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Steven A. Cook

Hasib J. Sabbagh Senior Fellow for Middle Eastern Studies

Expertise

Middle East; Politics in the Arab world; U.S.-Middle East policy; Turkish politics; civil-military relations in the Middle East; Arab-Israeli conflict.

Featured Publications

Book

Restoring the Balance

Authors: Richard N. Haass, Stephen Biddle, Ray Takeyh, Gary Samore, Steven A. Cook, Isobel Coleman, Steven Simon, Martin S. Indyk, Michael O’Hanlon, Kenneth M. Pollack, Suzanne Maloney, Bruce O. Riedel, Shibley Telhami, Tamara Cofman Wittes, and Daniel L. Byman

Experts from the Council on Foreign Relations and the Saban Center at the Brookings Institution propose a new, nonpartisan Middle East strategy drawing on the lessons of past failures to address both the short- and long-term challenges to U.S. interests.

See more in Middle East, Diplomacy

All Publications

Article

What Is Egypt?

Author: Steven A. Cook
Foreign Policy

Steven A. Cook writes, "As America's new secretary of state arrives in Cairo, it's still not clear the United States knows what it's dealing with."

Ask CFR Experts

Should the United States continue to provide economic aid to Egypt?

The Egyptian uprising presents a rare opportunity for the United States to resolve the tension between its strategic priorities in the Middle East and its desire to support democratic change in the region. Washington's past approach to aiding Egypt was based on relations with authoritarian leaders who could be counted on to advance the United States' interests. With the fall of Hosni Mubarak and Egyptian efforts to build a more open political system, a policy based on "authoritarian stability" is no longer possible, and the United States is now forced to alter the way it appropriates and distributes bilateral assistance.

Read full answer

See more in Egypt, Foreign Aid

Op-Ed

Morsi's Miscalculation

Author: Steven A. Cook
Daily Beast

Steven A. Cook says, "This is a critical moment in Egypt's transition; Morsi and his colleagues would do well to recognize that, rescind the decrees, and commit themselves to the democratic process. At this point, it is the only way for the Brothers to burnish their revolutionary credentials."

See more in Middle East, Egypt, Democratization

Video

Morsi's Iran Visit: Three Things to Know

Speaker: Steven A. Cook

Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi's visit to Iran signals a shift in his country's foreign policy away from Washington's influence, which, paradoxically, could have some positive upshots for the United States, says CFR's Steven Cook.

See more in Egypt

Op-Ed

Brother Knows Best

Author: Steven A. Cook
Foreign Policy

Steven A. Cook says Egypt's new president, Mohamed Morsy, is outsmarting the generals, looking to be "much more than the weak transitional figure the SCAF has sought to make him."

See more in Middle East, Egypt