Tuesday, March 31, 2015

Academic professor and author Fawaz Gerges gives a lecture at the American University in Cairo

 By Sama El Feky and Amina El Farnawany

Cairo-Egypt- Lebanese American academic and author with expertise on the Middle East, U.S. foreign policy and international relations, Fawaz Gerges gave a public lecture on American foreign policy towards the Middle East change and continuity at the American University in Cairo (AUC) on Monday, March 30.  
Gerges is not just a professor of Middle East Politics and International Relations at the London School of Economics (LSE) and Political Science, University of Oxford but he is also a holder of the Emirates Professorship in Contemporary Middle East Studies. Gerges, one of the top Middle East’s scholars, was the inaugural director of the LSE Middle East Centre from 2010 until 2013.
A former regular Middle East analyst for ABC News, Gerges, appeared on many famous shows including The Charlie Rose Show and The Oprah Winfrey Show. He wrote many books including The Rise and Fall of Al Qaeda, Obama and the Middle East: The End of America's Moment?, and The New Middle East: Protest and Revolution in the Arab World.
During his lecture, Gerges focused mainly on the foreign policy of the United States. He demonstrated the point that the United States does not want to be involved with the Middle East. He used phrases like ‘uninterested’ to describe how Obama feels towards this region. However, he mentioned Obama’s interest in Iran due to the fact that it is the most important nuclear portfolio at the moment.
Gerges shared his opinion on the issue of the Middle East and the United States by saying that the Middle East should not wait for the United States’ intervention in matters. “It’s about time we take ownership and stand up for our region,” said Gerges. He later on shared his opinion on Egypt who he has been paying close attention to. “If you really want to know the situation in the Arab World, always look at Egypt. I teach my students, wherever Egypt goes, the Arab World follows,” said Gerges.
Gerges did not just cover the topic of the lecture but he also humbly answered questions from the AUC audience.

25 comments:

  1. Nice article and very informative , I like the quote " wherever Egypt goes, the Arab world follows".

    ReplyDelete
  2. Very interesting perspectives. Would definitely like to hear more on the topic.

    ReplyDelete
  3. This article was very informative and beneficial. This helped me a lot through providing me with new information. I believe Amina El Farnawany and El Feky did a great job.

    ReplyDelete
  4. The coverage was very good and it was made very simple for everyone to understand

    ReplyDelete
  5. Very interesting and new information. Really enjoyed reading this and the coverage was great as well. Well done.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Illuminating Article reporting hotly debated topics from a respected professor point of view concerning the middleeast situations ! good report coverage

    ReplyDelete
  7. One of the best articles, very informative, excellent work, great job.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Well written, it covers a significant case concerning the Middle East. Great job

    ReplyDelete
  9. Very thoughtful article, covers significant aspects overall great work well done!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Really interesting article. Being from the subcontinent, can relate to some of the topics being brought up

    ReplyDelete
  11. This is a very interesting and informative article, good job!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Captivating! Always wanted to study foreign policy.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Dr. Fawaz provided many insightful ideas. Well done.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Great tweets and overall coverage.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Introduced me to a whole new understanding, very informative.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Excellent blog, I like the diversity of video, audio, and written article.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Very interesting and well written article! Great job!

    ReplyDelete
  18. Amazing!! That was really interesting.

    ReplyDelete
  19. I completely agree with his views regarding American intervention, good job

    ReplyDelete
  20. Great coverage! Interesting choice of topic

    ReplyDelete
  21. Amina, great job!
    Nerver thought you were that smart.

    ReplyDelete
  22. I'm impressed with your effort Amina!

    ReplyDelete
  23. I think it's a very interesting approach to studying the Middle East - seeing Egypt as the pulse of it. I wonder if this has negative consequences/shortcomings though

    ReplyDelete