SETA DC

Coronavirus has disrupted the world in immeasurable ways, slowing global trade to a trickle, causing mass capital flight from emerging markets, and cratering the price of oil. As nations start to recover from this calamity, new questions emerge about the U.S.’s relations with the states in the Middle East. For instance, will the economic impact of the pandemic lead to a more urgent push to withdraw from the region, in particular, Iraq? Will the Trump administration’s fight against Iranian influence weaken or intensify? How will the historically low oil prices define the relations between the Gulf nations and the U.S.? The U.S. role in the Middle East in the post-coronavirus world will be a critically important question for the region in the years ahead.

SETA DC is pleased to host an online webinar event to discuss the U.S. posture in the Middle East in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic with General Mark Kimmitt, Former Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs and Mike Doran, Senior Fellow of the Hudson Institute. This session is moderated by Kadir Ustun, Executive Director at SETA DC.

As the world struggles to manage the coronavirus pandemic, debates about US leadership and the global order have come to the fore. The rapid spread of the virus has placed an unprecedented pressure on healthcare systems around the world, exposing the shortcomings of the national and global public health policies. The pandemic not only magnified the shortcomings of the American healthcare system but also the absence of global leadership during such a wide-ranging global crisis. The political, economic, and social impact will most likely linger for years as the world has largely failed to contain the virus.

International leadership has escaped the world as nations have been forced to find solutions on their own. While many point to Trump administration’s slow response and failure to lead the world as the reason why the US is now the epicenter of the virus, others emphasize the lack of transparency and disinformation campaign by China for the global spread of COVID-19. Most agree that the world will not be the same going forward and nor will the US-China bilateral relationship. The outbreak serves as a watershed moment that could potentially change the international order as we know it but what that order will look like is open for debate.

SETA DC is pleased to host an online webinar event to discuss the US global role after COVID-19, US-China relations, and the broader international order with Patrick Cronin, Asia-Pacific Security Chair of Hudson Institute and Charles Kupchan, Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service of Georgetown University. This session is moderated by Kilic B. Kanat, Research Director at SETA DC.

The Trump administration’s recently proposed Israeli-Palestinian peace deal, dubbed “the Deal of the Century,” offers a plan to resolve the decades-old conflict all the while declaring Jerusalem as the undivided capital of Israel. Although it calls for an eventual Palestinian state, the Palestinian leadership expectedly rejected the plan. This peace plan has sparked controversy from global leaders, who claim that it allows annexation of Palestinian lands, ignores the right of return for refugees, and runs contrary to international law. Turkey was among the countries who opposed the plan, reiterating its support for a negotiated two-state solution. As the Palestinian Authority cut all relations with the U.S. and Israel including security cooperation, there are worries about increased tensions in the region.

SETA DC is pleased to host an event to discuss the Trump administration’s “Deal of the Century” with Khaled Elguindy of the Middle East Institute, Mark Perry, an independent author and journalist, and Kadir Ustun, Executive Director at SETA DC. This session is moderated by Hasan Yucel, Researcher at SETA DC.

Qassem Soleimani, the head of Iran’s elite IRGC Quds military force and one of the most powerful figures in the Islamic Republic, was killed last Friday in an airstrike in Baghdad conducted by the U.S. While many argue that the tensions will rise and lead to war, the Trump administration has said that the operation was to prevent imminent threat posed to U.S. citizens in the region. The U.S. pullout of the nuclear deal, the ongoing maximum pressure campaign, and the strike against Soleimani in Iraq all increase the likelihood of heightened tensions in the region. What does such an attack on a high-profile Iranian mean for Iran’s regional posture? Is a full-blown war between the U.S. and Iran more or less likely? What is the U.S. policy on Iran going to be as the November elections are on the horizon?

SETA DC is pleased to host an event to discuss US policy on Iran in the wake of the killing of Soleimani with Luke Coffey of Heritage Foundation, Trita Parsi of the Quincy Institute, Mark Perry, an independent author and journalist, and Kilic B. Kanat, Research Director at SETA DC. This panel is moderated by Kadir Ustun, Executive Director at SETA DC.

Early in December of 2019, Turkey signed a series of agreements with the Government of National Accord in Libya regarding maritime delimitations in the Mediterranean, mutual security assistance, and military relations. The agreement generated much discussion in the international media as it would have implications for Turkey’s exclusive economic zones. The U.S. Congress recently passed legislation to boost funding for energy development in Cyprus and Greece, as well as increasing security assistance. As Turkey asserts its rights in the Mediterranean, the US-Turkey relationship will likely be impacted by the potential disputes in the Mediterranean.

SETADC is pleased to host an event to discuss Turkey’s Mediterranean policy with Cagri Erhan of Altınbas University and Burhanettin Duran of SETA Foundation. This panel is moderated by Kilic B. Kanat.