Steven A. Cook

Eni Enrico Mattei Senior Fellow for Middle East and Africa Studies and Director of the International Affairs Fellowship for Tenured International Relations Scholars

Expert Bio

Steven A. Cook is Eni Enrico Mattei senior fellow for Middle East and Africa studies and director of the International Affairs Fellowship for Tenured International Relations Scholars at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). He is an expert on Arab and Turkish politics as well as U.S.-Middle East policy. Cook is the author of False Dawn: Protest, Democracy, and Violence in the New Middle EastThe Struggle for Egypt: From Nasser to Tahrir Square, which won the 2012 gold medal from the Washington Institute for Near East Policy; and Ruling but Not Governing: The Military and Political Development in Egypt, Algeria, and Turkey. Cook is also the author of the recently published Oxford University Press book, The End of Ambition: America’s Past, Present, and Future in the Middle East.

Cook is a columnist at Foreign Policy magazine. He has also published widely in international affairs journals, opinion magazines, and newspapers, and is a frequent commentator on radio and television. His work can also be found on CFR.org.

Prior to joining CFR, Cook was a research fellow at the Brookings Institution (2001–02) and a Soref research fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy (1995–96).

Cook holds a BA in international studies from Vassar College, an MA in international relations from Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies, and an MA and a PhD in political science from the University of Pennsylvania. He speaks Arabic and Turkish and reads French.

affiliations

  • Foreign Policy, columnist
  • International Capital Strategies, senior advisor

Media Inquiries

Press Inquiries: communications@cfr.org
Clear All

Filter By

Regions
Topics
Type

Top Stories on CFR

Kashmir

 The latest attack on civilian tourists in Kashmir has been one of the worst attacks in the region since 2019, resulting in a tit-for-tat measure between India and Pakistan.  

Ukraine

Senior U.S. and French officials are meeting in Paris this week as part of President Donald Trump’s effort to negotiate a cease-fire in Ukraine—but the chances of that deal becoming a reality appear increasingly slim.

Canada

Canadians are heading to the polls at the most fraught moment in U.S.-Canada relations in eighty years.