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Middle East, Diplomacy, Economics and trade, Energy security, Grand strategy, International security, Israel-Hamas, Israel-Iran, 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 New York Times and the Washington Post. 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.

op-edMiddle East

The real problem with cozying up to the Saudis

By Benjamin Friedman and Rosemary Kelanic

December 5, 2025

The U.S.-Saudi romance is back. That’s at least the story in most reports about the visit of Saudi Crown Prince […]

Sanctions, Ukraine‑Russia

Do oil sanctions still work?

By Rosemary Kelanic

November 24, 2025

Press ReleaseMiddle East, Alliances, Diplomacy

Keep the U.S.-Saudi relationship modest

By Rosemary Kelanic

November 19, 2025

More from Rosemary Kelanic

op-edMiddle East

The real problem with cozying up to the Saudis

By Benjamin Friedman and Rosemary Kelanic

December 5, 2025

Sanctions, Ukraine‑Russia

Do oil sanctions still work?

By Rosemary Kelanic

November 24, 2025

Press ReleaseMiddle East, Alliances, Diplomacy

Keep the U.S.-Saudi relationship modest

By Rosemary Kelanic

November 19, 2025

In the mediaIsrael‑Iran, Middle East

Did decisive U.S. action restore deterrence—or has Washington simply been lucky?

Featuring Rosemary Kelanic

October 16, 2025

Press ReleaseIsrael‑Hamas, Diplomacy, Israel, Middle East

Protect the U.S. from Israel’s war in Gaza

By Rosemary Kelanic

October 3, 2025

op-edAfghanistan, Counterterrorism, Middle East

Turns out leaving Afghanistan did not unleash terror on U.S. or region

By Rosemary Kelanic

August 28, 2025

Rosemary Kelanic Past Events

virtualGreat power competition, Balance of power, China, Grand strategy, Middle East

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

June 10, 2025
virtualMiddle East, Basing and force posture, Diplomacy, Houthis, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Israel‑Hamas, Military analysis, Syria

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

Syria after Assad: Prospects for U.S. withdrawal

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

Assessing a formal U.S.-Saudi alliance

October 17, 2024
virtualMiddle East, Grand strategy, Israel‑Iran

Does the Middle East still matter?

February 6, 2024

Rosemary Kelanic Featured Symposia

symposiumGrand strategy

Realistic recommendations for Trump II

January 13, 2025