Great Powers and Geostrategy

Analyzing Great Power engagement with the Middle East and the region’s geostrategic questions

Most analysts note the growing Russian and Chinese presence in the Middle East and presume that the Great Powers will increasingly compete for influence there, given the region’s energy reserves and security vulnerabilities. Yet, even now, the Great Powers see the Middle East differently from each other. Changes in the global energy mix, demographics, trade patterns, and other factors are likely to heighten those differences in the coming decades. The Middle East Program examines evolving trends in Great Power-Middle East engagement, as well as Great Power conflict and collaboration within the region, with a focus on geostrategy.

 

Featured Analysis

Photo: JACK GUEZ/AFP/Getty Images

Photo: JACK GUEZ/AFP/Getty Images

When Our Middle East Friends Talk, They Talk about Hedging

Dr. Jon Alterman discusses how uncertainty in a changing global environment is driving Middle Eastern countries to hedge between regional rivals, as well as between the United States and China.

Commentary by Jon B. Alterman — February 22, 2022

Photo: Frederic J. BROWN/AFP/Getty Images

Photo: Frederic J. BROWN/AFP/Getty Images

The Vital Triangle

Book by Jon B. Alterman and John W. Garver

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The Middle East’s Coming Centrality

Dr. Jon Alterman discusses the Middle East’s likely future on the world stage as the energy transition looms on the horizon.

Commentary by Jon B. Alterman — September 20, 2022

Photo: HAIDAR MOHAMMED ALI/AFP/Getty Images

The Middle East Transition We Need to Talk About

Dr. Jon B. Alterman calls attention to a transition in the Middle East that receives little attention, and how the United States can help regional states approach the looming changes to the benefit of U.S. strategic interests.

Commentary by Jon B. Alterman — July 21, 2022

Photo: MOHAMED EL-SHAHED/AFP/Getty Images

Rethinking Saudi Arabia

Dr. Jon Alterman discusses progress and setbacks in Saudi Arabia's sociopolitical reform efforts and what these mean for U.S. engagement (or disengagement) with the kingdom in the future.

Commentary by Jon B. Alterman — June 23, 2022

Photo: FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP/Getty Images

The Middle East’s Indifference to Ukraine Is a Warning

CSIS's Jon Alterman examines the unwillingness of U.S. partners in the Middle East to choose sides over the Russian invasion of Ukraine and its implications for great power competition with Russia and China.

Commentary by Jon B. Alterman — May 12, 2022

Photo: MIKHAIL KLIMENTYEV/RIA NOVOSTI KREMLIN POOL/AFP/Getty Images
Babel: U.S. Power and Influence in the Middle East

U.S. Power and Influence in the Middle East: Part Six

Jon explores how people and governments in the Middle East see the United States, and what they want from U.S. policy in the region.

Podcast Episode by Jon B. Alterman — April 12, 2022

CSIS Babel U.S. in the Middle East
Babel: U.S. Power and Influence in the Middle East

U.S. Power and Influence in the Middle East: Part Five

Jon explores U.S. soft power in the Middle East and what makes American culture, ideals, and institutions so attractive.

Podcast Episode by Jon B. Alterman — April 5, 2022

CSIS Babel U.S. in the Middle East
Babel: U.S. Power and Influence in the Middle East

U.S. Power and Influence in the Middle East: Part Four

Jon explores U.S. diplomacy in the Middle East and how U.S. policymakers think about the use of diplomatic tools. 

Podcast Episode by Jon B. Alterman — March 29, 2022

CSIS Babel U.S. in the Middle East
Babel: U.S. Power and Influence in the Middle East

U.S. Power and Influence in the Middle East: Part Three

Jon explores how the United States has used its economic toolkit in the Middle East, and how sanctions and development aid have been in advancing U.S. interests in the Middle East. 

Podcast Episode by Jon B. Alterman — March 22, 2022

CSIS Babel U.S. in the Middle East
Babel: U.S. Power and Influence in the Middle East

U.S. Power and Influence in the Middle East: Part Two

Jon Alterman explores how the last two decades of heightened U.S. military involvement in the Middle East changed the region, and the U.S. military. 

Podcast Episode by Jon B. Alterman and Eliot A. Cohen — March 15, 2022

CSIS Babel U.S. in the Middle East