- 18 Mar 2014
OBAMA AND THE MIDDLE EAST: REBALANCING OR JUST STUMBLING ABOUT?
Abstract
With the region in turmoil, the global strategic balance shifting, and domestic challenges pressing, the Administration appears to be improvising. In Asia there is a widespread view that America is in decline globally, that the “tilt” to Asia is not serious and that this Administration is weak and confused. Is that view too harsh? No. We shall look at the US and the Arab uprisings, Iran and the Gulf, Al-Qa’ida, and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Is a “pax Americana” for the Middle East possible—or even necessary?
About the Speakers
Michael Hudson is Director of the Middle East Institute and Professor of Political Science at the National University of Singapore. He is also Professor Emeritus at Georgetown University, where he served as Director of the Center for Contemporary Arab Studies for many years. He has edited and contributed to numerous books, including Middle East Dilemma: The Politics and Economics of Arab Integration (Columbia University Press/CCAS, 1999), The Palestinians: New Directions (CCAS, 1990), and Alternative Approaches to the Arab-Israeli Conflict (CCAS, 1984). His other works include The Precarious Republic: Political Modernization in Lebanon (Random House, 1968, 1985) and Arab Politics: The Search for Legitimacy (Yale University Press, 1977), numerous chapters, and articles appearing in Middle East Journal, Middle East Policy, International Affairs, Comparative Politics, Al-Mustaqbil al-‘Arabi, and other scholarly journals. Hudson was awarded the 2011 Jere L. Bacharach Service Award from the Middle East Studies Association (MESA), of which he is a past president.
