LibGuides: Middle East Complexities: Culture and Conflict: Start Here

Use this guide to find and evaluate information and resources related to Middle East complexities.

Resources on this guide will help you understand and analyze the often conflicting cultural, religious, political, and historical forces at work in the Middle East. The guide started as a companion resource to FV's Spring 2015 Syria Global Gatherings.

Middle East & North Africa, Global Voices
Global Voices is an international, multilingual, primarily volunteer community of writers, translators, academics, and human rights activists. Together, we leverage the power of the internet to build understanding across borders.

Refugees: Coronavirus COVID-19 Pandemic

As epidemic menaces refugee camps, the Middle East’s most vulnerable face a deepening nightmare
Mddle East section of the Washington Post
Live blog: Refugees in the COVID-19 crisis, UNHCR
The UN Refugee Agency
Refugee Camps Face COVID-19: 'If We Do Nothing, The Harm Is Going To Be So Extreme, NPR
From Goats and Soda, NPR's global health and development blog.
more...less...
We tell stories of life in our changing world, focusing on low- and middle-income countries. And we keep in mind that we're all neighbors in this global village.
You Can’t Practice Social Distancing if You’re a Refugee
International Rescue Committee

Maps that Explain the Middle East

Gulf2000 Project - Maps and Statistics Collections

All maps and their accompanying texts that are hosted by this Gulf/2000 web site are original, authored and produced by Dr. Michael Izady who retains exclusive copyright. The maps may be used for personal and educational use, crediting Dr. Izady as author and Gulf2000 as host. Maps are frequently upgraded by Dr. Izady, who offers educational programs and risk strategies training to members of all branches of the United States Armed Forces, including the U. S. State Department.

Forty Maps that Explain the Middle East, by Max Fischer, hosted by Vox

Maps can be a powerful tool for understanding the world, particularly the Middle East, a place in many ways shaped by changing political borders and demographics. Select this link to view 40 maps crucial for understanding the Middle East — its history, its present, and some of the most important stories in the region today.

Afternoon Map's Comprehensive Map List

The Afternoon Map's Comprehensive Map List is a must-see resource.

logo of Afternoon Nap Cartography Blog

Afternoon Map's Comprehensive Map List
A Cartograpy Blog. Because looking at history is easier than reading it...includes maps, podcast, articles and more. Mission: Our mission is and will always be to make Afternoon Map the number one Ottoman/Turkish/Middle Eastern/Balkan cartography blog on the internet by bringing you a range of original, visually appealing and intellectually engaging maps harvested from archives and libraries around the world. Originally created by Nick Danforth while he was a doctoral candidate in Turkish history at Georgetown University.
Where is the Middle East?
Scoll down page and click to view an excellent presentation by CCSMEMC. Maps are used to illustrate the lack of consensus among governments, international organizations, and scholars regarding how to define the Middle East or even whether to use that term. The instability of the concept “Middle East” points to the need to break down traditional area studies barriers.

Middle East Friendship Chart

The Middle East Friendship Chart

With overlapping civil wars in Syria and Iraq, a new flare-up of violence between Israel and the Palestinians, and tense nuclear talks with Iran, Middle Eastern politics are more volatile than ever and longtime alliances are shifting. Here's a guide to who's on whose side in the escalating chaos. Joshua Keating is a staff writer at Slate focusing on international affairs and writes the World blog. Select title link below for interactive access to the chart; click on a cell for additional information.