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Crown Center

Upcoming Event
Book Talk with Shadi Hamid, author of Islamic Exceptionalism: How the Struggle over Islam is Reshaping the World
October 13, 2016 | 12-2pm | Heller School, Room G01

In the news: October 3, 2016 - Brigham Young University
The Middle East's Crisis of Overeducation
Nader Habibi, Henry J. Leir Professor of the Economics of the Middle East at the Crown Center, Brandeis University

Assessing the social, economic, and political roots of unemployment among university graduates in the Middle East and looking at the overpopulation of university graduates in Egypt, Iran, and Turkey, large portions of university graduating classes throughout the region are unable to find suitable employment in their fields. This leads to growing dissatisfaction and contributes to long-term social and economic unrest in the region...Watch More.

Listen to a post-talk interview with BYU Radio.

In the news: September 29, 2016 - The National Interest
Shimon Peres: A Great Statesman, a Tragic Politician
Shai Feldman, Judith and Sidney Swartz Director of the Crown Center and Professor of Politics, Brandeis University

Shimon Peres, who died on Tuesday at the age of ninety-three, was a one-of-a-kind biological and historical phenomenon. After all, other than Peres, can we name a single person who played a major role in the creation of a new state and who some sixty-five years later held what is formally the highest office of the state he helped create—the state’s presidency? ...Read More

Annual Kick Off Event
Beyond ISIS: What Should the Next U.S. President Know about the Middle East?
Missed the event? Check out the audio of a panel of Crown Center researchers and faculty discussing the most pressing issues in the Middle East.

Middle East Brief
Why Are Egyptian Youth Burning Their University Diplomas? The Overeducation Crisis in Egypt
Nader Habibi, Henry J. Leir Professor of the Economics of the Middle East at the Crown Center, Brandeis University
Fatma El-Hamidi, Adjunct Professor of Economics, GSPIA University of Pittsburgh

On September 11, 2015, Egyptian university graduates set their PhD and MBA certificates on fire to protest their inability to find suitable jobs with these advanced degrees. Paradoxically, the day before Egyptian high school students and their parents gathered to demand an increase in the admissions capacity of public universities. ...Read More

Middle East Brief
Repression and Protest in Saudi Arabia
Pascal Menoret, Renée and Lester Crown Professor of Modern Middle East Studies at the Crown Center and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Anthropology at Brandeis University.

For decades, the Saudi monarchy has propagated the notion that they are the only rampart against Islamism inside the country. This idea has become axiomatic internationally, and many analyses of Saudi Arabia have solely focused on the salience of the royal family. In this Brief, Pascal Menoret challenges conventional understandings of Saudi politics and reveals a very different picture. ...Read More

In the news: June 30, 2016 - The Conversation
How will Turkey’s failed coup and massive purge affect its economic future?
Nader Habibi,  Henry J. Leir Professor of the Economics of the Middle East at the Crown Center.

The failed July 15 coup in Turkey has prompted a tsunami of responses by the government that is likely to have a lasting impact on all aspects of politics and society, including the economy. In this article, Nader Habibi analyzes the risks the failed coup poses for Turkey's economy. ...Read More

In the news: June 30, 2016 - The Conversation
Why Iran’s anti-American hardliners want to buy US-made Boeings for Iran Air
Nader Habibi,  Henry J. Leir Professor of the Economics of the Middle East at the Crown Center.

Middle East Brief
From Maliki to Abadi: The Challenge of Being Iraq’s Prime Minister
Harith Hasan Al-Qarawee, Junior Research Fellow at the Crown Center where he is working on a book titled "Shiism and State in Iraq: Authority, Identity and Politics."

In this Brief, Harith Hasan Al-Qarawee reviews Abadi’s premiership thus far, examines the differences between Abadi’s and Maliki’s policies, and questions whether the transference of power from Maliki to Abadi has led to a significant change in Iraq’s political dynamics. ...Read More