Middle East Quarterly

Middle East Quarterly - Current Issue
Founded in 1994 by Daniel Pipes, MEQ is the Middle East Forum’s journal intended for both scholars and the educated public. Policymakers, opinion-makers, academics, and journalists write for and read the Quarterly, which is known for exclusive interviews, in-depth historical articles, and book reviews on subjects ranging from archaeology to politics and on countries from Morocco to Iran.


Spring 2026 Volume 33: Number 2
The Palestinian right of return is primarily a political and ideological claim rather than a binding legal one supported by international law. In 1974, Yasser Arafat championed it at the U.N., declaring that Zionism is "colonialist", "imperialist," and "racist." The right of return continues to shape Palestinian politics and Western diplomacy, and remains a central factor in the persistence of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Middle East Quarterly
Palestinian Intransigence and the “Right of Return”
February 27, 2026
Middle East Quarterly
Trump’s Twenty-Point Plan and Hamas’s Rebirth
February 27, 2026
Map of Nubl and al-Zahra in northern Aleppo countryside (10 June 2018). The map shows the locations of the two Twelver Shiite towns, Nubl and al-Zahra, within territories held by Syrian government forces (blue), opposition forces (green), and Kurdish forces (yellow) during the Syrian civil war. Despite their isolation amid Sunni and Kurdish regions, both towns have largely avoided post-Assad violence and serve as case studies in localized stability and minority protection.
Middle East Quarterly
Eyewitness Report: Twelver Shiite Villages of Nubl and al-Zahra in the Aleppo Countryside in the Post-Assad Period
February 27, 2026
The June 2025 Israeli military campaign, backed by the U.S., significantly weakened Iran’s strategic capabilities and reshaped regional dynamics. Rather than accelerating formal Saudi-Israeli normalization, it produced a post-liberal Middle East in which Saudi Arabia treats Israel as a covert partner and constrained outsider while competing for regional primacy. (Shutterstock/Asset ID: 2096850640)
Middle East Quarterly
Inter-Arab Rivalry and Regional Hierarchy in the Post–Liberal Middle East
February 27, 2026
Middle East Quarterly
Book Reviews
February 27, 2026
Book Reviews
Winter 2026
Book Reviews
American Caliph: The True Story of a Muslim Mystic, a Hollywood Epic, and the 1977 Siege of Washington, DC
September 11, 2024
Book Reviews
Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder
September 11, 2024
Turkish national flag background texture.
Middle East Quarterly
Turkish Intelligence in the New Era: Transformation and Expansion of Clandestine Operations in Turkish Foreign Policy
September 10, 2024
Ahnaf Kalam
Book Reviews
The History of Turkey: Grandeur and Grievance
June 1, 2024
Ahnaf Kalam
Book Reviews
The Only Woman in the Room: Golda Meir and Her Path to Power
June 1, 2024
Ahnaf Kalam
Book Reviews
After Zionism: One State for Israel and Palestine
June 1, 2024
Ahnaf Kalam
Middle East Quarterly
No ‘One Size Fits All': Iranian Influence Building in Syria
June 1, 2024
 · 
Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi
Ahnaf Kalam
Middle East Quarterly
The Jews of Syria’s Qamishli: Short History, Lasting Legacy
June 1, 2024
 · 
Sirwan Kajjo
Ahnaf Kalam
Middle East Quarterly
The Iran-Israel War and the Clash of Civilizations
June 1, 2024
 · 
Shaul Bartal
Middle East Quarterly
Brief Reviews
June 1, 2024
Issue Archive
Fall 2025
Summer 2025
Spring 2025
Winter 2025
Fall 2024
Summer 2024
Spring 2024
Winter 2024
Fall 2023
Summer 2023
Spring 2023
Winter 2023
Winter 2026
Ahnaf Kalam
Book Reviews
British Muslims and Their Discourses
June 1, 2024
Ahnaf Kalam
Book Reviews
Two States for Two Peoples: The Palestinian-Israeli Conflict, International Law and European Union Policy
June 1, 2024
Ahnaf Kalam
Middle East Quarterly
A Muslim Aliyah Paralleled the Jewish Aliyah: Part I, to 1948
June 1, 2024
 · 
Daniel Pipes
Gary Gambill
Middle East Quarterly
Damming the Blue Nile: Will Ethiopian-Egyptian Tensions Ignite?
March 1, 2024
 · 
Martin Sherman
Gary Gambill
Middle East Quarterly
Recognize Kosovo? A Middle East Dilemma?
March 1, 2024
 · 
Michael B. Bishku
Gary Gambill
Book Reviews
Middle Eastern Maze: Israel, the Arabs, and the Region 1948-2022
March 1, 2024
 · 
Itamar Rabinovich
Gary Gambill
Book Reviews
Target Tehran: How Israel is using Sabotage, Cyberwarfare, Assassination–and Secret Diplomacy–to Stop a Nuclear Iran and Create a New Middle East
March 1, 2024
Middle East Quarterly
Brief Reviews
March 1, 2024
Gary Gambill
Middle East Quarterly
Kuwait’s Hedging Strategy Toward Iran and Saudi Arabia
March 1, 2024
 · 
Mohammed Torki Bani Salameh
Gary Gambill
Book Reviews
Hijab: Word of God or Word of Man?
March 1, 2024
Load More
More from MEF
A major new study links mass Muslim immigration into cities like Molenbeek, Belgium, shown above, to a rising risk of violent civil war in Europe.
FWI News
No-Go Zones Increase Prospect of Civil War, Experts Warn
Report Credits Middle East Forum Founder Daniel Pipes For ‘No-Go Zones’ Label
April 2, 2026
 · 
Jules Gomes
The International Defense and Aerospace Industry Exhibition SAHA EXPO 2024. The Bayraktar Akıncı is a High-Altitude Long-Endurance (HALE) unmanned combat aerial vehicle. Istanbul, Oct. 23, 2024.
Middle East Forum Online
Turkey’s Erdoğan Builds Global Arms Network Through Nearly 100 Defense Agreements
The Strategy Is Rapidly Expanding Ankara’s Global Footprint in Arms Sales and Military Technology Transfers
April 2, 2026
 · 
Abdullah Bozkurt
Benghazi is secure enough that even women and children hang out on the miles-long corniche that begins just across from it, even hours after dark. New developments have added to the skyline, and billions of dollars of retail investment have flooded the city. Cranes and construction are everywhere. Image: A 2023 boat show on Lake Benghazi.
Middle East Forum Online
The State Department Gets Libya Wrong. Trump Should Force a Correction
A Secure Libya Is in Everyone’s Interest, and a Benghazi-First Strategy Can Deliver It
April 2, 2026
 · 
Michael Rubin
Load More