Middle East Research and Information Project

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Formation	1971; 54 years ago (1971)
Website	merip.org

The Middle East Research and Information Project (MERIP) is a non-profit independent research group established in 1971, that publishes critical, alternative reporting and analysis, focusing on state power, political economy and social hierarchies as well as popular struggles and the role of US policy in the region. Its most prominent publication is Middle East Report, which has been published both online and as a print magazine, and is now fully online and open access.^[1]

Originally started by a group of anti-Vietnam War activists,^[2] MERIP began in 1971^[3] by releasing an irregularly scheduled six-page newsletter called the MERIP Reports. In 1973, the group began releasing the Reports on a scheduled basis. Joe Stork was the long-time editor of the Middle East Report until 1995.^[4] From 1995 until 2017 the executive director of MERIP and editor in chief of Middle East Report was Chris Toensing.^[5] From 2017 until 2019 the executive director was Steve Niva and from 2019 until 2024, the position was held by Mandy Terc. The current executive director is James Ryan.^[6]

Since 2022 MERIP has entered into a partnership with the Institute for Arab and Islamic Studies at the University of Exeter whereby Exeter has agreed to house the positions of executive editor and managing editor.^[7]

MERIP is partners with the independent publishing house Pluto Press. In a press release, Pluto described their shared interests: "the mission of both organizations is to empower and educate people with alternative viewpoints on such a contested and important area of the world."^[8]

• Official website