An examination of the complex consequences of U.S. policy in light of the Arab Spring, the increasing roles played in the region by China and other emerging powers, and the simmering Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Richard Nixon’s 1972 decision to normalize relations with the Peoples’ Republic of China changed the global political balance in deep and lasting ways. While today’s U.S.-China relationship—a direct result of that groundbreaking trip—is in a place few could have imagined in 1972, it faces many difficult challenges in the coming years.

While viewed from afar, the Arab world may appear at present to be a zone of strife, even in these turbulent times, Saudi Arabia and the region can be seen to present many more opportunities for transnational cooperation than they do for conflict.