Gulf Kaleidoscope

by Jon B Alterman

Published 15 July 2012
Gulf Kaleidoscope: Reflections on the Iranian Challenge analyzes potential U.S. strategies toward Iran and how different international actors are likely to respond to the U.S. pursuit of those strategies. Succinct chapters describe three principal approaches toward Iran: engagement, containment, and deterrence. The volume then goes on to analyze how key parties-Israel, Iran's Gulf Arab neighbors, and the rising powers of Turkey, China, India, and Russia, as well as the Iranians themselves-would likely respond to each strategy.

Citizens in Training

by Jon B Alterman and Margo Balboni

Published 20 October 2017
The U.S. Marines made famous their search for "a few good men." The United Arab Emirates (UAE), however, wants all its men-from the ages of 18 to 30-to experience the discipline and rigors of military life. To that end, for reasons of national security, nation-building, and societal development, the UAE has instituted a universal conscription program, a rarity in the modern world of nations. This report is the most extensive effort to date to define and to understand the UAE conscription program-its successes, failures, and possible unintended consequences. The report outlines the circumstances influencing the UAE's decision to impose military service for male citizens as a framework for an ambitious array of defense, nation-building, and human capital aims. Included in the report are details of the UAE's program with a focus on important innovations, initial results, and relevant implications.

Rocky Harbors

by Jon B Alterman

Published 5 May 2015
This new edited volume analyzes the Middle East's political, strategic, and economic realities in 2015, looking at both old and new challenges, how political actors are evolving, and how policymakers can think strategically about the region.