Essays

For decades, American films and TV programs have vilified Arabs as villains and terrorists. Now a new generation of directors and producers is challenging racial, gender, and religious stereotypes—and making us laugh and think at the same time.

From Pinstripes to Tweets

By R. S. Zaharna

Winter 2015

Gone are the days when diplomats could control messages crafted to influence foreign governments and citizens of other nations. Thanks to social media tools, publics are talking back—and to each other. Diplomacy will never be the same.

Putin the Spoiler

By Lilia Shevtsova

Winter 2015

With his undeclared war on Ukraine, the Russian president destroyed the post-Cold War system of mutual security commitments. In a quest to sustain his power, “Mr. Nobody” has released forces that he cannot contain.

The Man Behind “Unmanned”

By Robert Greenwald

Fall 2014

A Hollywood director tells how he tracked down an American drone pilot and Pakistani victims of drone strikes to make the powerful documentary film Unmanned: America’s Drone Wars.

Compromise in Kabul

By Thomas Barfield

Fall 2014

Ashraf Ghani became the new president of Afghanistan in a power-sharing deal that followed a contested election. Can he now address poor governance, corruption and the Taliban insurgency?

What Went Wrong

By Edward Girardet

Fall 2014

The American-led invasion and occupation of Afghanistan is proving to be a failure. A military approach thwarted a long-term development strategy for the country. With foreign troops on the way out, the country braces for its uncertain fate.

The Taliban Question

By Zahid Hussain

Fall 2014

It is unlikely that the Taliban insurgency will topple the Kabul government and return to power anytime soon. But the group could command the Pashtun region—and threaten security in Pakistan across the border.

New Threat to Afghan Women

By Manizha Naderi

Fall 2014

Afghanistan has recorded tremendous progress in women’s rights. The world must understand how this achievement is an essential component of the rule of law and advance to democracy.

Road to Gandamak

By William Dalrymple

Fall 2014

“Not one benefit, political or military, has been acquired with this war.” That was G.R. Gleig, writing in 1843 about the British retreat from Afghanistan. While the West may have forgotten the Afghan hatred of foreign rule, Afghans have not.

Tray of Candies

By Qais Akbar Omar

Fall 2014

Kabul Memoir: An Afghan writer recalls family disagreements, and a wise patriarch’s way of settling them.

Eyeing the Generals

By Shuja Nawaz

Fall 2014

Pakistan is watching the battle of two Sharifs—Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif versus powerful army chief General Raheel Sharif. A political crisis is fueling tensions between the country’s civil and military institutions.

Scramble for Iraq

By Nabeel Khoury

Fall 2014

America’s toppling of Saddam Hussein unleashed new forces in the Middle East. The latest fallout: the rise of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.

Images from a Land At War

By Robert Nickelsberg

Fall 2014

“Face to face with the fragility of the human condition”—a portfolio of a veteran photojournalist’s work in Afghanistan spanning twenty-five years.

The Art Effect

By David Joselit

Summer 2014

Art in our age is more than the Mona Lisa. The construction of major new museums like the Mathaf Arab Museum of Modern Art in Qatar and even an outpost of the Louvre in Abu Dhabi reflects the expansion of a global civil society.

Collapsing Certainties

By Partha Mitter

Summer 2014

Art history that presents the Western canon as universal creates a world of inclusions and exclusions, undermining local voices and practices. Let us consider a redefinition of cosmopolitanism that demands the study of art in its social and cultural setting.

Tehran Bazaar

By Joobin Bekhrad

Summer 2014

The capital of the Islamic Republic is the new art mecca? When it comes to culture, it’s not your ayatollah’s Iran anymore. Despite continuing pressures including censorship, the country’s art scene is flourishing.

Revolution to Revolution

By Nadia Radwan

Summer 2014

Artists have spent a century claiming Egypt for the Egyptians. Now the powerful murals of January 25 have created a new public space dedicated to every citizen.

Concept Pop

By Ganzeer

Summer 2014

Pop Art is fun. But does it embody meaning? The same question can be asked of higher-brow Concept Art. Some Egyptian artists are taking objects like soda cans and bottle caps and making statements relevant to the masses. It could change everything.

After the Iran Nuclear Deal

By Seyed Hossein Mousavian

Summer 2014

The P5+1 talks are not just about Tehran’s atomic program. A comprehensive agreement should serve as a model for negotiations on a Middle East Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone.

Why Syria Matters

By Nader Hashemi

Spring 2014

Some 150,000 people have died in the revolt against the regime of President Bashar Al-Assad. Military, political and humanitarian intervention is needed to end the atrocities and prevent further destabilization in the Middle East.