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About the Event:

In the 20 years since 9/11, the Middle East and the U.S.’s approach to the region has dramatically changed. The toppling of Saddam Hussein altered a years long, imperfect balance of power, and helped to strengthen and embolden Iran. Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States have implemented varying degrees of reform; but they remain undemocratic monarchies with an increased willingness to use military force, such as in Yemen and Libya.

ISIS, Al Qaeda and other terrorist groups remain a dangerous threat to the region and the West. Little hope seems to exist for a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians; but certain nations in the region are far less concerned about the issue, than in decades past. With the exception of Tunisia, the Arab Spring has largely failed, and has perhaps allowed Russia and Iran to gain a bigger foothold in Syria and beyond.

Now with Russia and China both more deeply involved in the region, how can the U.S. maintain influence and manage the ongoing threat of another major terrorist attack on the nation? With the U.S. public war weary after over 7,000 American soldiers being killed in Iraq and Afghanistan and over $4 trillion spent, what are realistic objectives and policies that might be accepted by the American people?

About the Speaker:

Gregory Gause’s research focuses on the international politics of the Middle East, with a particular interest in the Arabian Peninsula and the Persian Gulf. He has written on the domestic politics of the Gulf monarchies and the phenomenon of monarchy in the region more generally, on oil and politics, on alliances and war decisions in the Middle East and on American foreign policy in the region.

He has published three books, the most recent of which is The International Relations of the Persian Gulf. His articles have appeared in Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, Security Studies, Middle East Journal, and The National Interest, as well as in other journals and edited volumes. He has testified on Persian Gulf issues before the Committee on International Relations of the US House of Representatives and the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

He is a professor and head of the Department of International Affairs in the Bush School of Government and Public Service, and a faculty affiliate with the Energy Institute and with the Albritton Center for Grand Strategy at Texas A&M. Gause earned an A.B. in politics (summa cum laude) from Saint Joseph University in Beirut and a Ph.D. in government from Harvard University.