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 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 Washington Institute for Near East Policy's gold medal in 2012; 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 he is a frequent commentator on radio and television. His work can be found on CFR.org.
Prior to joining CFR, Cook was a research fellow at the Brookings Institution (2001–2002) and a Soref research fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy (1995–1996).
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 both 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
Current Projects
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The United States came up with “maximum pressure”—but the Israeli government is the only one carrying it out.
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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s political future is on the line as Israel votes for the second time in 2019.
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As U.S. policymakers worry about their special relationship with Ankara, Turkey’s president knows it's already dead.
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The Trump administration’s nonresponse to Iranian aggression has sent an unmistakable message.
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The United States should stop treating the region as secondary to the rest of the Middle East.
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The death of Mohamed Morsi is the latest milestone along the country’s slide into terminal irrelevance.
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After his party suffered a humiliating loss in Istanbul, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is down but far from out.
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The country can’t form a government, its peace process is permanently stalled—and things have never been better.
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The country’s political system doesn't deserve the laments it’s recently received.
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Trump has embraced yet another strongman, this time in Libya. But it’s not just a personal failing—it’s a national tradition.
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Khalifa Haftar’s march on the Libyan capital is a bid for control of a fragmented state. Backed by a set of powerful governments, he could carry on the fight for a long time.
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It’s time to hold Egypt accountable for the U.S. citizens it has unjustly victimized.
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu campaigned on his tough diplomacy and his relationship with U.S. President Donald J. Trump. What happens now for the Palestinian peace process?
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Turkey’s president has rarely been so unpopular. He’s likely to dominate this week’s local elections anyway.
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The Middle East’s latest protests seem like the Arab Spring all over again. That’s no reason for optimism.
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If the president wants to withdraw from Syria, he might as well just withdraw.
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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.
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Algerians are protesting in large numbers over moves to maintain ailing longtime leader Abdelaziz Bouteflika in power. The ruling elite faces a test of legitimacy that could spark unrest in a region weary of upheaval.
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The march to war against Iran is echoing the drumbeats of America's last major Middle Eastern invasion.
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What a late-night meal in Italy taught me about U.S. power in the Arab world.
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The 7-foot center Enes Kanter has become a symbol of Turkey's never-ending purge—and a potential assassination target.
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At least one of Israel’s occupations will be permanent, whether anyone else likes it or not.
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Erdogan promises to finish America's fight against the Islamic State, but it's the Kurds that he's out to destroy.
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The U.S. withdrawal from Syria removes the main obstacle to a Turkish campaign to eradicate Syrian Kurdish forces and could lead to a more dangerous phase of Syria’s civil war.