The US Presidential Election: Potential Repercussions for the Middle East

Despite its declining influence, the United States is still the world’s strongest power and Washington’s policies have a major impact on the Middle East. In this lecture, Dr. Paul Salem, Director of the Carnegie Middle East center in Beirut, examined the US presidential race on the eve of the November 6 election, and discussed how electoral politics has shaped the foreign policy positions of the two candidates. Dr. Salem discussed the power that the office of the US president has among the various institutions of the US government. Most importantly, he explored how the Middle East policies of a possible President Romney might differ from those of President Obama in a second term. This included policies toward urgent crises such as the conflict in Syria and Iran’s nuclear program, but also toward longer-term issues such as the stalled Arab-Israeli peace process, dealing with emerging Islamist governments in Egypt and Tunisia, and questions of regional stability and security.