Brian Katulis is a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute, specializing in US foreign policy and national security. He hosts the MEI podcast series Taking the Edge Off the Middle East and authors the column “Making Sense: A Regular Take on US Foreign Policy.” Katulis draws on decades of experience living and working in the Middle East, where he has forged relationships of trust and confidence across the region with top leaders in government, the private sector, media, national security, and thought leaders from a wide variety of international organizations.
As a foreign policy strategist and senior fellow, Katulis has produced influential studies that have shaped key regional policy debates and provided expert testimony to congressional committees on his findings. Prior to MEI, he was a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress (CAP), where he built the center’s Middle East program. His career also includes significant experience at the National Security Council, the US Department of State, and the US Department of Defense.
Katulis co-authored The Prosperity Agenda (2008) with Nancy Soderberg, a book that examines how America’s economic advantages can be used to positively shape global dynamics. He is also frequently quoted in leading news publications and media outlets.
He holds a Master in Public Affairs from Princeton University’s School of Public and International Affairs and a BA in History and Arab and Islamic Studies from Villanova University. He was a Fulbright Scholar in Amman, Jordan from 1994-1995, where he conducted a research project on the peace process between Israel and Jordan.
Special Feature: A Front-Row Seat to Saudi Arabia’s Transformation
In this episode, Brian sits down with Faisal Abbas, editor-in-chief of Arab News. Abbas, who reported on Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s November 18 visit to the White House, unpacks his impressions from the visit and the opportunities it presents for US-Saudi relations. The conversation also explores the Kingdom’s transformation over the past decade, its relationships with key partners including the United States, and Abbas’s recommendations for deepening the US-Saudi partnership going forward.
دور المملكة العربية السعودية كدولة متأرجحة عالمياً
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s November 2025 visit to the United States is his first in more than seven years, and during the past few years Saudi Arabia has assumed an increasingly prominent role in regional and global affairs. In this episode, Brian Katulis sits down with Richard Fontaine, CEO of the Center for a New American Security, for a discussion focused on Saudi Arabia’s emergence as a key “swing state” in regional and global dynamics. The two discuss “Global Swing States and the New Great Power Competition,” a report that Fontaine published earlier this year with Gibbs McKinley. Richard also discusses his many travels around the world with the late Senator John McCain’s delegations, the recent changes in the politics of US national security, and shares personal stories from trips Brian and Richard took together across the Middle East.
العلاقات الأمريكية السعودية هي حجر الزاوية في سياسة ترامب تجاه الشرق الأوسط
عندما يزور ولي العهد السعودي الأمير محمد بن سلمان البيت الأبيض للقاء الرئيس الأمريكي دونالد ترامب في 18 نوفمبر، لن يكون هناك نقص في القضايا التي سيتناولها الزعيمان. ومن المؤكد أن متابعة أطر التعاون الثنائي القوية في مجالي الاقتصاد والتكنولوجيا، بما في ذلك الذكاء الاصطناعي - التي تم تحديدها خلال زيارة ترامب للبلاد في مايو - ستكون على جدول الأعمال، وكذلك القضايا الأمنية الإقليمية الشائكة التي لم يتم حلها بعد، مثل إيران وإسرائيل وفلسطين والتهديدات المستمرة التي يمثلها الحوثيون في اليمن.
Over the past week, US President Donald Trump made an extended trip to Asia and threatened military actions against Latin American and African countries. But despite his administration’s continuing ambitions in the Middle East region, few major breakthroughs are expected there in the immediate future due to the government shutdown and unilateral cuts to national security infrastructure.
من الجناح الغربي إلى الضفة الغربية وإسرائيل وغزة مع بيل كلينتون
In this episode of Taking the Edge Off the Middle East, host Brian Katulis is joined by Mara Rudman, MEI Distinguished Diplomatic Fellow and veteran of the Obama and Clinton administrations. Together, they discuss political process, peacemaking, and the human side of diplomacy. From accompanying President Bill Clinton to Israel, Gaza, and the West Bank to navigating today’s complex foreign policy landscape, Rudman reflects on what can make or break U.S. engagement abroad.
US Policy in the Middle East: Third Quarter 2025 Report Card
President Donald Trump continued to rewrite the playbook of US foreign policy this summer and early fall, with mixed results on the global stage but producing some important openings for progress in the Middle East due to a negotiated Gaza cease-fire and hostage-release deal.
A Passion for Policy: Marvin Weinbaum on Afghanistan, Pakistan, and U.S. Engagement Abroad
Brian Katulis speaks with Dr. Marvin Weinbaum—senior fellow at the Middle East Institute, professor emeritus of political science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and former Department of State analyst—about his remarkable career spanning more than five decades in academia, government, and policy analysis. Drawing on his deep expertise in Afghanistan and Pakistan, Weinbaum reflects on the evolution of U.S. foreign policy, the lessons learned from state-building efforts, and how personal conviction and intellectual curiosity have shaped his life’s work.
أسبوع ترامب المهم في الشرق الأوسط يثقله مشاكل على جبهات أخرى
بدأ الرئيس الأمريكي دونالد ترامب أسبوعه بزيارة إلى إسرائيل ومصر للاحتفال بوقف إطلاق النار في غزة وإطلاق سراح آخر الرهائن الإسرائيليين المتبقين. ولكن مع تطور هذه التطورات الإيجابية في الشرق الأوسط، ظلت أجندة إدارة ترامب العامة مثقلة بمشاكل أخرى.
من وقف إطلاق النار في غزة إلى السلام في الشرق الأوسط؟
اتفاق وقف إطلاق النار وإطلاق سراح الرهائن المبرم في أكتوبر 2025، والذي أنهى الصراع بين إسرائيل وحماس، يمثل بداية مرحلة ما بعد الحرب المعقدة. في مذكرة سياسية جديدة صادرة عن معهد الشرق الأوسط (MEI)، يشرح براين كاتوليس أهمية هذا الاتفاق بالنسبة للولايات المتحدة والاعتبارات السياسية ذات الصلة.
من وقف إطلاق النار في غزة إلى السلام في الشرق الأوسط؟
The October 2025 cease-fire and hostage-release deal that ended the Israel-Hamas conflict marks the beginning of a complicated post-war phase. The agreement has created important opportunities to advance stability in the Middle East and build a lasting and sustainable peace marked by enhanced regional security and integration, but there are considerable risks to manage. Achieving these goals will require coordinated international action along multiple lines of effort: security, rule of law, recovery and reconstruction, responsive governance, and steady and focused diplomacy to build confidence among key parties.
وقف إطلاق النار في غزة يبدأ، لكن من المتوقع حدوث اضطرابات في المستقبل
لنستخدم تشبيهاً، إذا كان اتفاق وقف إطلاق النار في غزة طائرة، فإنها تكتسب حالياً سرعة على مدرج المطار وتصل إلى النقطة الحاسمة للإقلاع الفوري عندما يتم إطلاق سراح جميع الرهائن المحتجزين في غزة مقابل 2000 فلسطيني في السجون الإسرائيلية. ستشكل لحظة "الإقلاع" هذه نهاية الحرب، ولكنها ستكون بداية رحلة طويلة ومضطربة بالتأكيد. وسيحدد الوقت ما إذا كانت الطائرة سترتفع إلى ارتفاعات أعلى أم ستتحطم على الأرض.
هل هناك ضوء في نهاية نفق حرب غزة؟ ثلاثة أسئلة حول خطة ترامب المكونة من 20 نقطة
أرسل الرئيس الأمريكي دونالد ترامب مبعوثه الخاص إلى الشرق الأوسط ستيف ويتكوف وصهره جاريد كوشنر للمشاركة في محادثات إسرائيل وحماس التي تستضيفها مصر هذا الأسبوع بهدف إنهاء الحرب في غزة، وتأمين الإفراج عن الرهائن، وإحراز تقدم نحو حل دائم ومستدام للصراع. فيما يلي ثلاثة أمور يجب الانتباه إليها في سياسة الولايات المتحدة على هذا الصعيد في الأيام والأسابيع المقبلة.
Veteran US foreign policy official Elliott Abrams joins Brian for a sweeping conversation on America’s role in the world amid global upheaval. With nearly 50 years of experience under Presidents Reagan, George W. Bush, and Donald Trump, Abrams offers lessons from past crises— from Ukraine to Gaza. Abrams makes his case for why he doesn’t see a two-state solution as realistic and what his alternative vision is. The discussion explores the chaotic uncertainty of Trump’s second term, Israel’s security two years after October 7, and the future of Palestinian governance and regional integration. Abrams also shares insights from his decades in government, including his work with Ariel Sharon on Gaza disengagement, his reflections on the Iraq War, and what it was like briefing presidents in the Oval Office.
Will Trump’s red line on West Bank annexation hold?
The spotlight for US policy in the Middle East will shift from the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) meeting in New York to Washington, DC, where US President Donald Trump will meet with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday for the fourth time in eight months.
War and Peace in the Middle East: A View from Qatar
In this special bonus episode of Taking the Edge Off the Middle East, host Brian Katulis sits down with Dr. Majed Al-Ansari, adviser to the Prime Minister of Qatar and spokesman for Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Dr. Al-Ansari offers insights into the small country’s unique role in mediating conflicts worldwide.
