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Middle East, Diplomacy, Economics and trade, Energy security, Grand strategy, International security, Israel-Hamas, and Syria

Rosemary Kelanic

Director, Middle East Program

Defense Priorities

Rosemary Kelanic is director of the Middle East Program at Defense Priorities.

Kelanic publishes widely on energy security, great power politics, and U.S. grand strategy in the Middle East. Her work has appeared in outlets ranging from Foreign Affairs and Security Studies to The Washington Post and The National Interest. Kelanic’s book, Black Gold and Blackmail: Oil and Great Power Politics (Cornell University Press, 2020), explains the differences in energy security strategies that great powers adopt, while her edited volume (with Charles L. Glaser), Crude Strategy: Rethinking the U.S. Military Commitment to Defend Persian Gulf Oil (Georgetown University Press, 2016), urges a reappraisal of U.S. engagement in the region. Kelanic spent 10 years teaching political science at the University of Notre Dame and Williams College prior to entering the policy world. She earned her PhD in political science from the University of Chicago and her BA, summa cum laude, from Bryn Mawr College.

In the mediaIran, Middle East

Iran does not accept the US proposal. The US does not accept Iran’s request. What is the third way?

Featuring Rosemary Kelanic

June 3, 2025

Rosemary Kelanic, professor of political science and director of the Middle East Program at the Center for Political-Security Studies at […]

op-edIran, Middle East, Nuclear weapons

The False Binary at the Heart of Trump’s Iran Strategy

By Rosemary Kelanic

June 2, 2025

In the mediaHouthis, Middle East, Yemen

Was US Military Action Against the Houthis Worth It?

Featuring Rosemary Kelanic

May 20, 2025

More from Rosemary Kelanic

In the mediaIran, Middle East

Iran does not accept the US proposal. The US does not accept Iran’s request. What is the third way?

Featuring Rosemary Kelanic

June 3, 2025

op-edIran, Middle East, Nuclear weapons

The False Binary at the Heart of Trump’s Iran Strategy

By Rosemary Kelanic

June 2, 2025

In the mediaHouthis, Middle East, Yemen

Was US Military Action Against the Houthis Worth It?

Featuring Rosemary Kelanic

May 20, 2025

In the mediaYemen, Middle East

The $7 billion we wasted bombing a country we couldn’t find on a map

Featuring Rosemary Kelanic

May 17, 2025

Press ReleaseSyria, Basing and force posture, Middle East

In Syria, pair sanctions relief with a troop withdrawal

By Rosemary Kelanic

May 14, 2025

In the mediaSyria, Middle East, Sanctions

Syria Sanctions Lifted: Trump’s Big Move & Expert Rosemary Kelanic’s Warning

Featuring Rosemary Kelanic

May 14, 2025

Rosemary Kelanic Upcoming Events

virtualGreat power competition, Balance of power, China, Grand strategy, Middle East
June 10, 20253:00PM–4:00PM ET

Virtual: U.S.-China competition and the value of Middle East influence

The U.S. has expended considerable resources to dominate and influence Middle East politics through training, wars, and security guarantees built […]
RSVP

Rosemary Kelanic Past Virtual Events

virtualMiddle East, Basing and force posture, Diplomacy, Houthis, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Israel‑Hamas, Military analysis, Syria

Past Virtual Event: Trump in the Middle East: Impacts, implications, and alternatives

May 16, 2025
virtualSyria, Balance of power, Basing and force posture, Counterterrorism, Middle East, Military analysis

Past Virtual Event: Syria after Assad: Prospects for U.S. withdrawal

February 21, 2025
virtualMiddle East, Alliances, Diplomacy, Israel, Military analysis

Past Virtual Event: Assessing a formal U.S.-Saudi alliance

October 17, 2024
virtualGrand strategy, Middle East

Past Virtual Event: Does the Middle East still matter?

February 6, 2024

Rosemary Kelanic Featured Symposia

symposiumGrand strategy

Realistic recommendations for Trump II

January 13, 2025