The Government has responded to the unfolding humanitarian crisis in the Middle East by announcing Australia will take an additional 12,000 refugees fleeing Syria and Iraq in 2015-16, which Foreign Minister Julie Bishop claims amounts to the single larges

Despite the Arab uprisings of the last decade, most countries in the Middle East remain in the grip of autocrats, with a widespread view that this is the 'default setting' for the region.

At a superficial level, Australia’s interests in the Middle East seem to be little more than providing military ballast to support the imperial or global ambitions of great powers. This paper concludes that Australia’s strategic interests are more effectively achieved through an active and well-resourced...

The Department of Agriculture is conducting a Regulation Impact Statement (RIS) process to analyse the economic and regulatory impacts of policy options for the future regulation of live sheep exports to, or through, the Middle East. This discussion paper outlines some initial policy option ideas.

This paper assesses the changing dynamics in the US-Iran relationship, the crisis in the Persian Gulf, the importance of Iran to India and how the US-Iran situation is affecting Indian interests.

This paper argues that contrary to the belief that President Trump and some of his advisers hold, a war with Iran will not be quick and surgical, or end in a matter of days. Nor will Iran absorb any attack without conducting devastating counterstrikes against...

There is growing concern about Iranian threats to Persian Gulf countries, particularly Saudi Arabia. This briefing paper assesses the Iranian threat to Saudi Arabia by answering several questions. What types of strategies, tactics, and capabilities could Iran use against Saudi Arabia? What are potential critical...

This report examines the common economic factors that continue to drive conflict in Iraq, Libya, Syria and Yemen. It also makes specific recommendations to Western policymakers addressing these types of sub-economies in detail.

This paper argues that the Trump Administration’s Middle East policy has been significantly weakened by the inability of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to form a government, and the Arab, Muslim and Gulf Co-operation Council insistence on a “two-state” solution.

This paper argues that Saudi King Salman’s recent emergency meetings may have been in response to attacks on Saudi assets, but it is likely that his goals will be overtaken by larger ones that could be played out on a much-larger scale.