Peace in the Middle East: Putting the Abraham Accords into Perspective 

On 18 January 2021, the EGIC was delighted to host David Des Roches, Assistant Professor at the Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies (US National Defence University, Washington, DC) for an online closed-door event titled “Peace in the Middle East: Putting the Abraham Accords into Perspective,” moderated by Matthew Robinson (EGIC). 

As an expert on the US defence policy towards the Arabian Gulf with an experience of the inner workings from the previous US administrations, David Des Roches provided the audience with a comprehensive analysis of the recent agreements that established relations between Israel and the UAE, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco. Addressing some of the key characteristics and contextualising the United States!"role in their brokering, he examined several of the frequently repeated criticisms of the Agreements and the main parties’ motivations and pay-offs against the backdrop of Israel’s previous accords with Egypt (1979) and Jordan (1994) and the US domestic politics. The debate also touched upon the legacy of the Trump administration, future of the US Middle East policy under President Biden and the question of cooperation with the European Union.