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| Middle East Program (SAIS) | |
|---|---|
| Name | Middle East Program (SAIS) |
| Established | 1965 |
| Type | Academic program |
| Parent | Johns Hopkins University |
| Location | Washington, D.C. |
Middle East Program (SAIS)
The Middle East Program at the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) is an academic and policy research center focused on contemporary issues in the Middle East, linking scholarship and practice across Washington, D.C., Europe, and Asia. It engages scholars, practitioners, and students through research on regional politics involving actors such as Saudi Arabia, Iran, Turkey, Israel, and Egypt, and through programming tied to institutions like the United Nations, the U.S. Department of State, and the World Bank.
The program situates its work at the intersection of studies on Arab League, Gulf Cooperation Council, Organization of Islamic Cooperation, Syrian Civil War, Yemeni Civil War, Lebanese Civil War, and the broader geopolitics of Persian Gulf issues. It convenes experts on topics ranging from Iranian Revolution legacies to Israeli–Palestinian conflict negotiations, cross-border dynamics such as the Sykes–Picot Agreement aftermath, and the impact of transnational phenomena including Palestinian National Authority politics, Kurdish–Turkish conflict, Libyan Civil War, and Iraqi Kurdistan autonomy. The program serves as a bridge linking SAIS faculty and affiliates like scholars from Harvard University, Columbia University, Princeton University, Yale University, and University of Chicago with policymakers from NATO, the European Union, and national ministries.
Founded amid Cold War-era strategic studies, the program developed alongside SAIS initiatives connected to the Truman Doctrine, the Marshall Plan, and postwar American diplomacy in the Middle East. Early work responded to crises such as the Six-Day War and the Yom Kippur War and tracked developments through the Camp David Accords, the Iran–Iraq War, and the Gulf War (1990–1991). In subsequent decades it expanded research on the Oslo Accords, the Arab Spring, the Iraq War (2003–2011), and the emergence of non-state actors including Hezbollah and Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. Affiliations and visiting scholars have included figures associated with Brookings Institution, Council on Foreign Relations, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, RAND Corporation, and the Wilson Center.
Administratively nested within Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, the program reports to SAIS deans and coordinates with centers like the Berman Institute and the Kissinger Center. Directors and senior fellows have backgrounds tied to institutions such as Johns Hopkins University, Georgetown University, University of Oxford, London School of Economics, American University of Beirut, and Tel Aviv University. Leadership often includes former diplomats with careers in the U.S. Foreign Service, advisors to presidents such as those in the Bush administration, Clinton administration, and Obama administration, and analysts from Central Intelligence Agency and Foreign Policy Research Institute backgrounds. Governance includes advisory boards featuring members from World Economic Forum, the Carnegie Corporation, and philanthropic partners like the Ford Foundation and Carnegie Endowment for International Peace donors.
Core research streams examine state and non-state relations including studies on Shia Islam, Sunni Islam, Salafism, and Political Islam movements, as well as on energy and finance topics such as Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, OPEC oil embargo, and Petrodollar recycling. The program runs projects on security sector reform in Iraq, counterterrorism and counterinsurgency relevant to Al-Qaeda and ISIS, and migration and refugee issues tied to United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Syrian refugee crisis, and Palestinian refugee populations. Other initiatives address economic reform, trade and investment in contexts such as Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Doha, Ankara, Cairo, Riyadh, and Tehran, as well as legal and human rights analyses referencing International Criminal Court and regional treaties like the Camp David Accords framework. Collaborative projects have linked with Chatham House, German Marshall Fund, Middle East Institute, and regional research centers in Istanbul, Beirut, and Cairo.
The program supports SAIS degree pathways including the Master of Arts in International Relations and concentration tracks oriented toward Middle East studies, offering seminars taught by faculty from Harvard Kennedy School, Princeton School of Public and International Affairs, and visiting professors from Sciences Po and IEP Paris. It sponsors fellowships named after figures linked to SAIS history, externships with embassies such as the Embassy of the United States in Riyadh and the Embassy of the United Kingdom, Washington, D.C., internships with NGOs like Amnesty International and International Rescue Committee, and study abroad arrangements with institutions in Cairo University, American University of Cairo, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, University of Tehran, and University of Jordan. Student-run journals and clubs coordinate with programs like the Middle East Forum and professional networks including Council on Foreign Relations student chapters.
The program publishes working papers, policy briefs, and analyses often cited alongside output from Foreign Affairs, The Washington Post, The New York Times, Al Jazeera, BBC News, and academic journals such as Middle East Journal, International Security, and Journal of Democracy. It hosts speaker series, roundtables, and conferences that have featured policymakers and scholars connected to the U.S. Department of Defense, Pentagon, European Commission, and heads of state from Jordan, Egypt, Israel, and Turkey. Signature events have included panels on the Arab Spring anniversaries, forums on the Iran nuclear deal, and briefings for delegations from the United Nations Security Council and parliamentary delegations from the United Kingdom and Germany.
Partnerships span academic collaborations with Columbia University, Stanford University, Yale University, University of Pennsylvania, and international organizations including United Nations, World Bank, and International Monetary Fund. The program’s alumni network includes diplomats posted to U.S. Department of State, officials in the European External Action Service, analysts at the International Crisis Group, and scholars at American University and regional universities such as Ain Shams University and American University of Beirut. Its policy influence is reflected in testimony before bodies like the U.S. Congress and citations in analyses by think tanks including Brookings Institution, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and Center for Strategic and International Studies.