The Middle East is often understood as a violent, unstable, conflict-ridden region in which the United States sometimes intervenes — or fails to intervene — to provide security and order. This talk presents an alternative understanding of the Middle East as a transnationalized warscape characterized by perpetual (though not constant) war in which the US has long been an integral structural component. This approach, I argue, better explains the patterns of state failures, recurrent conflict, and authoritarian rule across the region, as well as the seeming failures of US foreign policy. 

ABOUT THE SPEAKER

Marc Lynch is Professor of Political Science at The George Washington University and the Director of the Project on Middle East Political Science. He is the author of The Arab Uprisings and The New Arab Wars, and co-editor of Making Sense of the Arab State.

Virtual to Public. Only those with an active Stanford ID with access to Encina E008 in Encina Hall may attend in person.