What are the United States’ interests in the Middle East? Who and what determine those interests? And how are those interests pursued? This course addresses these questions in three parts. First, we will examine debates on what U.S. interests are in the Middle East, and the various actors and factors that shape policy outcomes. Next, we will examine pivotal American relationships in the Middle East, and debates regarding those relationships. Finally, we will examine key policy dilemmas during the administrations of Geroge W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Donald Trump. Students should leave this class with a strong understanding of the challenges that the U.S. faces in the Middle East, as well as an informed viewpoint regarding how the U.S. should address those challenges.
About the Instructor: Eric Trager is an expert on Egyptian politics and the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, and was the Esther K. Wagner Fellow at The Washington Institute until 2017. He was in Egypt during the 2011 anti-Mubarak revolts and returns frequently to conduct firsthand interviews with leaders in Egypt's government, military, political parties, media, and civil society. His writings have appeared in numerous publications, including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Foreign Affairs, the Atlantic, and the New Republic.
Trager is the author of Arab Fall: How the Muslim Brotherhood Won and Lost Egypt in 891 Days (Georgetown University Press, 2016) which chronicles the precipitous rise to power of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood, culminating in the election of President Mohamed Morsi in 2012, and its sudden demise just a year later. The book also assesses the current state of Egyptian politics and the prospects for a reemergence of the Brotherhood.