The Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center's annual conference will bring together scholars from Carnegie's global centers in Beirut, Berlin, Brussels, Beijing, New Delhi, and Washington, alongside leading policymakers and outside experts, to examine the forces reshaping the Middle East and the international order.

Against the backdrop of ongoing conflict in the Middle East and shifting regional alignments, renewed great-power competition, technological transformation, and growing economic uncertainty, the conference will explore how states and societies are adapting to a rapidly changing strategic landscape. Discussions will address the future of U.S. foreign policy, global economic and trade networks, China's and India's growing international roles, emerging regional alliances, the changing nature of warfare, artificial intelligence, nuclear risks, post-conflict reconstruction, and Lebanon's future.

The conference, which will encompass regional and international perspectives, will seek to move beyond immediate crises to assess the broader transformations that are likely to shape the Middle East and the international system in 2027 and beyond.