American Middle East Policy: One Year into the Trump Administration

Conference Chair: Professor Bruce W. Jentleson, Duke University William Preston Few Distinguished Professor of Public Policy and Political Science, and 2025 IEN-IBEI Research Professor

As the Trump Administration completes its first year in office, this conference provides a timely opportunity to reflect on the direction of U.S. policy in the Middle East. What has changed, and what has remained consistent with previous administrations? How are the administration’s policies being evaluated in terms of strengths and weaknesses? And what are the possible trajectories for the coming year?

Program

09:00–10:30 Panel 1: Trump Middle East Policy – Shifting Ground: U.S. Policy and the Future of Israel-Palestine

• Key Speaker: Bruce W. Jentleson, William Preston Few Distinguished Professor at Duke University and IEN-IBEI Research Professor
• Discussant: Eduard Soler i Lecha, Associate Professor at UAB and Affiliated Faculty Member at IBEI

10:30-11:00 Coffee Break

11:00-12:30   Panel 2: Iran at the Crossroads: Nuclear, Regional, and Strategic Challenges

Key Speakers:

• Bruno Tertrais, Deputy Director of Fondation pour la Recherche Stratégique and Associate Expert at Institut Montaigne, Paris
• Elisabeth Johansson-Nogués, Associate Professor and Jean Monnet Chair at IBEI

Discussant: Inés Bolaños, Postdoctoral Fellow at IBEI 

Conference sponsored by the Institut Barcelona d’Estudis Internacionals (IBEI) and the Institut d’Estudis Nord-Americans (IEN).