Since October 2023, escalating conflicts across the Gaza–Levant–Red Sea–Gulf arc have disrupted long-standing regional assumptions—undermining international law and the rule-based order, normalising cross-border force, eroding sovereignty, and compelling Gulf states to reassess defence postures, maritime security, and energy-infrastructure protection. 

The Next Middle East (NMI) initiative is a forward-looking project dedicated to addressing the shifting dynamics, challenges, and security concerns across the Middle East. In addition to analysing current developments in the region, its purpose is to present practical pathways and possibilities for de-confliction, de-escalation and dialogue, guided by the New Ground vision of moving towards a Shared and Responsible Future.  NMI challenges us to look past the immediate and the familiar, and to ask not only what is possible, but what is necessary, if the region is to build a future anchored in shared responsibility.