A sweeping narrative account of the last five years in the Middle East and a timely argument of how and why the Arab uprisings failed.
About the Expert
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.
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
- Institute of Turkish Studies, board member
- International Capital Strategies, senior advisor
Current Projects
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Public Health Threats and Pandemics
Countries across the globe continue to face the challenges presented by the novel coronavirus, Group of Twenty (G20) foreign and energy ministers meet virtually, and Israelis struggle to form a governing coalition. -
Steven A. Cook, CFR’s Eni Enrico Mattei senior fellow for Middle East and Africa studies and director of the International Affairs Fellowship for Tenured International Relations Scholars, sits down with James M. Lindsay to discuss the novel coronavirus’s impact in Egypt, Iran, Turkey, and other nations in the Middle East and North Africa.
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attempts to form a governing coalition, U.S. lawmakers seek billions of dollars in emergency coronavirus funding, and the world remembers Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 six years after its mysterious disappearance.
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Public Health Threats and Pandemics
COVID-19 continues to spread around the world, Israel holds its third national election in the past year, and U.S. Democratic presidential candidates compete on Super Tuesday. -
Tensions between the United States and Iran escalate after the killing of Iranian Major General Qasem Soleimani, Washington and Beijing finalize their “Phase One” trade deal, and Taiwan holds a pivotal presidential election.
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In this episode of our special Election 2020 series of The President’s Inbox, Steven A. Cook, Philip H. Gordon, and Ray Takeyh join host James M. Lindsay to discuss the killing of Qasem Soleimani and its consequences for the Middle East.
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Henri J. Barkey and Steven A. Cook sit down with James M. Lindsay to discuss the U.S. military withdrawal from northern Syria, the Turkish incursion, and the response from others in the region. Barkey is an adjunct senior fellow for Middle East studies at CFR and the Bernard L. and Bertha F. Cohen Chair in International Relations at Lehigh University. Cook is the Eni Enrico Mattei senior fellow for Middle East and Africa studies and director of the International Affairs Fellowship for Tenured International Relations Scholars at CFR.
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U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks at the ASEAN summit, Congress begins its August recess, and Muslims from around the world travel to Mecca for the hajj.
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Congress attempts to strike a deal to raise the debt ceiling, Cyprus observes the anniversary of the 1974 Turkish invasion, and the fiftieth anniversary of the moon landing is commemorated.
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Tensions between Iran and the United States persist, Osaka holds this year’s Group of Twenty summit, and U.S. President Donald J. Trump travels to South Korea.
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Chinese Premier Li Keqiang opens the annual session of the National People’s Congress, and White House senior advisor Jared Kushner travels to the Middle East ahead of Israel’s general election.
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Henri Barkey, senior fellow for Middle East studies at CFR and former member of the State Department Policy Planning Staff, and Steven Cook, the Eni Enrico Mattei senior fellow for Middle East and Africa studies at CFR, join James Lindsay to discuss Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the result of Turkey’s recent election.
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CFR's Steven A. Cook joins Robert McMahon to examine the Kurdish movement for independence.
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CFR's Steven A. Cook joins James M. Lindsay and Robert McMahon in examining the causes and consequences of Qatar's diplomatic crisis with its neighbors in the region.
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Zenko is joined by Steven A. Cook, CFR's Eni Enrico Mattei senior fellow for Middle East and Africa studies. They discuss Cook's latest book, False Dawn: Protest, Democracy, and Violence in the New Middle East, and U.S. policy in the Middle East and North Africa.
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CFR's James M. Lindsay, Robert McMahon, and Steven Cook examine the consequences of the Turkish referendum on U.S. foreign policy.
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CFR's James M. Lindsay, Robert McMahon, and Steven A. Cook examine President-Elect Donald J. Trump's priorities in the Middle East.