October 16-17, 2004

A New Middle East? The War on Terror and Its Regional Impact

A History Institute for Teachers

At the Gregg Conference Center, American College
Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania

As part of the War on Terrorism, the United States has launched several major initiatives intended to remake the Middle East. This has included the overthrow of Saddam and the political reconstruction of Iraq; the “Road Map” proposal for Israeli-Palestinian peace; a “forward strategy” to encourage democracy in the region; multilateral efforts to contain nuclear proliferation; and a program to encourage economic growth. All told, it is the most ambitious policy ever attempted to transform the prospects of a region sunk in a generation of economic stagnation, religious turmoil, and violent conflicts. What impact has the War on Terrorism made on the Middle East? Can we see any progress toward U.S. goals? Are we moving toward an end of conflicts and a rebirth of economic and political change, or the reverse?

To examine these questions, the Foreign Policy Research Institute’s Marvin Wachman Fund for International Education held a History Institute for Teachers on “A New Middle East?” Specially designed for secondary school teachers and curriculum supervisors, the weekend-long program featured a series of lectures by leading scholars.

You can find the complete list of topics and speakers as well as other information about the event itself from the original event announcement.

Papers

History Matters: Past as Prologue in Building Democracy in Iraq (115K , 16 pages) (published in Orbis, Spring 2005)
By Eric Davis
A New Middle East? (published as Footnotes, January 2005)
By Trudy Kuehner, rapporteur
Robert Kaplan on the New Middle East (published as E-Notes, December 17, 2004)
By Trudy Kuehner, rapporteur
U.S. Policy in the Middle East: On the Brink (published as E-Notes, January 12, 2005)
By Harvey Sicherman

Presentations

Economics, Demography & Oil: What’s Going On? (1472K Microsoft Powerpoint)
By Bernard Munk

Multimedia

Video: The Future of Saudi Arabia and What al-Qaeda Websites Tell Us, Michael Doran
Video: U.S. Policy Toward the Arab-Israeli Conflict, Harvey Sicherman

FPRI Wishes to Thank its 2011 Partners
Who help make all our programs possible.

On November 15th at the FPRI annual dinner Fouad Ajami was presented with the Seventh Annual Benjamin Franklin Public Service Award. The event was attended by over 360 people.
Dr. John M. Templeton, Jr. was dinner chairman.