• Research
  • Politika
  • About
Carnegie Russia Eurasia center logoCarnegie lettermark logo
  • Donate
{
  "authors": [
    "H. A. Hellyer"
  ],
  "type": "legacyinthemedia",
  "centerAffiliationAll": "dc",
  "centers": [
    "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
    "Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center"
  ],
  "collections": [],
  "englishNewsletterAll": "menaTransitions",
  "nonEnglishNewsletterAll": "",
  "primaryCenter": "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
  "programAffiliation": "MEP",
  "programs": [
    "Middle East"
  ],
  "projects": [],
  "regions": [
    "North America",
    "United States",
    "Middle East"
  ],
  "topics": [
    "Political Reform",
    "Foreign Policy"
  ]
}

Source: Getty

In The Media

Can Biden Bring Anything New at All to the Middle East?

A Biden administration is going to be expressing a lot of public dissatisfaction with different elements of the powers struggling for influence in the Middle East–and that will be a significant difference from the Trump era.

Link Copied
By H. A. Hellyer
Published on Nov 20, 2020

Source: Newsweek

I've been researching different parts of the wider MENA region as an "outsider-insider" for some two decades. A few days after the Biden administration takes office, it will be the 10th anniversary of the Egyptian revolutionary uprising of 2011 – an uprising I experienced, during which Joe Biden was Vice-President. A decade on from that, the region's politics are now deeply impacted by a new geopolitical 'cold war' – the MENA's own sluggish struggle between two axes struggling for dominance in the region, alongside older rivalries. Against the backdrop of those enmities, one may ask: what's the likely meaning of a Biden-Harris administration for the region itself? What can American allies inside, and outside, the region expect? A decade on from the uprising, can activists on the ground expect anything new?

Read Full Text

This article was originally published in Newsweek.

About the Author

H. A. Hellyer

Former Nonresident Scholar, Middle East Program

Dr. H.A. Hellyer was a nonresident scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. He serves as a senior associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies in London, and as a Cambridge University fellow.

    Recent Work

  • Commentary
    The Sinwar Delusion

      H. A. Hellyer

  • Commentary
    Why Gaza Forces Europe to Act

      H. A. Hellyer

H. A. Hellyer
Former Nonresident Scholar, Middle East Program
H. A. Hellyer
Political ReformForeign PolicyNorth AmericaUnited StatesMiddle East

Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.

More Work from Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center

  • Commentary
    Carnegie Politika
    Who Is Responsible for the Demise of the Russian Internet?

    The Russian state has opted for complete ideological control of the internet and is prepared to bear the associated costs.

      Maria Kolomychenko

  • Commentary
    Carnegie Politika
    Is Opposition to Online Restrictions an Inflection Point for the Russian Regime?

    After four years of war, there is no one who can stand up to the security establishment, and President Vladimir Putin is increasingly passive. 

      Tatiana Stanovaya

  • Commentary
    Carnegie Politika
    What’s Having More Impact on Russian Oil Export Revenues: Ukrainian Strikes or Rising Prices?

    Although Ukrainian strikes have led to a noticeable decline in the physical volume of Russian oil exports, the rise in prices has more than made up for it.

      • Sergey Vakulenko

      Sergey Vakulenko

  • Commentary
    Carnegie Politika
    Russia Is Meddling for Meddling’s Sake in the Middle East

    The Russian leadership wants to avoid a dangerous precedent in which it is squeezed out of Iran by the United States and Israel—and left powerless to respond in any meaningful way.

      Nikita Smagin

  • Commentary
    Carnegie Politika
    Is Frustration With Armenia’s Pashinyan Enough to Bring the Pro-Russia Opposition to Power?

    It’s true that many Armenians would vote for anyone just to be rid of Pashinyan, whom they blame for the loss of Nagorno-Karabakh, but the pro-Russia opposition is unlikely to be able to channel that frustration into an electoral victory.

      Mikayel Zolyan

Get more news and analysis from
Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center
Carnegie Russia Eurasia logo, white
  • Research
  • Politika
  • About
  • Experts
  • Events
  • Contact
  • Privacy
  • For Media
Get more news and analysis from
Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center
© 2026 Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. All rights reserved.