The Middle East

The seminar usually meets once a month during the academic year. A prominent expert from here or abroad, commonly from the Middle East, leads a four-hour discussion at each meeting, assuring ample time for seri- ous dialogue on focused issues. The seminar provides a forum for the exchange of ideas and experiences by Middle East experts in various spheres—business, banking and investment, federal service, the foundations, the media, and the liberal professions as well as academia. The seminar has become a medium for carefully defined and informed evaluation of stubborn problems in a region that symbolizes mounting instability and proliferating crises. Detailed minutes are circulated to participating members for use without attribution to uphold the confidentiality of the discussion.

Chair
Gary Sick
Senior Research Scholar, School of International Affairs and Director, Gulf 2000 Project, Columbia University
ggs2@columbia.edu

Associate Chair
Lawrence Potter
Staff Associate, Middle East Institute, Adjunct Associate Professor, International Affairs, Columbia University
lgp5@columbia.edu

Rapporteur
Robert Chamberlain
Columbia University, Political Science
rmc2159@columbia.edu