Foreign Policy Blogs

Two New Blogs on the Middle East

Steven A. Cook of the Council on Foreign Relations: Image Credit - CFR

Steven A. Cook of the Council on Foreign Relations: Image Credit – CFR

There are two new blogs on that focus on the Middle East, both worth following:

1. From the Potomac to the Euphrates, by Steven A. Cook of the Council on Foreign Relations.  Cook introduces the blog with the following post:

I hope the site will be a forum for readers who share my passionate interest in all things Middle East. Sometimes I will post longer pieces (400-600 words) and, at other times, link to interesting articles/posts. It’s a crowded field out there so I’ll be experimenting at first, trying to develop a rhythm and personality for the blog. You’ll excuse my occasional pop culture reference or devotional to the New York Yankees (very popular in the Middle East), but it’s all in good fun and hopefully an effort to make a larger point. After all, I am the guy who once wrote about Cairo traffic to expound on the importance of informal political and social institutions. Although I have taken time to study my favorite bloggers/friends like Marc Lynch and Issandr Imrani and others too numerous to list (see the blog roll), I hope the “from the Potomac to the Euphrates” tag line will infuse the blog with a foundational coherence. I’ll be doing a fair amount of posting from places in the region (check back next week for posts from Cairo and Istanbul), but the blog will also focus on the debates in Washington about the Middle East. I am not interested in scoring points here or getting into ideological debates, but rather an explication of how Washington connects to the region in ways both good and bad.

2. Jonathan Cristol of Bard College is now blogging on Middle East topics for The American Interest. His introductory post is here:

My name is Jonathan Cristol and I am the director of Bard College’s Globalization and International Affairs Program (BGIA) in New York City. Two months ago I had the pleasure of guest-blogging for Walter Russell Mead while he was in Pakistan.  Now, I am thrilled to announce that I will be a regular blogger for The American Interest.  I will be blogging about the Middle East; in particular I will focus on the Arab-Israeli conflict and on America’s role in the region. At BGIA and on the main campus in Annandale, NY I teach many courses in international relations (IR) theory and “The United States and the Modern Middle East.”  Thus, some of my posts will have an infusion of IR theory.  I am very grateful to Charles Davidson, Walter Russell Mead, and everyone at The American Interest for the opportunity to join TAI on its unique and important mission.  My first substantive post, early next week, will be a brief commentary on Israeli foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman’s speech at the United Nations.


 

Author

James Ketterer

James Ketterer is Dean of International Studies at Bard College and Director of the Bard Globalization and International Affairs program. He previously served as Egypt Country Director for AMIDEAST, based in Cairo and before that as Vice Chancellor for Policy & Planning and Deputy Provost at the State University of New York (SUNY). In 2007-2008 he served on the staff of the Governor’s Commission on Higher Education. He previously served as Director of the SUNY Center for International Development.

Ketterer has extensive experience in technical assistance for democratization projects, international education, legislative development, elections, and policy analysis – with a focus on Africa and the Middle East. He has won and overseen projects funded by USAID, the Department for International Development (UK), the World Bank and the US State Department. He served on the National Security Council staff at the White House, as a policy analyst at the New York State Senate, a project officer with the Center for Legislative Development at the University at Albany, and as an international election specialist for the United Nations, the African-American Institute, and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. He is currently a Fellow at the Foreign Policy Association and has also held teaching positions in international politics at the New School for Social Research, Bard College, State University of New York at New Paltz, the University at Albany, Russell Sage College, and the College of Saint Rose.

Ketterer has lectured and written extensively on various issues for publications including the Washington Post, Middle East Report, the Washington Times, the Albany Times Union, and the Journal of Legislative Studies. He was a Boren National Security Educational Program Fellow at Johns Hopkins University and in Morocco, an International Graduate Rotary Scholar at the Bourguiba School of Languages in Tunisia, and studied Arabic at the King Fahd Advanced School of Translation in Morocco. He received his education at Johns Hopkins University, New York University and Fordham University.

Areas of focus: Public Diplomacy; Middle East; Africa; US Foreign Policy

Contributor to: Global Engagement