It has almost become a truism about Middle East politics that cooperation on behalf of a better future for this tumultuous region will continue to remain elusive and out of reach. Recent stalled talks in Vienna to bring the United States back into the nuclear deal with Iran (and Iran back into compliance with the deal), reinforce this negative bias, as do dashed hopes for settlements in the civil wars in Yemen and Libya.
In a recently published book, Stepping Away from the Abyss: A Gradual Approach Towards a New Security System in the Persian Gulf, coedited by Luigi Narbone and Abdolrasool Divsallar, the contributors to this exciting volume provide fresh analysis about the prospects for cooperation among local, regional, and international players in the Middle East.
The Middle East Institute (MEI) is pleased to participate in the U.S. launch of this important book, bringing together the two editors along with MEI specialists who have worked on the issue of cooperation in the Middle East.
Speakers
Ambassador Luigi Narbone
Director of the Middle East Directions Program at the Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies, Florence, Italy
Abdolrasool Divsallar
Co-lead of the Regional Security Initiative at the Robert Schuman Center for Advanced Studies, Florence, Italy
Ebtesam al-Ketbi
Founder and President, Emirates Policy Center (EPC), Abu Dhabi, UAE
Randa Slim
Senior Fellow and Director of Conflict Resolution and Track II Dialogues Program, Middle East Institute (MEI)
Ross Harrison, moderator
Senior Fellow and Director of Research, Middle East Institute (MEI), Contributor to Stepping Away from the Abyss
