Study Group on Reform and Security in the Muslim World

part of the Center for Conflict Analysis and Prevention, Muslim World Initiative

Mounting security challenges have raised concerns about how the United States can best promote political reform while safeguarding its security interests. Co-chaired by Larry Diamond and Francis Fukuyama, this Study Group, which culminated in the release of its final report in fall 2009, addressed this complex problem through a series of meetings that highlighted the interplay of security and reform in the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia.

USIP's Study Group on Reform and Security in the Muslim World began, which drew to a close in late 2009, aimed to develop a policy-relevant vision of how the United States should sustain and reassert its support for political reform in the Muslim world, while enhancing its security at home and abroad. Co-chaired by Larry Diamond and Francis Fukuyama, two of the leading experts on the regional and global security environment, the Study Group's findings were published in January 2010.

*Download the report "In Pursuit of Democracy and Security in the Greater Middle East.

The Study Group's final report represents the culmination of a series of expert working groups, each of which was inspired by a country-specific policy memo. USIP has convened an unparalleled group of core analysts to draft the policy memos:

Shuja Nawaz, formerly of the New York Times, on Pakistan
Nathan Brown, George Washington University, on Palestine
Eric Goldstein, Human Rights Watch, on the Maghreb
Amaney Jamal, Princeton University, on Jordan
April Longley Alley, National Defense University, on Yemen
Jean-Francois Seznec, Georgetown University, on the Gulf States
Samer Shehata, Georgetown University, on Egypt
Mona Yacoubian, U.S. Institute of Peace, on Lebanon

Daniel Brumberg, acting director of USIP's Muslim World Initiative and associate professor in Georgetown University's Department of Government, directs the Study Group's activities.