Biography
Annelle Sheline, Ph.D., is a nonresident fellow with the Baker Institute Center for the Middle East, as well as a research fellow for the Middle East at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft. Her research focuses on religious authority in the Middle East, specifically the intersection of religious and national identities in the Arab monarchies. She analyzes the implications of combating violent extremism and encouraging religious tolerance in Jordan, Morocco, Oman and Saudi Arabia. In addition to academic writing, her public commentary has appeared in The Washington Post, The Global Post and Georgetown University’s Berkley Center for Religion, Peace & World Affairs. Sheline received her doctorate from George Washington University’s department of political science and her bachelor’s degree from New York University’s Gallatin School of Individualized Study.
Contact at [email protected] or 202-279-0005.
Recent Publications
The Saudi Crown Prince Wants to Build a Trillion-Dollar Utopia in the Desert
“We're not yet seeing quite the same degree of sort of physical surveillance [in Saudi Arabia] as we've been seeing in China, for example, but China is working with the Saudis and other Gulf countries to start to implement that,” nonresident fellow Annelle Sheline told Insider of China's involvement in Saudi's futuristic Neom project.
Iran-Saudi Arabia Deal Not a Setback For U.S., Analysts Say
U.S. officials say diplomacy is the best way to address Iran’s nuclear program, but Washington has not ruled out a military option against Iran’s nuclear facilities. “It would certainly not be in the U.S. interest to get dragged into a war between Israel and Iran, which is the way things seem to be going for the past several weeks and months,” fellow Annelle Sheline told Al Jazeera.
China Brokers Agreement Between Iran and Saudi Arabia, Sidelining United States
The agreement between Iran and Saudi Arabia may also be part of “a Saudi effort to extract maximum concessions from the U.S.,” fellow Annelle Sheline says. “Riyadh’s decision to normalize with Tehran, under the auspices of Beijing, may be primarily aimed at Washington.”