The United States of America Summary of Topic This week we look at the most powerful state in the system and the dominant hegemonic power since the end of the Cold War. We look at how the United States has acted in the Middle East. Guiding Question How has US policy shaped the Middle East? Recommended Reading 1) Bill, James A., and Rebecca Bill Chavez. “The Politics of Incoherence: The United States and the Middle East.” Middle East Journal, vol. 56, no. 4, 2002, pp. 562–575 2) Ashford, Emma. “Unbalanced: Rethinking America’s Commitment to the Middle East.” Strategic Studies Quarterly, vol. 12, no. 1, 2018, pp. 127–148. Desirable Reading 3) Webb, Michael C., and Stephen D. Krasner. “Hegemonic Stability Theory: An Empirical Assessment.” Review of International Studies, vol. 15, no. 2, 1989, pp. 183–198.Miller, 4) Said, Abdul A. “THE UNITED STATES AND THE MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA.” Naval War College Review, vol. 23, no. 6, 1970, pp. 41–47. 5) Lynch, Marc. “Obama and the Middle East: Rightsizing the U.S. Role.” Foreign Affairs, vol. 94, no. 5, 2015, pp. 18–27. 6) New Challenges to American Influence: Chinese and Russian Roles in the Middle East.” The Iraq Effect: The Middle East After the Iraq War, by Frederic Wehrey et al., RAND Corporation, 2010, pp. 49–74. 7) Simon, Steven, and Jonathan Stevenson. “The End of Pax Americana: Why Washington’s Middle East Pullback Makes Sense.” Foreign Affairs, vol. 94, no. 6, 2015 8) Geoffrey F. Gresh, Tugrul Keskin, US Foreign Policy in the Middle East From American Missionaries to the Islamic State, 1st Edition Routledge 2018, 9) Ashley Cox, Wilsonian Approaches to American Conflicts From the War of 1812 to the First Gulf War, Routledge 2017, chap 5 10) Layne, Christopher. “America’s Middle East Grand Strategy after Iraq: The Moment for Offshore Balancing Has Arrived.” Review of International Studies, vol. 35, no. 1, 2009, pp. 5–25 Quiz How does US military power act as an offshore balancer? Add your comments to the weekly topics forum here.
