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Home / People / Rosemary Kelanic
@rkelanic
rose.kelanic@defp.org
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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.

Press ReleaseIsrael‑Iran, Middle East

Deescalation in the Middle East is welcome

By Rosemary Kelanic

June 23, 2025

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 23, 2025 Contact: press@defensepriorities.org WASHINGTON, DC—Today, President Trump claimed that Israel and Iran have agreed to […]

In the mediaIsrael‑Iran, Middle East

With risky strike, Trump puts presidency on the line

Featuring Rosemary Kelanic

June 22, 2025

In the mediaIsrael‑Iran, Middle East

Rosemary Kelanic and Danielle Pletka on U.S. entry into Iran-Israel conflict

Featuring Rosemary Kelanic

June 21, 2025

More from Rosemary Kelanic

Press ReleaseIsrael‑Iran, Middle East

Deescalation in the Middle East is welcome

By Rosemary Kelanic

June 23, 2025

In the mediaIsrael‑Iran, Middle East

With risky strike, Trump puts presidency on the line

Featuring Rosemary Kelanic

June 22, 2025

In the mediaIsrael‑Iran, Middle East

Rosemary Kelanic and Danielle Pletka on U.S. entry into Iran-Israel conflict

Featuring Rosemary Kelanic

June 21, 2025

In the mediaIsrael‑Iran, Iran, Israel, Middle East

Trump claims success after bombing key Iran nuclear sites

Featuring Rosemary Kelanic

June 21, 2025

Press ReleaseIsrael‑Iran, Middle East

U.S. strikes on Iran should stop, not creep to regime change

By Rosemary Kelanic and Jennifer Kavanagh

June 21, 2025

In the mediaIsrael‑Iran, Middle East

Trump’s Iran pivot reopens old Iraq wounds

Featuring Rosemary Kelanic

June 20, 2025

RSVP

Rosemary Kelanic Past Virtual Events

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

Past Virtual Event: 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

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
virtualMiddle East, Grand strategy, Israel‑Iran

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

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