DOCSLIB.ORG

London Middle East Institute at SOAS

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
London Middle East Institute at SOAS London Middle East LONDON Institute at SOAS MIDDLE EAST INSTITUTE Annual Report 2014/2015 and Financial Report 2013/2014 LMEI ORGANISATION AND MEMBERSHIP Staff of the London Middle East Donations, Sponsorship and Affiliations Institute Founding Patron and Donor of the LMEI Director: Dr Hassan Hakimian Sheikh Mohamed Bin Issa Al Jaber, Executive Officer and Company Secretary: MBI Al Jaber Foundation Ms Louise Hosking Events and Magazine Coordinator: Corporate Sponsor Mr Vincenzo Paci MENA Regional Consulting Limited (MENARC) Administrative Assistant: Ms Valentina Zanardi Coordinating Editor (Middle East in London Institutional Affiliates Magazine): Ms Megan Wang Aga Khan University (International) Institute for Designer (Middle East in London Magazine): the Study of Muslim Civilisations Ms Shahla Geramipour The Arab-British Centre Bonyad Jaleh Esfahani British Foundation for the Study of Arabia (BFSA) The British-Yemeni Society Centre for Supporters of Human Rights LMEI Board of Trustees Forum Iran LSE Middle East Centre Professor Paul Webley (Chair), Naghmeh Ensemble Director, SOAS Petroleum Institute Professor Richard Black, SOAS Poetry and Music Chamber of Iranians in Dr John Curtis, Iran Heritage Foundation the UK Sir Vincent Fean Professor Ben Fortna, SOAS Mr Alan Jenkins Dr Karima Laachir, SOAS Corporate Sponsorship is £1,500 per year. Dr Dina Matar, SOAS Benefits include those enjoyed by Institutional Dr Barbara Zollner, Birkbeck College Affiliates, please see below, together with up to two tailored private briefings per year, free copies of LMEI occasional papers, and special advertising rates with the LMEI. Institutional Affiliation is £250 per year. LMEI Advisory Council Institutional Affiliates are entitled to the same Lady Barbara Judge (Chair) benefits as Individual Affiliates, please see below, Professor Muhammad Abdel-Haleem, SOAS along with the free use of a room at SOAS for an HE Mr Khaled al-Duwaisan GCVO, event lasting up to two hours, and up to four copies Ambassador, Embassy of the State of Kuwait of each edition of the magazine. They will also be Mrs Haifa Al Kaylani, Arab International acknowledged in LMEI publicity material, including Women’s Forum the website: www.soas.ac.uk/lmei/. Dr Khalid Bin Mohammed Al Khalifa, President, University College of Bahrain Individual Affiliates pay £30 per year with Professor Tony Allan, King’s College reduced rates for concessions (£20) and and SOAS students (£10), for which they receive an annual Dr Alanoud Alsharekh, Senior Fellow for subscription to ‘The Middle East in London’ Regional Politics, IISS magazine, inclusion on e-mail and mailing lists for Mr Farad Azima, NetScientific Plc notification of upcoming events, and special rates Dr Noel Brehony, MENAS Associates Ltd for LMEI conferences and publications. Professor Magdy Ishak Hanna, British Egyptian Society HE Mr Mazen Kemal Homoud, Ambassador, Embassy of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan LMEI Research Associates Dr Hamid Keshmirshekan Dr George Joffé Dr Kathryn Spellman Poots Professor Sami Zubaida The aim of the LMEI, through education and research, is to promote knowledge of all aspects of the Middle East including its complexities, problems, achievements and assets, both among the general public and with those who have special interest in the region. In this task it builds on two essential assets. First, it is based in London, a city which has unrivalled contemporary and historical connections and communications with the Middle East: political, social, cultural, commercial, scientific and educational. Secondly, the LMEI is at SOAS, the only tertiary educational institution in the world whose explicit purpose is to provide training and scholarship on the whole Middle East from prehistory until today. Contents Director’s Letter 4 ------------------------------------------------------ Event Highlights 6 ------------------------------------------------------ Calendar of Events 8 ------------------------------------------------------ Centre for Iranian Studies 12 ------------------------------------------------------ Centre for Palestine Studies 16 ------------------------------------------------------ Publications 18 ------------------------------------------------------ Visiting Scholars 22 ------------------------------------------------------ Summer School 25 ------------------------------------------------------ PhD Theses on the Middle East 26 ------------------------------------------------------ Acknowledgements 29 ------------------------------------------------------ Financial Statement 30 ------------------------------------------------------ Directory of Academic Members 32 ------------------------------------------------------ 4 LMEI ANNUAL REPORT 2014-2015 Director’s Letter LMEI ANNUAL REPORT 2014-2015 5 The 2014/15 academic year was a particularly fruitful time in the life of the London Middle East Institute. Our first full year at LMEI’s new premises at 21 Russell Square (the MBI Al Jaber Building) saw several new initiatives as we were able to accommodate more researchers and visiting fellows. The initiatives in this report – a mixture of old and new – are a testament to the range and diversity of LMEI’s interests as well as to the high quality of regional expertise, from inside and outside SOAS, on which we draw. Our two sub-centres – The Centre for Iranian Studies and The Centre for Palestine Studies – continue to play active roles. They have maintained their provision of needed academic expertise in their fields and galvanised much energy and interest, as evidenced by the various academic and cultural events reported in this volume. Likewise, our flagship magazine The Middle East in London continues as a cornerstone of our outreach activities. Exciting and new programmes have not prevented us from attending to our longer-term and continuing interests and commitments. You will get a sense of our other busy schedules throughout the year by glancing through this report: from our regular lecture series on the contemporary Middle East to various occasional lectures, debating panels, cultural events, book launches and, of course, publications. Given the continued and intense interest in the developments of our region, I remain convinced of the pertinence of our mission and remit for both the academic milieu and the wider communities. 6 LMEI ANNUAL REPORT 2014-2015 Event Highlights LMEI ANNUAL REPORT 2014-2015 7 Economic Diversification in the GCC: Past, Yemen Strategy, which includes security, stability and Present and Future development objectives. The LMEI’s March conference on the Hadhramaut entitled Rediscovering Hadhramaut: The LMEI was pleased to welcome back Timothy Callen, Paradigms of Research, was organised in conjunction Assistant Director in the IMF’s Middle East and Central with the newly founded Hadhramaut Research Centre Asia Department, in February 2015 to give a talk on (HRC) and sponsored by MENARC and the BYS. It Economic Diversification in the GCC: Past, Present, featured distinguished academics from across the world and Future. This was Callen’s second public event who participated in panels on Hadhrami emigration to at the LMEI; his first a talk in 2014 on the Economic different regions and issues of integration pertaining to Prospects and Policy Challenges in the Gulf Cooperation the Hadhrami diaspora, the present level of development Council (GCC) Countries. Basing his lecture on a of the Hadhramaut and strategies for future development. paper published by the IMF in December 2014 Callen argued that successful economic diversification in the The Kurds in the Middle East: New Developments six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries would and Prospects require realigning incentives for firms and workers in the economies and that fixing these incentives is the missing On 24 April the LMEI organised another timely conference link in the GCC countries’ diversification strategies. Callen since Kurdish autonomy has been a fact in Northern went on to lay out a number of measures that could begin Iraq for more than two decades and is now unfolding in to address these incentive issues such as limiting and Eastern Syria too since the beginning of the uprising in reorienting government spending, strengthening private- that country in 2011. The conference addressed a number sector competition, providing guarantees and financial of important issues including the future of the Kurds and support for those firms engaged in export activity, and the states of Iraq, Syria and Turkey, how to assess the implementing labour market reforms to make nationals ‘democratic autonomy’ project of the Kurdish movement more competitive for private-sector employment. in Syria and Turkey, the prospects of the peace talks in Turkey and whether or not the Kurdish movement in Iran A Focus on Yemen is immune to the developments in Syria and Turkey. The LMEI also hosted a number of high-profile events on the Yemen including the second British-Yemeni Society (BYS) Annual Lecture on 4 February and a one-day conference on the Hadhramaut on 7 March. This year’s speaker at the former, organised with the British-Yemeni Society and sponsored by the MBI Al Jaber Foundation, was the Rt Hon Sir Alan Duncan MP who gave a lecture on Yemen: The Fight for Stability and Hope, Sir Alan Duncan has played a key role in Britain’s relations with Yemen in his period as Minister of State in the Department of International Aid from 2010 to 2014. During his tenure as Minister he visited Yemen several times and was closely involved in the UK’s co-chairmanship
Load more

Recommended publications
  • What Literature Knows: Forays Into Literary Knowledge Production
    Contributions to English 2 Contributions to English and American Literary Studies 2 and American Literary Studies 2 Antje Kley / Kai Merten (eds.) Antje Kley / Kai Merten (eds.) Kai Merten (eds.) Merten Kai / What Literature Knows This volume sheds light on the nexus between knowledge and literature. Arranged What Literature Knows historically, contributions address both popular and canonical English and Antje Kley US-American writing from the early modern period to the present. They focus on how historically specific texts engage with epistemological questions in relation to Forays into Literary Knowledge Production material and social forms as well as representation. The authors discuss literature as a culturally embedded form of knowledge production in its own right, which deploys narrative and poetic means of exploration to establish an independent and sometimes dissident archive. The worlds that imaginary texts project are shown to open up alternative perspectives to be reckoned with in the academic articulation and public discussion of issues in economics and the sciences, identity formation and wellbeing, legal rationale and political decision-making. What Literature Knows The Editors Antje Kley is professor of American Literary Studies at FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg, Germany. Her research interests focus on aesthetic forms and cultural functions of narrative, both autobiographical and fictional, in changing media environments between the eighteenth century and the present. Kai Merten is professor of British Literature at the University of Erfurt, Germany. His research focuses on contemporary poetry in English, Romantic culture in Britain as well as on questions of mediality in British literature and Postcolonial Studies. He is also the founder of the Erfurt Network on New Materialism.
    [Show full text]
  • Shiism and Martyrdom: a Study of Istishhadi Phenomenon in Iran During the Iran-Iraq War, 1980-1988
    SHIISM AND MARTYRDOM: A STUDY OF ISTISHHADI PHENOMENON IN IRAN DURING THE IRAN-IRAQ WAR, 1980-1988 MEHDI SOLTANZADEH DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY FACULTY OF ARTS AND SOCIAL SCIENCES UNIVERSITY OF MALAYA KUALA LUMPUR 2013 UNIVERSITI MALAYA ORIGINAL LITERARY WORK DECLARATION Name of Candidate: Mehdi Soltanzadeh (I.C/Passport No: R19245432) Registration/Matric No: AHA060041 Name of Degree: Masters in Education Title of Project Paper/ Research Report/ Dissertation/ Thesis ("this Work"): Shiism and Martyrdom: A Study of Istishhadi Phenomenon in Iran During The Iran-Iraq War, 1980-1988 I do solemnly and sincerely declare that: (1) I am the sole author/write of this Work; (2) This Work is original; (3) Any use of any work in which copyright exists was done by the way of fair dealing and for permitted purpose and any excerpt or extract from, or reference to or reproduction of any copyright work has been disclosed expressly and sufficiently and the title of the Work and its authorship have been acknowledged in this Work; (4) I do not have any actual knowledge nor do I ought reasonably to know that the making of this work constitutes an infringement of any copyright work; (5) I hereby assign all and every rights in the copyright to this Work to the University of Malaya ("UM"), who henceforth shall be owner of the copyright in this Work and that any reproduction or use in any form or by any means whatsoever is prohibited without the written consent of UM having been first had and obtained; (6) I am fully aware that if in the course of making this Work I have infringed any copyright whether intentionally or otherwise, I may be subject to legal action or any other action as may be determined by UM.
    [Show full text]
  • Mullahs, Guards, and Bonyads: an Exploration of Iranian Leadership
    THE ARTS This PDF document was made available CHILD POLICY from www.rand.org as a public service of CIVIL JUSTICE the RAND Corporation. EDUCATION ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT Jump down to document6 HEALTH AND HEALTH CARE INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS The RAND Corporation is a nonprofit NATIONAL SECURITY research organization providing POPULATION AND AGING PUBLIC SAFETY objective analysis and effective SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY solutions that address the challenges SUBSTANCE ABUSE facing the public and private sectors TERRORISM AND HOMELAND SECURITY around the world. TRANSPORTATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE Support RAND WORKFORCE AND WORKPLACE Purchase this document Browse Books & Publications Make a charitable contribution For More Information Visit RAND at www.rand.org Explore the RAND National Defense Research Institute View document details Limited Electronic Distribution Rights This document and trademark(s) contained herein are protected by law as indicated in a notice appearing later in this work. This electronic representation of RAND intellectual property is provided for non-commercial use only. Unauthorized posting of RAND PDFs to a non-RAND Web site is prohibited. RAND PDFs are protected under copyright law. Permission is required from RAND to reproduce, or reuse in another form, any of our research documents for commercial use. For information on reprint and linking permissions, please see RAND Permissions. This product is part of the RAND Corporation monograph series. RAND monographs present major research findings that address the challenges facing the public and private sectors. All RAND mono- graphs undergo rigorous peer review to ensure high standards for research quality and objectivity. Mullahs, Guards, and Bonyads An Exploration of Iranian Leadership Dynamics David E.
    [Show full text]
  • Iran Or Persia: What's in a Name, the Decline and Fall of a Tourism Industry?
    Iran or Persia: What’s in a name, the decline and fall of a tourism industry? Baum, T.G. and O’Gorman, K.D. Strathclyde Business School University of Strathclyde Cathedral Street Glasgow [email protected] [email protected] Iran is a combination of Persia and Islam, it is a complicated, often confused, if not diametrically opposed mix of two ideologies; as a country it is complex and unpredictable but also, from a tourism perspective, unrivalled in the cultural attributes that it can offer to the more intrepid traveller. Historically, modern Iran has its roots in ancient Persia and therefore it is unsurprising that the contemporary nation attempts to trace its cultural heritage back for at least 5,000 years. Hegel considered the ancient Persians to be the first historic people: “In Persia first arises that light which shines itself and illuminates what is around...The principle of development begins with the history of Persia; this constitutes therefore the beginning of history” (Hegel, 1857, p. 147). However, Hegel’s historicism is questionable on two grounds. Firstly, that Persia was identifiable. As Garthwaite has commented, “‘Persia’ is not easily located with any geographic specificity, nor can its people, the Persians, be easily categorized. In the end Persia and the Persians are as much metaphysical notions as a place or a people.” (Garthwaite, 2007, p. 1) Indeed, despite the long antecedence of civilisation in the area, until the late sixth century BC, there are no known historical materials that are written by Persians identifying themselves as Persian.
    [Show full text]
  • Naqshbandi Sufi, Persian Poet
    ABD AL-RAHMAN JAMI: “NAQSHBANDI SUFI, PERSIAN POET A Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement for The Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of the Ohio State University By Farah Fatima Golparvaran Shadchehr, M.A. The Ohio State University 2008 Approved by Professor Stephen Dale, Advisor Professor Dick Davis Professor Joseph Zeidan ____________________ Advisor Graduate Program in History Copyright by Farah Shadchehr 2008 ABSTRACT The era of the Timurids, the dynasty that ruled Transoxiana, Iran, and Afghanistan from 1370 to 1506 had a profound cultural and artistic impact on the history of Central Asia, the Ottoman Empire, and Mughal India in the early modern era. While Timurid fine art such as miniature painting has been extensively studied, the literary production of the era has not been fully explored. Abd al-Rahman Jami (817/1414- 898/1492), the most renowned poet of the Timurids, is among those Timurid poets who have not been methodically studied in Iran and the West. Although, Jami was recognized by his contemporaries as a major authority in several disciplines, such as science, philosophy, astronomy, music, art, and most important of all poetry, he has yet not been entirely acknowledged in the post Timurid era. This dissertation highlights the significant contribution of Jami, the great poet and Sufi thinker of the fifteenth century, who is regarded as the last great classical poet of Persian literature. It discusses his influence on Persian literature, his central role in the Naqshbandi Order, and his input in clarifying Ibn Arabi's thought. Jami spent most of his life in Herat, the main center for artistic ability and aptitude in the fifteenth century; the city where Jami grew up, studied, flourished and produced a variety of prose and poetry.
    [Show full text]
  • The Many Shades of Green: Social Welfare in Iran and the Struggle for Hegemony
    ***Draft summary, please do not cite The Many Shades of Green: Social Welfare in Iran and the Struggle for Hegemony Sarah Marusek Maxwell School of Syracuse University Introduction Recent revolutionary events mobilizing Arab populations throughout the Middle East and North Africa have thus far successfully uprooted two ruthless dictatorships that had previously been viewed as both stable and entrenched. Indeed the speed with which the regimes in Egypt and Tunisia crumbled in the face of peaceful mass protests surprised many. Almost immediately comparisons were being drawn between the Arab protesters and the “Green Movement” in the Islamic Republic of Iran, an opposition movement that dramatically emerged after the contested presidential elections in summer 2009 but which was ultimately unsuccessful in realizing any meaningful transformation of the Iranian political system. Activists, journalists and academics observing the successful revolutions unfolding in Tunisia and Egypt posed many questions about why the Iranian protests failed and even offered a few answers, mostly focusing on the limits of the Green Movement. For example, Maljoo (2010) intelligently critiques the Iranian opposition‟s failure to mobilize the working class. But in order to fully appreciate why revolutionary change did not occur in Iran, we must also consider the cultural and political forces that coalesced to preserve the established hegemony in the Islamic Republic, the ideas and practices that mobilized millions of Iranians behind President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Because even though the recent crackdown against demonstrators and opposition leaders may illustrate that the current government in the Islamic Republic 1 ***Draft summary, please do not cite has become more authoritarian over the last two years, the Iranian state and society are also open and democratic in ways that many critics refuse to recognize.
    [Show full text]
  • THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC's ART of SURVIVAL
    THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC’S ART of SURVIVAL: Neutralizing Domestic and Foreign Threats Saeid Golkar Policy Focus 125 | June 2013 THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC’S ART OF SURVIVAL: Neutralizing Domestic and Foreign Threats All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. © 2013 by The Washington Institute for Near East Policy Published in 2013 in the United States of America by The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, 1828 L Street NW, Suite 1050, Washington, DC 20036. Cover photo: Iranian soldiers shout anti-American slogans at a ceremony celebrating the 27th anniversary of the return from exile of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, February 2006. (AP Photo/Hasan Sarbakhshian) Contents About the Author v Acknowledgments vii Executive Summary 1 Introduction 3 1 | Neutralizing Threats from Below 4 2 | Neutralizing Threats from Above 9 3 | Neutralizing External Threats 14 4 | Conclusion 16 Notes 17 About the Author SAEID GOLKAR is a fellow at the Roberta Buffett Center for International and Comparative Studies at Northwest- ern University. Previously, he served as a postdoctoral fellow at the Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law (CDDRL) at Stanford University. His research interests include the politics of authoritarian regimes, state control, and Middle Eastern politics; his most recent analysis has appeared in Politics, Religion & Ideology, Armed Forces & Society, Journal of the Middle East and Africa, Digest of Middle East Studies, and Middle East Quar- terly, among other publications.
    [Show full text]
  • Iran's Post-Revolution Economy
    Iran’s Economy: Status, Problems, and Prospects Jahangir Amuzegar* The following article was written by Jahangir Amuzegar in connection with his participation in the conference entitled “Iran After 25 Years of Revolution: A Retrospective and a Look Ahead,” which was held at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars on November 16-17, 2004. The opinions expressed here are those of the author and in no way represent the views or opinions of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. An impartial evaluation of the 1979 Revolution’s impact on Iran’s society and polity may still require longer than a single generation to gain proper perspective. Its economic legacy, however, is easier to appraise. Leaders of the Islamic Republic, who focus solely on certain impressive changes in the physical landscape and a few quantitative indices, claim that Iran’s socio- economic achievements in the last 25 years are the envy of its neighbors. The opposition, in turn, ignoring countless internal and external adversities faced by the regime during the period, tends to dismiss the clerics’ claims out of hand by questioning the veracity and reliability of official data. This review attempts to examine these disparate judgments in an impartial and objective manner with the help of broader–based, less selective data.1 The Regime’s Bill of Particulars The Islamic Republic’s leadership, its surrogate Friday prayer imams, and its partisan supporters at home and abroad seize upon every opportunity to boast about the Revolution’s blessings and bounties. Reams of statistics are offered to show vast expansion of basic infrastructures (highways, railways, rural roads, irrigation dams, air and sea port terminals); improvements in modern means of communication (radio and TV coverage, fax, cell phones, internet connections); extension of gas lines to hundreds of cities; eye-catching urban beautification and recreational facilities; and other brick-and-mortar sites.
    [Show full text]
  • EXPLANING the ECONOMIC CONTROL of IRAN by the IRGC by MATTHEW DOUGLAS ROBIN
    EXPLANING THE ECONOMIC CONTROL OF IRAN BY THE IRGC by MATTHEW DOUGLAS ROBIN A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Honors in the Major Program in Political Science in the College of Sciences and in The Burnett Honors College at the University of Central Florida Orlando, Florida Fall Term 2011 Thesis Chair: Dr. Houman Sadri ©2011 Matthew Douglas Robin ii ABSTRACT In 1979, Iran underwent the Islamic Revolution, which radically changed society. The Iranian Revolution Guard (IRGC) was born from the revolution and has witnessed its role in society changed over time. Many have said the IRGC has reached the apex of its power and is one of if not the dominating force in Iranian society. The most recent extension of the IRGC’s control is in the economic realm. The purpose of this research is to explain the reasoning and mechanism behind this recent gain in power. The literature review demonstrates flaws by previous studies of Iran. Most used a singular focus on explaining the IRGC’s influence on Iran’s economy by only focusing on political or economic aspects. This study will show how explaining the political economy of Iran best explains the role of the IRGC in Iran. The research uses event-data analysis to synthesize previous research performed on Iran. The researcher used various sources to explain the recent rise in the IRGC’s power. Focus was placed on explaining three aspects of Iran’s political economy, elected institutions, accountable businesses, and unaccountable businesses. Elected institutions included the majlis (the Iranian parliament) and the presidency.
    [Show full text]
  • The Political and Martial Role of the Fars Ethnic Groups in the Qajar Period Until the Constitutionalism Epoch; with Emphasis on the “Qashqaee Tribe”
    J. Appl. Environ. Biol. Sci., 4(8)16-22, 2014 ISSN: 2090-4274 Journal of Applied Environmental © 2014, TextRoad Publication and Biological Sciences www.textroad.com The Political and Martial Role of the Fars Ethnic Groups in the Qajar Period until the Constitutionalism Epoch; with Emphasis on the “Qashqaee Tribe” Ali Akbar Safipur1., Reza Sheybani2 1,2 Department of History, College of Humanities & Social Science, Tehran Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran Received: May 22, 2014 Accepted: July 30, 2014 ABSTRACT In a territory based upon geographical and influential climatic formations, one- third of its soil was in possession of ethnic groups or clans, who were within their own bounds of tribal life, having their special logic. Moreover, founded on acceptable public roles, they ranked in acting as a completely unified aggregate. Conditions and the state of affairs of ethnic groups in the country, in the recent decades of the 19th Century; and particularly, in regions where from archaic times, until date, powerful ethnic groups were present. These clans displayed their capabilities to conserve their internal tribal consolidation and its vital role, in the vast expanse of the political and economic fate of the country and throughout the land. Emphasis and inclination as to the minor capacities, such as the Fars ethnic groups in the 19th Century, institutionalized in determining the regional and local policies. This also denotes the stance where their political and social structure was extremely in coherence and played an outstanding role in the public destinies of the country and that, which has even remained in the Middle East.
    [Show full text]
  • The Iranian Revolution at 30
    Viewpoints Special Edition The Iranian Revolution at 30 The Middle East Institute Washington, DC Middle East Institute The mission of the Middle East Institute is to promote knowledge of the Middle East in Amer- ica and strengthen understanding of the United States by the people and governments of the region. For more than 60 years, MEI has dealt with the momentous events in the Middle East — from the birth of the state of Israel to the invasion of Iraq. Today, MEI is a foremost authority on contemporary Middle East issues. It pro- vides a vital forum for honest and open debate that attracts politicians, scholars, government officials, and policy experts from the US, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. MEI enjoys wide access to political and business leaders in countries throughout the region. Along with information exchanges, facilities for research, objective analysis, and thoughtful commentary, MEI’s programs and publications help counter simplistic notions about the Middle East and America. We are at the forefront of private sector public diplomacy. Viewpoints are another MEI service to audiences interested in learning more about the complexities of issues affecting the Middle East and US rela- tions with the region. To learn more about the Middle East Institute, visit our website at http://www.mideasti.org Cover photos, clockwise from the top left hand corner: Shahram Sharif photo; sajed.ir photo; sajed.ir photo; ? redo photo; sajed. ir photo; Maryam Ashoori photo; Zongo69 photo; UN photo; and [ john ] photo. 2 The Middle East Institute Viewpoints: The Iranian Revolution at 30 • www.mideasti.org Viewpoints Special Edition The Iranian Revolution at 30 The Middle East Institute Viewpoints: The Iranian Revolution at 30 • www.mideasti.org 3 Viewpoints: 1979 The year 1979 was among the most tumultuous, and important, in the history of the modern Middle East.
    [Show full text]
  • Iran's State-Linked Conglomerates
    CRS INSIGHT Iran's State-Linked Conglomerates October 17, 2016 (IN10597) | Related Author Kenneth Katzman | Kenneth Katzman, Specialist in Middle Eastern Affairs ([email protected], 7-7612) Issue Overview The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) multilateral nuclear agreement with Iran, which took effect on January 16, 2016, has raised questions about the economic and political effects of sanctions relief provided under the agreement. Although Iran has a substantial private sector composed, at least in part, of large import-export trading houses, several years of sanctions have enabled regime leaders and institutions to acquire control of significant portions of the economy. The question for the Administration and Congress is whether sanctions relief will benefit primarily the state-linked conglomerates—and by extension, regime hardliners—or would provide space for Iran's private sector and entrepreneurs to expand their roles in the economy. Legislation to require Administration reporting on the assets of regime-linked financial conglomerates, H.R. 5461, passed the House on September 21, 2016 by a vote of 282-143. The Administration has stated an intent to veto the bill on the grounds that its provisions might cause Iran to make its financial sector less transparent. Background and Analysis On January 16, 2016, the "Implementation Day" of the JCPOA, Iran received broad relief from United States, United Nations, and European Union sanctions that, by all accounts, had severely damaged Iran's economy since sanctions were comprehensively applied after 2011. The Obama Administration and partner countries negotiated the JCPOA primarily to limit Iran's potential to acquire a nuclear weapon, but Administration officials stated that the agreement might also empower moderate political elements and their supporters in civil society and the private sector.
    [Show full text]