Escaping the Conflict Trap

Paul Salem is President of the Middle East Institute in Washington D.C, US. Prior to joining the MEI, he was the founding director of the Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut, Lebanon between 2006 and 2013. He has also been director of the Fares Foundation, US, and he founded and directed the Lebanese Center for Policy Studies, Lebanon.Ross Harrison is Senior Fellow and Director of Research at the Middle East Institute in Washington D.C, US. He is also a member of faculty at the Department of Political Science in the University of Pittsburgh, US. He was previously Professor in the Practice of International Affairs for the Master of Science in the Foreign Service Program at Georgetown University, US.

• Preface to the Second Edition, Paul Salem, The Middle East Institute, USA and Ross Harrison, The Middle East Institute, USA1. Middle East Civil Wars: Definitions, Drivers, and the Record of the Recent Past, Paul Salem, The Middle East Institute, USA2. What We Know about Ending Civil Wars, Jessica Maves, Braithwaite, University of Arizona, USA3. The Global and Regional Geopolitics of Civil War in the Middle East, Ross Harrison, The Middle East Institute, USA4. Yemen: The 60-Year War, Gerald Feierstein, The Middle East Institute, USA previously of U.S. Foreign Service5. The Syrian Civil War: Bringing the Conflict to a Close, Robert S. Ford, The Middle East Institute, USA; previously of U.S Foreign Service6. Afghanistan's Unending Wars, Marvin G. Weinbaum, The Middle East Institute, USA; previously of U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Intelligence and Research; and Ahmad Khalid Majidyar, previously of the State Department, and Congress7. The Origins of the Libyan Conflict and Options for its Resolution, Jonathan M. Winer, The Middle East Institute, USA previously United States Special Envoy for Libya8. Iraq: A Conflict over State Identity and Ownership, Randa Slim, The Middle East Institute, USA and Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced and International Studies, USA9. The Diplomacy of Engagement: Ending Civil Wars in Transitional Middle Eastern States, Chester A. Crocker, Georgetown University, USAConcluding Thoughts and Policy Takeaways, Paul Salem, The Middle East Institute, USA and Ross Harrison, The Middle East Institute, USA

This timely volume provides a sober, thoughtful framework for understanding the roots of civil war in the Middle East, as well as ways to mitigate the human tragedy and strategic folly which all too often result.