Middle East
FOI’s Middle East Programme studies security policy developments in and around the Middle East, North Africa and the Eastern Mediterranean. The programme’s research focuses on great-power interests, ongoing conflicts and interstate tensions, energy issues and extremism. The emphasis is on issues of particular relevance to Sweden and Europe.

Photo: Sergey Ponomarev
The areas and themes that are continuously studied include:
- Great-power interests in the Middle East and North Africa.
- Developments around the Persian Gulf, with particular focus on Iran and Saudi Arabia.
- The Eastern Mediterranean, focusing on Turkey and its neighbours.
- Ongoing armed conflicts, for example in Syria and Libya.
The Middle East Programme also maintains a readiness to study other subjects and nearby regions when necessary, and often participates in cross-disciplinary studies with other competence groups at FOI.
The programme is based at FOI’s head office in Kista, and includes among its clients the Government Offices of Sweden, the Swedish Armed Forces and other government agencies.