Interview: Stephen Zunes Explains AAR panel cancellation and Trump’s Recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s Capital

Global Journal of Peace Research and Praxis
Volume 2, Number 1 (Spring 2018)

Dr. Stephen Zunes discussed his views on the abrupt cancellation of a panel he was scheduled to participate in at the 2017 American Academy of Religion’s annual conference. President Trump’s recent decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital has thrown the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians back into the American public’s consciousness. Those who study this conflict, or have a personal connection to it, realize that in terms of foreign policy and academia, the relevancy and divisiveness of this issue never waned…

Panel discussion on Trump’s foreign policy agenda

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The president says the world is in trouble, and the US is going to straighten it out. The EU says the new administration is putting into question the last 70 years of American foreign policy. There are at least question marks over relations with China, Iran and other Muslim-majority countries, Russia, Japan, Mexico, and now Australia. There is the prospect of better relations with Russia, Israel and the UK. Trump meanwhile says that virtually every country in the world is taking advantage of the US. What does this all mean in practice? Will the US realign its place in the world, and is that a good thing? Is there a ‘grand strategy’?

The Deteriorating Situation in Libya

On China Radio International October 22, 2013
The kidnapping and brief detention of the Libyan prime minister Ali Zeidan a couple of weeks back probably marked one of the lowest points for the civilian government in this vast country where, in the post-Gaddafi lawlessness, the situation seems to deteriorate by the week. It was also probably the point which showed the world just how prominent and daring these militias and various tribes are.
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Interview on KQED’s “Forum”: Congress Set to Vote on Syria Strikes (audio)

KQED: September 29, 2013
Dr. Stephen Zunes talks with a panel that includes, David Mark, editor-in-chief of Politix, an online community focusing on national politics, and former senior editor with Politico, Robert Danin, senior fellow for Middle East and Africa studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, Steve Weber, professor of political science at UC Berkeley and author of books including “The End of Arrogance, America and the Global Competition of Ideas”, about the vote to strike Syria.

Interview: What should be the US’s next step in Syria? (89.3 KPCC, National Public Radio Los Angeles audio)

KPCC (NPR) LAist AirTalk August 27, 2013
In a statement yesterday, Secretary of State John Kerry called the use of chemical weapons in Syria “a moral obscenity” that demands action from the U.S. Now the question is what action the U.S. will take against Syria for crossing the “red line” President Obama outlined against the use of chemical weapons?