A Self-Fulfilling Prophecy: The Saudi Struggle for Iraq

A Self-Fulfilling Prophecy: The Saudi Struggle for Iraq

Virtual Member-Only Briefing

June 21, 2022 | 6:00 PM – 7:15 PM ET

In recent years, the geopolitical rivalry between Saudi Arabia and Iran has dominated the headlines. Many have charted the polarization between a Saudi-led Sunni camp and an Iranian-led Shia one, assuming that a predominantly Shia state like Iraq would automatically ally with Iran. In this compelling account, Katherine Harvey tells a different story: Iraq’s alignment with Iran was not a foregone conclusion. Rather, Saudi efforts to undermine Iran have paradoxically empowered it. Please join us on Tuesday, June 21st at 6 PM EST as we discuss the implications and complex ties between Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Iraq with Katherine Harvey, Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Security Studies Program at Georgetown University.
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SPEAKER:

Katherine Harvey

Katherine Harvey is an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Security Studies Program at Georgetown University, where she teaches courses on Persian Gulf security and military strategy. She is also the author of A Self-Fulfilling Prophecy: The Saudi Struggle for Iraq (Hurst 2021 / Oxford University Press, 2022), which explores relations between Saudi Arabia and Iraq in the years following the 2003 invasion of Iraq and is based on extensive research, including interviews with some 65 Saudis, Iraqis, and Americans, who participated in the events investigated in the book. She frequently speaks and consults on the geopolitics of the Gulf region. She holds a PhD in Middle Eastern Studies from King’s College London, and started her career as an intelligence officer in the U.S. Navy, with tours ashore in the Middle East and Europe, as well as aboard the amphibious assault ship, USS Wasp. She is also a member of the Board of Advisers at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), where she obtained her MA in International Relations.

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About A Self-Fulfilling Prophecy: The Saudi Struggle for Iraq:

– “An outstanding contribution to our understanding of Iraqi and Saudi foreign policy following the 2003 U.S. invasion. Harvey’s extensive research, including interviews with senior figures on all sides, is exceptionally valuable. Her arguments are original and compelling.”– Kristian Coates
Ulrichsen, Fellow for the Middle East, Rice University
– “A timely, persuasive and original text that fills a much-needed gap–on Saudi-Iraqi relations, the role of Iraq in the Saudi-Iranian rivalry, and the Kingdom’s involvement in Iraq’s domestic politics since 2003. This promises to be an important book.” — Simon Mabon, Professor of International
Politics, Lancaster University, and author of Houses Built on Sand: Violence, Sectarianism and Revolution in the Middle East
– “Shows how King Abdullah’s flawed perception of Prime Minister al-Maliki as an Iranian agent drove the kingdom’s disengagement and weakened its foreign policy. Harvey’s account of the missteps helps to explain Saudi difficulties today in navigating Iraq, highlighting the role of human error in international relations. Informative and insightful.” — Renad Mansour, Director of the Iraq Initiative, Chatham House

 

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