The Center for Middle Eastern Studies at the University of California, Berkeley is pioneering a multi-disciplinary approach to the study of Middle East and North African (MENA) statecraft. MENA Foreign Policy is a research and teaching initiative that looks critically at the ways in which defense, diplomatic and development policies are conceived of and implemented. It asks a series of critical questions about security and statecraft: a) who defines "interests," b) how are interests translated into policy, and c) what are the effects of these policies on regional and international stability? In an age of expanding defense spending, what non-military, diplomatic and development options are available to statespersons and how does one evaluate their relative effectiveness (e.g. support for public health projects, educational reform, etc.)?
