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The ideological and geopolitical rivalry that defined the Cold War was but one factor influencing the many, often overlapping, regional and internal conflicts in the Middle East. Decolonisation, oil, Arab-Israeli conflict, Islamic fundamentalism were, in fact, probably more profound causes of the seemingly chronic instability in the region that was, in the late 1970s, labeled the 'Arc of Crisis.'  Yet, it is impossible to make sense of the modern MIddle East if we overlook the evident interest of the United States and the Soviet Union in the region. Washington and Moscow often exacerbated pre-existing conflicts.  In the case of the USSR's invasion of Afghanistan such entanglement was possibly terminal.  Meanwhile, the United States was locked into a seemingly endless cycle of engagement and frustration that the end of the Cold War only exacerbated. While the Cold War ideological battle lines made a limited impression on the MIddle East, the superpower rivalry guaranteed that the conflicts of the MIddle East cauldron not only remained unresolved but were often overheated with legacies that remain visible today.

This event is part of the 2025 Pierre du Bois Annual Conference.