Research & Publications: Culture and Society

The author examines the emigration and integration of Iraqi Jewish refugees into Israel.

The author explores the ongoing question of partition and its impact on the return of displaced persons in Iraq.

In this article, the author describes the flight of the professional and middle class from Iraq and examines its implications on the country's economic, social, and political landscape.

There are at least three sets of questions to tackle in studying domestic challenges in Saudi Arabia: political reforms within the judiciary; ongoing “National Dialogue” seminars that mobilize thousands; and internal family dynamics where a few royals are pushing for the establishment of political parties. How well one is able to understand the many permutations within these three communities is important. While political dissent is still frowned upon in Saudi Arabia, the very rule of King ‘Abdullah bin ‘Abd al-‘Aziz is premised on change, which cannot be reversed without inflicting permanent damage. Many have high hopes that he will not drop the baton — especially since he has demonstrated that he can deliver — though the monarch’s “will to power” requires that he harness and unite the energies of both liberal and Islamist reformists.

Through different types of media, people adopt behaviors, assume attitudes, and build stereotypical images that affect their actions in real life. The issue of the portrayal of women in the Arab media has been under examination for many years due to its negativity and its ability to adversely affect the image of Arab women in society at large. Although some positive models are beginning to appear, the movement in this direction is quite slow. This Policy Brief discusses the image of women in the Arab media in general, and in Egypt in particular, and proposes a media initiative that involves the establishment of a Pan Arab media-monitoring unit to ameliorate the portrayal of women in the Arab world.

Ziad Asali discusses how to sustain the momentum for peace in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

Ori Nir discusses the need for an American role in lending credibility to the Middle East peace process.