The Arnold A. Saltzman Institute of War & Peace Studies proudly present Dr. Amr Yossef, Post-Doctoral Fellow at the Taub Center for Israel Studies and Adjunct Professor at the American University (Cairo) to discuss his current research on "Israel and the Arab Spring: Challenges and Opportunities"

The Arab Spring presents Israel with challenges as much as opportunities. It could turn Israel’s immediate neighborhood (Egypt, Syria, and the Palestinian territories) into another Iran or Pakistan. Alternatively, it might make it a completely different reality where democratic peace prevails. Drawing on a worst-case scenario, the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has so far chosen to support the Arab authoritarian regimes (either openly as in Mubarak’s Egypt or tacitly in Assad’s Syria) and to freeze the already stalled peace process with the Palestinian Authority.  Perception of the worst-scenario and acting to this effect might well turn into a self-fulfilling prophecy. Contrary to the prevailing assumption in Netanyahu’s government, Israel can significantly influence the direction of the Arab transformation through a dual foreign policy approach that embraces the evolving Arab democratization as well as advance peace with the Palestinians.

Biography:

Amr Yossef is a Post-Doctoral Fellow at the Taub Center for Israel Studies, New York University (2011 – Present). He is also an Adjunct Professor of Political Science at the American University in Cairo where he has taught courses on Arab-Israeli wars and International Relations.  

He received his Ph.D. from the School of International Studies, University of Trento, Italy, in 2009, and holds an M.A. in Political Science (American University in Cairo) and a B.A. in Oriental Languages and Literature (Cairo University). Dr. Yossef’s research interests include Middle East politics, Arab-Israeli conflict, Israeli decision-making, international security, democracy and war, nuclear proliferation, and foreign policy analysis.

Dr. Youssef was also a Visiting Scholar to SIWPS from 2008-2009.

For More Information: