Carrot Versus Stick: Encouraging Private Collections to Self-Audit Collections for Looted Cultural Property
There is no question that the serious legal consequences of acquiring looted cultural property—either purposefully or accidentally—is often a sufficient deterrent for private collectors to avoid pursuing artifacts from countries...
Strategies of Reform: Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates
Since their inception, the Gulf monarchies have cultivated their oil wealth as a means of geopolitical power. They have leveraged this power for their own development, while insulating themselves from the destabilizing elements...
Revanchist Regimes of the New Middle East: Authoritarians on the Offensive
The modern Middle East has been wracked by chaos and instability. The hopes and aspirations of the Arab Spring and, in Turkey’s case, the liberalizing of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government, have given way to...
Charged Affairs Fall 2017 Content Call – Deadline Extended
Prompt: Sixteen years later, the war in Afghanistan rages on with no clear end in sight. What can the international community do to achieve an enduring solution while denying terrorists safe havens in Afghanistan? We believe that...
Why are European Countries Investing in Iran?
Post-sanctions, Iran may prove to be an emerging market for European Investors. On July 3, France’s biggest oil and gas company, Total, signed a multibillion-dollar deal to expand the development of Iran’s South Pars gas field,...
The Qatar Crisis and the Future of the GCC
Qatar is no stranger to escalation from its fellow members of the Gulf Cooperation Council. In 2014, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain recalled their ambassadors, and severed ties with the country for “meddling...
Why Resettling Syrian Refugees Matters
Since the 2011 onset of the Syrian war, more than 4.5 million of 22.8 million Syrians have become refugees. As millions flee armed conflict, violent extremism, chemical weapons, and barrel bombs, the question of where they go...
The Hobby Lobby Settlement and Combating Cultural Property Trafficking
On July 5, 2017, prosecutors for the Eastern District of New York announced a settlement with Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. for its purchase and importation of Iraqi artifacts in violation of applicable customs laws. Hobby Lobby, a...
Kurdistan’s Desire for Statehood is Still Alive—Here’s Why
Iraqi Kurdistan President Masoud Barzani issued a historic document on June 28 in which he announced a referendum for independence of Iraqi Kurdistan set on September 25. With ISIS control fading quickly, diplomatic drama in...
The Mental Health Crisis in Syria: A Major Gap in Humanitarian Medical Response
The civil war in Syria has led to a significant increase in the number of Syrians battling mental disorders. These include anxiety disorders, depression, post-traumatic stress disorders (PTSD), and developmental problems....