The Aspen Institute

From August 7-11, the Aspen Strategy Group’s Summer Workshop examined the roots and implications of radicalism in the Middle East. The group endeavored to make sense of the region’s many dynamic and intertwined challenges that have contributed to a rise in radicalism, such as the growing humanitarian crisis in Syria and the Shia-Sunni sectarian divide. Opening the workshop, Bernard Haykel gave the annual Ernest R. May Memorial Lecture in which he provided historical and ideological context for the rise of militant jihadism. Throughout the roundtable sessions, participants sought to define American objectives in the region. Four Aspen Strategy Group members debated the best approach to counter the Islamic State in an NPR Intelligence Squared broadcast titled, “Containment is Not Enough: ISIS Must Be Defeated.” A public event on the topic: “Responding to the Rise of ISIS” featured David Petraeus, Fran Townsend, and Bernard Haykel in conversation with ASG Director Nick Burns on the gravity of the threat ISIS poses and what the United States should do about it. Following the Summer Workshop, Co-Chair Joe Nye authored an op-ed on how to fight the Islamic State that identified challenges to American hard and soft power strategies in the region. A related topic, the recently negotiated Iran nuclear deal, was also a key focus during the meeting. Aspen Strategy Group member, Nicholas Kristof, expressed the group’s perspectives regarding the deal in his column. The Aspen Strategy Group will release all the papers commissioned for the meeting in a policy book to be released this autumn.