Marc Lynch (George Washington University) details the United States’ disastrously failed approach to the post–Cold War Middle East, where aspirations for US leadership and a calm region have only produced war, instability and humanitarian catastrophe. It exposes the failure of each president’s efforts to transform the Middle East in America’s image, or pivot away from the region; Washington’s refusal to take seriously the views of Middle Easterners; and its fantasy of forging a regional order ‘without’ the Palestinian issue. Moving between American politics and Middle Eastern realities, it explains why US policy has not changed despite wide recognition of its horrifying human costs and constant failures.
Marc Lynch is a professor of political science at George Washington University and director of the Project on Middle East Political Science. His recent books include What is the Middle East?: The Theory and Practice of Regions; Order and Region Making in the Middle East; and The Political Science of the Middle East. He also writes the popular blog Abu Aardvark and runs the Middle East Political Science Podcast.
