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Expert Bio
Steven A. Cook is Eni Enrico Mattei senior fellow for Middle East and Africa studies and director of the International Affairs Fellowship for Tenured International Relations Scholars at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). He is an expert on Arab and Turkish politics as well as U.S.-Middle East policy. Cook is the author of False Dawn: Protest, Democracy, and Violence in the New Middle East; The Struggle for Egypt: From Nasser to Tahrir Square, which won the 2012 gold medal from the Washington Institute for Near East Policy; and Ruling but Not Governing: The Military and Political Development in Egypt, Algeria, and Turkey. Oxford University Press is publishing his next book, The End of Ambition: America’s Past, Present, and Future in the Middle East.
Cook is a columnist at Foreign Policy magazine. He has also published widely in international affairs journals, opinion magazines, and newspapers, and is a frequent commentator on radio and television. His work can also be found on CFR.org.
Prior to joining CFR, Cook was a research fellow at the Brookings Institution (2001–02) and a Soref research fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy (1995–96).
Cook holds a BA in international studies from Vassar College, an MA in international relations from Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies, and an MA and a PhD in political science from the University of Pennsylvania. He speaks Arabic and Turkish and reads French.
Affiliations:
- Foreign Policy, columnist
- International Capital Strategies, senior advisor
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Egypt remains reluctant to welcome Palestinians seeking to flee Gaza as Israel prepares a retaliatory offensive against Hamas, and hopes of a Cairo-mediated cease-fire remain premature. Here’s what’s behind Egypt’s position.
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The shocking assault by Gaza militants on Israel will trigger massive retaliation from Israeli forces and likely have region-wide security repercussions.
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Half a century later, Egypt regards its brief war with Israel as an important military milestone that initially bolstered its leaders, though in recent years, Egypt has weakened under repressive, ineffective rule.
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The Israeli parliament’s new legislation limiting Supreme Court oversight of government policies has raised alarm over deepening societal divisions and potential democratic backsliding.
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Turkey’s presidential runoff election set for May 28 appears to favor longtime incumbent President Recep Tayyip Erdogan with little chance that he will ease up on his authoritarian ways.
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On the two-decade anniversary of the U.S. invasion, Iraq is weakly governed, leaving it prone to instability and meddling by neighbors—especially Iran.
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