Middle East Initiative
About the initiative
Developments in the Middle East have far ranging implications for the people of the region and for the economic prosperity and security of nations around the world. Understanding the dynamics within and among Middle Eastern countries has never been more important.
The Middle East Initiative (MEI) at Stanford’s Freeman Spogli Institute (FSI) for International Studies seeks to:
- Strengthen synergies across existing Stanford centers, programs, faculty, and students focusing on the Middle East, with a particular emphasis on supporting policy-relevant research.
- Increase interest in the region across the Stanford community and connect Middle East and non-Middle East research agendas.
- Expand Middle East research and educational opportunities for Stanford faculty and students.
The MEI speaker series “The New Geopolitics of the Middle East” launched in the fall of 2018. The series brings academics and practitioners together to examine new patterns of geopolitical competition, conflict, and cooperation across the Middle East, with a particular emphasis on how regional states and external powers are deploying news strategies, instruments, and technologies to influence events.
The MEI is led by Colin Kahl, the Steven C. Házy Senior Fellow at FSI and co-director of the Center for International Security and Cooperation.
