A sweeping account of Egypt in the modern era: what Egypt is, what it stands for, and its relation to the world.

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.

A critical examination of how the legacies of military control in Egypt, Algeria, and Turkey affect political development in these countries, highlighting the often-overlooked difficulties of promoting democratic change in military-dominated political systems.

Steven A. Cook states that Iran's development of a nuclear weapon won't spur its neighbors to get the bomb.

Steven A. Cook says that to avoid the traps of their history, Egyptians must be committed to a new constitution and an independent parliament.

A year after President Hosni Mubarak's ouster from power, U.S.-Egypt relations are under threat as Cairo presses charges against U.S. nongovernmental pro-democracy workers. CFR's Steven A. Cook discusses the implications this has for U.S. aid to Egypt.

Steven A. Cook says another year of struggle is to be expected in Egypt, as Egypt's future rests with two familiar powers playing very unfamiliar roles: the military and the Muslim Brotherhood.

Steven A. Cook says that if the world wants to see the end of Bashar al-Assad, it will likely require international intervention.

With Islamists apparently gaining the most seats in Egypt's parliament, CFR's Steven Cook spells out challenges in the transition process, including the writing of a new constitution.

Steven A. Cook says Egypt is spinning out of control, and both the military junta and the protesters in the street are to blame.

The winner of the 2012 U.S. presidential election will likely confront a greatly changed Middle East political landscape due to ongoing civillian upheaval, says Steven A. Cook, CFR's senior fellow for Middle Eastern studies. This video is part of a special Council on Foreign Relations series that explores the top foreign policy issues debated in the run-up to the 2012 elections.

Marc Lynch and Steven A. Cook warn that Washington should not be fooled by the peace that has returned to Egyptian streets after the recent Parliamentary elections.

Egypt's military appears to be pursuing a divide-and-rule approach to defuse mass protests ahead of planned November 28 polls, but this may backfire, says CFR's Steven A. Cook.

Steven A. Cook says the military junta in Cairo has done a dismal job ruling Egypt, and now it's paying the price.

In a region buffeted by change, Turkey is developing into a Middle East model and leader. Cooperation on Kurdish separatists and on a NATO radar base signal warming ties with the Obama administration, says CFR's Steven A. Cook.

Egypt's 2011 revolution marks the latest chapter in Egyptians' longtime struggle for greater democratic freedoms. In this video, Steven A. Cook, CFR's Hasib J. Sabbagh senior fellow for Middle Eastern studies and author of "The Struggle for Egypt", identifies the lessons that Egypt's emerging leadership must learn from the Nasser, Sadat, and Mubarak regimes.

A sweeping account of Egypt in the modern era: what Egypt is, what it stands for, and its relation to the world.

Steven Cook, Hasib J. Sabbagh Senior Fellow for Middle Eastern Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations discusses the prospects and implications of the Palestinian bid for UN recognition of statehood. Cook cautions that "an American veto or American opposition to this declaration of statehood is likely to roil already intense and uncertain and unstable political environments throughout the region."

Steven A. Cook says that Egypt's seemingly tortured present actually reveals something relatively healthy—the normalization of politics.

Steven A. Cook discusses Turkish domestic politics after the uprisings.

The trial of former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak has sparked a debate in Egypt about retributive justice versus the rule of law, which will be among the many issues to play out in the fall's parliamentary elections, says CFR's Steven A. Cook.

This video is part of a special Council on Foreign Relations series that explores how 9/11 changed international relations and U.S. foreign policy. In this video, Steven Cook, Hasib J. Sabbagh Senior Fellow for Middle Eastern Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations discusses how the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 transformed the United States' Middle East policy. Cook argues the attacks led to the conclusion that "authoritarian stability -- that is, relying on authoritarian leaders in the region to help create a political order that made it relatively easier for the United States to pursue its interests in the region -- was perhaps no longer appropriate." Instead, U.S. policy has been devoted from that point on to "fostering democratic change in the Middle East."

Steven A. Cook discusses the resignation of Turkey's general staff.