Please join the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace Middle East program for a public discussion marking the launch of a new edited volume, “From Hardware to Holism: Re-balancing America's Security Engagement with Arab States.”

As sectarian strife embroils the Middle East in conflict and the United States gradually withdraws from the area, it is time for China to start pulling its weight on issues of regional stability.

Religious conflict, border disputes, and ethnic divisions have resulted in decades of upheaval throughout the Middle East. In the past, concerns about energy security—as well as longstanding commitments to allies and friends—have prompted U.S. engagement and intervention in that area.

The Arab Spring’s chain of revolutions across North Africa and the Middle East transformed the socio-political landscape of the region, but the future of the region remains uncertain.

Although there is a potential vacuum left in the Middle East by the U.S. pivot to Asia, China is reluctant to fill the void.