first to lend gravitas and mainstream credibility to allegations of a delay-for-arms deal was Gary Sick, a member of the National Security Council under Carter and his chief advisor on Iran. Now at Columbia University, Sick had written a well-received book on the 1979 Iranian revolution and ensuing hostage crisis, All Fall Down: America’s Tragic Encounter
    [Show full text]
  • Introduction
    Notes Introduction 1. In this study, beliefs and convictions are delineated by the extent to which the belief is also operationalized in policy; that is, a conviction is a belief that has been applied in a substantive manner. For example, as we will see in chapter 6 that deals with Reagan’s cognetic narrative, he had a belief that abortion was abhorrent and immoral, but he had a competing conviction that it was not a government’s role to impose limits on freedom of choice. In effect, his conviction about limited government overrode his belief about abortion from becoming a conviction. For members of the Religious Right, for whom prohibiting abortion was clearly a conviction, Reagan managed to assuage them with rhetoric, but the record shows that he did not act in a substantive manner. 2. Garry Wills, Head and Heart: American Christianities (New York: The Penguin Press, 2007). 3. Michael H. Hunt, Ideology and U.S. Foreign Policy (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1987), p. xi. 4. Terry Eagleton, Ideology: An Introduction (London: Verso, 2007), p. xiv. 5. Ibid., p. 13. 6. Michael H. Hunt, The American Ascendancy: How the United States Gained and Wielded Global Dominance (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2007), p. 1. 7. An example of this is James T. Kloppenberg, Reading Obama: Dreams, Hope, and the American Political Tradition (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2011). An exception to this dilemma is John Patrick Diggins, Ronald Reagan: Fate, Freedom, and the Making of History (New York: W. W. Norton & Co., 2008). 8. James William Anderson, “The Methodology of Psychological Biography,” Journal of Interdisciplinary History 11:3 (Winter 1981): p.
    [Show full text]
  • 1 Jimmy Carter and the Tragedy of Foreign Policy
    Cambridge University Press 0521801168 - US Foreign Policy and the Iran Hostage Crisis David Patrick Houghton Excerpt More information 1 Jimmy Carter and the tragedy of foreign policy When an American president has been defeated at the November election held to determine who will sit in the Oval Office for the next four years, he usually spends the last days and hours of his presidency preparingfor the handover of power which takes place the following January. He contemplates, usually with much regret, the change which has come over his life, undoubtedly mullingover the unpleasant and sometimes icy task of escortingthe winningcandidate to his inaugur- ation. He begins to plan what will come next, perhaps thinking about the arrangements for the presidential library which will carry his name. The end of Jimmy Carter’s presidency was different. His last two days were spent cloistered in the Oval Office with his closest advisers, enmeshed until the very last minutes in an issue which had come to obsess him personally and which helped destroy any prospect he might have had of achievingre-election in 1980: the release of the American hostages who had been held in Tehran for almost 444 days. That issue was about to become another man’s problem. But Jimmy Carter was not a man to leave loose ends. There was unfinished business to do. The president and his closest advisers worked around the clock, eatingtheir meals in the Oval Office, their only sleep an occasional cat nap on one of the sofas which now adorn the Jimmy Carter Library in Atlanta.
    [Show full text]
  • 2010 — an Average of 6 Per Month
    Middle East Institute www.mei.edu www.mei.edu www.mei.edu www.mei.edu Middle East Institute 1761 N Street, NW Washington, DC 20036-2882 USA Tel: 202-785-1141 www.mei.edu MEI MISSION To promote “knowledge of the Middle East in America and strengthen understanding of the United States by the peoples and governments of the region.” page 1 MIDDLE EAST INSTITUTE THE NEED FOR THE MIDDLE EAST INSTITUTE IS GREATER than ever — AND SO IS OUR IMPACT. or more than 60 years, the Middle East Institute has been an independent channel for the free flow of information, ideas, and culture between the Middle East and the United States. Events in the Middle East have a profound effect on the lives of people everywhere. The Middle East Institute promotes knowledge and understanding of the region as a basis for respect because MEI believes in the power of positive forces emanating from the region. WHO WE REACH MEI believes an informed public that endorses page dialogue and engagement leads to greater interaction between our peoples. 2 The Middle East Institute’s audience is global. We interact with opinion leaders and policymakers, OUR PROGRAMS DIRECTLY diplomats and executives, teachers and students, SERVE: elected officials and citizens around the world. • Policymakers, government officials, and the interested public. MEI’s efforts reach across America and throughout • Corporate executives who rely on MEI for expert the Middle East; they touch the campuses, political and economic analysis. boardrooms, and kitchen tables. MIDDLE EAST INSTITUTE • US government officials and congressional PROGRAMS leaders who attend MEI briefings.
    [Show full text]