The Islamic State, Iran, and the Geopolitics of the Middle East

Adam Garfinkle
March 17, 2015
Stan and Arlene Ginsburg Family Foundation Lecture Series
To understand the Middle East, a region riven by conflict, you need an expert "geopolitician" to explain the chessboard -- for example, in finding the balance to our interest in defeating the
Islamic State with our interest in preventing Iran from becoming a nuclear weapons state or in exercising hegemony over the region. Few analysts are better able to explain the sources of conflict or their potential resolution in their larger historical, cultural, and geographical contexts than Adam Garfinkle.
In this year of our 60th anniversary, we take special note of those, like Adam, who got their start in this field at the Foreign Policy Research Institute. Adam went on to serve on the staff of the US National Security Commission/21st Century, then as principal speechwriter to the Secretary of State (Colin Powell). He has also been editor of The National Interest magazine and is now editor of The American Interest magazine, both significant sources of analysis and understanding of American foreign policy choices today. He received his Ph.D. in international relations from the University of Pennsylvania and serves on FPRI's Board of Advisors.