RAND Center for Middle East Public Policy (CMEPP)
The Center for Middle East Public Policy (CMEPP) provides expertise on the Middle East that is second to none. Our analysts are in touch with vital political, social, economic, and technological developments in and around the region. Through research and analysis of the highest caliber, we help public and private decisionmakers solve problems, tackle challenges, and identify options to make society safer, smarter, and more prosperous. RAND's worldwide reputation for excellence and objectivity ensures our voice will be heard.
Our Goal Is to Make a Difference
CMEPP's work addresses the most pressing issues facing the Middle East. Drawing on RAND's rigorous, impartial, analytic capabilities and concepts, our analysts pursue projects that have the following objectives:
- supporting political and social reforms in the Middle East
- fostering mutual understanding between the people of the Middle East and the United States
- encouraging peaceful resolution of conflicts in the Middle East
- developing programs to help youth in the Middle East
Not only does our research reach the highest levels of government, but private sector clients have turned to us as well. We have advised numerous and varied organizations about military, economic, social, and political affairs throughout the region. Interactions on the ground in the region are important to our approach. CMEPP senior analysts and board members travel frequently to the region, and RAND/CMEPP has established an office in Qatar.
CMEPP Focuses RAND's Greatest Strengths on the Middle East's Greatest Challenges
CMEPP's integrative approach to Middle East analysis is unrivaled. Unlike other research organizations, our size permits us to assemble interdisciplinary teams of experts from diverse fields who apply advanced independent analysis to complex problems.
Current and prospective studies include:
- Helping a Palestinian State Succeed – this is a three-year multi-million dollar study of what is required for a viable state in fields such as governance, internal security, economy, water, education, health and infrastructure.
- Supporting Moderate Muslim Networks – this will develop proposals to help moderate muslims in their battle of ideas with extremists
- Strengthening the Middle East and Islamic Studies in America - This prospective study will examine the state of Middle East and Islamic studies in U.S. academic institutions. The Cold War spawned a dramatic expansion of Russian communist and Eastern European study programs, fellowships, research institutions and centers. 9/11 has produced no comparable response. The study will be aimed at proposals for the government, academic institutions and foundations.
- A Survival Kit for Child Victims of the War in Afghanistan and Iraq - Building on a successful program with Sesame Street, CMEPP will seek support for developing educational materials. This project would focus on materials tailored to helping children traumitized by conflicts in those countries.
- The Transition to Democracy in the Middle East - This study will examine the dynamics and challenges of encouraging democracy in countries of high national interest and potentially fragile political institutions such as Egypt and Saudi Arabia.
World-Class Talent Shapes the RAND Legacy of Achievement
CMEPP is part of RAND, one of the world's most respected and influential think tanks. For over fifty years, RAND has provided high-quality, objective research on the most pressing public policy problems of the day. RAND's core value is quality-in the talent of its people, in the care we take in our research, in the tools we use, and in all of our projects, products, and fields of work. This quality is backed by a strict quality-assurance process, which enables RAND to stand behind CMEPP work.
Nearly 80 percent of RAND's more than 600 resident research professionals hold advanced degrees, most commonly the doctorate. Our regional expertise spans every continent, and RAND staff speak dozens of languages. Most are located in RAND's California headquarters while others are in RAND's Washington and Pittsburgh offices, our Council for Aid to Education in New York City, RAND Europe Headquarters in Leiden, Netherlands, RAND Europe-Berlin, Germany, and RAND Europe-Cambridge in the United Kingdom and RAND Doha.
Staff disciplines include economics, mathematics and statistics, medicine, law, business, physical sciences, engineering, social sciences, arts and letters, and computer science. This matchless breadth of learning enables RAND researchers to deal meaningfully with a vast array of global security and social policy issues, thereby contributing to the economic vitality, security, and quality of life around the world.
For more on RAND's research on the Middle East, read the essay RAND and Middle East Policy Analysis by RAND President and CEO Jim Thomson and RAND Executive Vice President Michael Rich.
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