home > the cfr think tank > experts > steven a. cook
Hasib J. Sabbagh Senior Fellow for Middle Eastern Studies
Contact Info:
Phone: +1-202-509-8620
E-mail: scook@cfr.org
Location:
Washington, DC
Media downloads:
High-resolution photo (JPG, 313K)
One-page bio (PDF, 56K)
Video clip (WMV, 715K)
Author of Ruling But Not Governing: The Military and Political Development in Egypt, Algeria, and Turkey. Directed the Council-sponsored Independent Task Force on U.S. policy toward reform in the Arab world. Currently writing a book on the future of U.S.-Egypt relations.
Expertise:Politics in the Arab world; U.S.-Middle East policy; Turkish politics; civil-military relations in the Middle East; Arab-Israeli conflict.
Experience:Instructor, University of Pennsylvania (2004); Research Fellow, Brookings Institution (2001-2002); Soref Research Fellow, Washington Institute for Near East Policy (1995-96).
Languages:Arabic (fluent); Turkish (working knowledge); French (reading comprehension).
Honors:Brookings Research Fellowship (2001-2002); Institute of Turkish Studies Research/Writing Fellowship (2001-2002); Boren Fellowship (1999-2000).
Selected Publications:"Why Israel Won't Attack Iran" (op-ed, Foreign Policy, June 9, 2009) ; "Adrift on the Nile" (Foreign Affairs, March/April 2009); "Israel Must Learn the Limits of Bombing and Violence in Palestine" (op-ed, U.S. News & World Report, January 5, 2009).
Television Interviews:
Charlie Rose: Hosni Mubarak meets with President Obama (August 18, 2009)
Good Morning America: July 2006 war between Lebanon and Israel (Summer 2006)
Related Links:
"The Evolving Turkish Role Mideast Peace Diplomacy" (Expert Brief, April 7, 2009)
"Turkey’s Local Elections: Erdogan’s Miscalculation" (Middle East Progress, April 2, 2009)
Current Research Projects
Past Research Projects
January 20, 2010
Interview
New strains in the Israeli-Turkish relationship stem from Turkey's concerns over conditions in Gaza and sloppy diplomacy on both sides, says CFR's Steven A. Cook.
See more in Turkey, Israel, International Peace and Security
December 4, 2009
Expert Brief
Despite improved bilateral ties between the U.S. and Turkey, there are still significant differences that need to be managed when Prime Minister Erdogan visits the White House, writes CFR's Steven Cook.
See more in Turkey, Middle East, International Peace and Security
November 16, 2009
Op-Ed
The New Republic
Steven Cook asks if Palestinian leadership is going to use violence against Israel as a means to strengthen domestic support and gain a political advantage.
See more in Israel, Palestinian Authority, Conflict Assessment, Culture and Foreign Policy
November 12, 2009
Audio
Listen to CFR's Steven A. Cook discuss the Israel-Palestinian conflict in light of the release of the Goldstone Report, which was recently completed by the UN Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict, as part of CFR's Religion and Foreign Policy Conference Call series.
See more in Israel, Palestinian Authority, Religion
October-November 2009
Article
International Institute for Strategic Studies
Steven Cook discusses the political instability in Turkey and its implications for peace in the Middle East.
See more in Turkey, Middle East, International Peace and Security
September 23, 2009
Interview
CFR's Steven A. Cook says it was significant that President Barack Obama was pressing for "permanent status negotiations" between Israel and Palestine and not another interim accord, but adds that "the conditions on the ground don't lend themselves to progress."
See more in Israel, Public Diplomacy
August 19, 2009
Interview
CFR Mideast expert Steven A. Cook says Egypt and the United States have moved to end their estrangement but haven't made much progress in advancing Arab-Israeli peace.
See more in Egypt, U.S. Strategy and Politics
August 2009
Other Report
Egypt is now entering a period of political transition with the expectation that President Hosni Mubarak's almost twenty-eight-year tenure will shortly come to an end. This Center for Preventive Action Contingency Planning Memorandum assesses the possibility of a troubled leadership succession or an Islamist push for political power, the implications for the United States, and policy steps the U.S. government might take depending on what it determines as its broader policy objectives in Egypt.
See more in Egypt
June 9, 2009
Op-Ed
Foreign Policy
Steven A. Cook explores the question, "Why haven't the Israelis attacked Iran's nuclear facilities?"
See more in Iran, Israel, U.S. Strategy and Politics
June 4, 2009
Interview
CFR Mideast expert Steven A. Cook says President Obama's Cairo speech effectively addressed issues at the core of U.S.-Muslim tensions. But sustaining a constructive dialogue will be a challenge, he says.
See more in United States, Middle East
June 2, 2009
Interview
CFR Middle East expert Steven A. Cook says President Obama's trip to Saudi Arabia and Egypt will attempt to bring new energy to resolving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, and is likely to deliver a message on democracy in the Muslim world.
See more in Middle East, Diplomacy
June 2, 2009
Audio
Listen to CFR experts Mohamad Bazzi and Steven Cook discuss the June 7, 2009 parliamentary elections and the future of Lebanon.
See more in Lebanon
June 2, 2009, Washington D.C.
Transcript
In this teleconference with Steven A. Cook, Mohamad Bazzi provides an overview of the upcoming elections in Lebanon, and puts forward several post-election scenarios.
See more in Lebanon, Elections
May 31, 2009
Op-Ed
Washington Post
Steven A. Cook discusses President Obama's speech in Cairo.
See more in Middle East, Egypt, U.S. Strategy and Politics
May 19, 2009
Interview
CFR Middle East expert Steven A. Cook says President Obama and Prime Minister Netanyahu wanted to project "a friendly partnership" in their White House meeting, but remain divided on a two-state solution and how to confront Iran.
April 2, 2009
Op-Ed
Middle East Bulletin
Steven A. Cook examines the decline in popular support for Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan's Justice and Development Party.
Updated: April 7, 2009
Expert Brief
CFR Senior Fellow Steven A. Cook argues that in an era of diminished resources for the United States, Turkey can play a critical and constructive role in the Middle East.
See more in Turkey, Middle East, International Peace and Security
March 24, 2009
Interview
Steven A. Cook, a Middle East expert, examines what a new Israeli government might mean for the country's political leaders and the regional peace process.
See more in Israel
March/April 2009
Foreign Affairs Article — Summary
Bruce Rutherford's Egypt After Mubarak is an ambitious effort to explain how the Muslim Brotherhood, the judiciary, and the business sector can work in parallel, if not exactly together, to influence Egypt's political future.
See more in Egypt
January 23, 2009
Audio
Listen to CFR experts reflect on the immediate challenges facing the Obama administration in the greater Middle East.
See more in Middle East, Global Governance, International Peace and Security
Explore the international oceans regime with a new interactive from CFR's program on International Institutions and Global Governance.
This report explores how international legal rules regarding military force might evolve to better meet the challenges of mass atrocities.
The authors of this CSR explain why the United States needs to place greater emphasis on preventive action and how current organizational arrangements can be changed to meet that need.
This report addresses pan-Asian and trans-Pacific architectures and guidelines for how the United States can revise its approach in order to consolidate and improve the efficacy of these Asian institutions.
Complete list of Council Special Reports
Through compelling analysis and rich historical examples that span the globe and range from the thirteenth century through the present, Charles A. Kupchan explores how adversaries can transform enmity into amity, and exposes prevalent myths about the causes of peace.
With the insights of geopolitical experts and investors, the authors examine Israel's adversity-driven culture to offer prescriptions for a global economy on the rebound.
Vali Nasr reveals that there is a vital but unseen rising force in the Islamic world—a new business-minded middle class—that is building a vibrant new Muslim world economy and that holds the key to winning the cold war against Iran and extremists.
Complete list of CFR Books
For more information on the David Rockefeller Studies Program, contact:
James M. Lindsay
Senior Vice President, Director of Studies, and Maurice R. Greenberg Chair
+1.212.434.9626 (NY); +1.202.509.8405 (DC)
jlindsay@cfr.org
Janine Hill
Deputy Director of Studies Administration
+1.212.434.9753
jhill@cfr.org
