Experts debate Russian policy in Middle East

The Hopkins chapter of the Alexander Hamilton Society hosted a debate on Russian influence and foreign policy in the Middle East on Wednesday, Oct. 26 in Charles Commons. The debate featured Robert Freedman, a political science professor and Michael Singh, a national security expert from the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. Steven David, a professor of political science, moderated the discussion.

Each speaker gave opening statements, followed by a moderated discussion and a question and answer session.

Freedman began his remarks by acknowledging that most people understand Russia’s influence in the Middle East.

“My task tonight is not to prove that Russia is active in the Middle East,” he said. “Let me start with my basic proposition: Russia was able to enter the Middle East because it was pushing on an open door because of acts of omission and commission by the United States.”

Freedman summarized Russian involvement throughout the region. He explained its economic, military and cultural ties with countries such as Egypt, Turkey, Israel, Iran and Syria. He cited case studies as evidence of effective Russian action and lack of U.S. opposition.

Singh built on Freedman’s remarks by describing how Russia has allied itself with nations who want to unburden themselves from American influence, such as Syria and Iran.

According to Singh, these are examples of Russia working to counterbalance global U.S. dominance.

“Vladimir Putin, especially in this second presidency as it were, has really focused on trying to re-establish Russian prestige in the world,” he said. “If you listen to what Russian officials say, they are not content with a world that is led by the United States.”

David asked the speakers if they believed Russia has the capability to challenge the U.S. given its small economy and military.

Freedman claimed that weak U.S. policy has made it easy for Russia to exert power and influence in the Middle East. Singh admitted that while Russia poses no realistic threat based on its economy and military, it does challenge the liberal world order that the U.S. supports.

As an example, he talked about Russian action and U.S. inaction in exacerbating the refugee crisis in Europe.

During the question and answer period, students asked the professors about different topics. These included the Kremlin’s intervention in the 2016 presidential election, the possibility of more U.S. soldiers based in the Middle East and the media’s role in characterizing foreign relations, among others.

One student asked the speakers if they believed that Russia and America are engaged in a new Cold War, and if so, how they would characterize it.

Freedman said that the Cold War struggle between communism and capitalism has perished. However, he sees today’s ideological conflict between traditional Russian orthodox values and American liberal, democratic ideals as a symbol of a new Cold War.

Singh disagreed, taking issue with the use of the phrase ‘Cold War.’ While he conceded that the analogy is appealing, he believed the simplification could lead to bad policy choices that would not be appropriate given the world’s changing and multipolar nature.

Junior Benjamin Gaal, vice president of the Alexander Hamilton Society, explained why the organization hosted the debate.

“As a society, we believe that it’s important that debate be brought back to college campuses,” Gaal said. “We bring speakers who we think will differ from the traditional campus views. We don’t ask anyone to attune to those views, we just ask that they come, listen, form their own opinions, listen to the debate, get some food and basically have more well-rounded knowledge.”

Gaal noted that they selected the topic because it is relevant.

“We decided that we wanted the topic of the debate to be Russia in the Middle East, particularly because it’s a topic you hear a lot about in the news, but also because it’s relevant to the election.”

Gaal further elaborated on the merits of the two speakers.

“Dr. Freedman is our on-campus Russian expert,” Gaal said. “And Michael Singh, we researched through our own Alexander Hamilton Society website. We thought that he had a very impressive background as far as serving in a presidential administration and dealing with the Middle East.”

Freshman Hana Kadir decided to attend the event because she is interested in studying Middle Eastern policy.

She enjoyed hearing the two speakers share their knowledge and expertise on the topic.

“I liked Mr. Singh’s point of view because he has worked in the foreign policy sector and has [that] experience,” Kadir said. “I liked the dichotomy of him having experience and then Professor Freedman having taught the theory side of [the issue]. I thought it was interesting and you could definitely see that reflected in their opinions. I think Mr. Singh was more of a realist, as he said.”