Conference on U.S.-Middle East Relations

The Middle East remains a critical focus of U.S. foreign policy, despite recent debates about whether America should pull back from the region and focus on other parts of the world.

This half-day conference, co-sponsored by the Edward P. Djerejian Center for the Middle East and the Middle East Institute, examined the future of relations between the United States and the Middle East — particularly Iran.

In the first panel, experts explored how global energy and economic dynamics, combined with broader geopolitical shifts driven by the rise of China and Russia’s recent aggression, have recast the role of the Middle East and its significance to the United States.

The second panel narrowed in on U.S.-Iran relations. Experts discussed how regional security and political tensions impact the prospects of an Iran nuclear deal, as well as how the current protests in the country will affect internal dynamics and Iran's external posturing.

Follow @Baker_EPDCtrME on Twitter, and join the conversation with #BakerMiddleEast.

Registration

Registration is closed.

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Agenda

9:00 am	Breakfast
9:15 am	Welcome Remarks Paul Salem, Ph.D. President and CEO, Middle East Institute The Honorable David M. Satterfield Director, Baker Institute; Former Ambassador to Lebanon and Turkey
9:30 am	Panel I — Why the Middle East Continues to Matter to America and the World Moderator: Brian Katulis, Vice President of Policy, Middle East Institute F. Gregory Gause III, Ph.D. Professor of International Affairs and John H. Lindsey ‘44 Chair, the Bush School of Government and Public Service, Texas A&M University Dalia Dassa Kaye, Ph.D. Senior Political Scientist, UCLA's Burkle Center for International Relations; Former Director, Center for Middle East Public Policy, RAND Corporation Jim Krane, Ph.D. Wallace S. Wilson Fellow for Energy Studies, Baker Institute Paul Salem, Ph.D. President and CEO, Middle East Institute
11:00 am	Panel II — Assessing Iran’s Future: The JCPOA and the Current Protests Moderator: The Honorable David M. Satterfield, Director, Baker Institute; Former Ambassador to Lebanon and Turkey Suzanne Maloney, Ph.D. Vice President and Director, Foreign Policy Program, Brookings Institution Mohammad Ayatollahi Tabaar, Ph.D. Fellow for the Middle East, Baker Institute; Associate Professor of International Affairs, Bush School of Government and Public Service, Texas A&M University Kristian Coates Ulrichsen, Ph.D. Fellow for the Middle East, Baker Institute Alex Vatanka Director of Iran Program and Senior Fellow, Frontier Europe Initiative, Middle East Institute
12:30 pm	Adjourn