American Universities in the Middle East and U.S. Foreign Policy by Pratik Chougule (review)

Reviewed by: American Universities in the Middle East and U.S. Foreign Policy by Pratik Chougule Moaaz Hamid American Universities in the Middle East and U.S. Foreign Policy PRATIK CHOUGULE Brill, 2022, 163 pages. The book American Universities in the Middle East and U.S. Foreign Policy by Pratik Chougule is an excellent example of how being embedded in a context provides for robust research into and understanding of a phenomenon. The book examines the role of American universities in the Middle East and its relationship to U.S. foreign policy. It also explores the historical evolution of this relationship, the challenges and opportunities these universities present, and their impact on the region. This book offers its readers an apt historical treatment and pertinent case studies for well-researched guidance that could be particularly helpful to policymakers who are often forced to make decisions without these aspects of the context in their vision. U.S. foreign policy emerged as a response to broader challenges emanating from the region and how it intersected with local ambitions for educational reform. The historical evolution of American universities in the Middle East has been affected by U.S. foreign policy and vice versa, which in turn was influenced by regional and geopolitical conditions through different times and at different sites. The author tracks and delineates these shifts through key events and processes and the significance of each. This historicism is extremely important in contextualizing and grounding the entire book, as the analysis and case studies would be incomplete without it. The book explores the following major themes: The significance of varied bilateral partnerships in terms of support and cooperation with regional governments and how they shaped the role and impact of American universities; The challenges and complexities of involvement of American universities in the context of the global war on terrorism and in nation-and state-building efforts; The role of American universities and branch campuses in the education landscapes of the region under the backdrop of internationalization and globalization of higher education. Another important theme the book explores is the concept of American soft power and knowledge diplomacy and its influence on regional stability and development. The author astutely notes the challenges and tradeoffs despite the overall success of these universities in propagating Western liberal democratic values in the region. End Page 158 The theme running through the case studies is how American universities' contribution to the expansion of higher education in the Middle East has been unable to follow a standardized approach as regional politics and bilateral partnerships vary through time due to geopolitical, regional, and local discourse and practices at different locations. The relative alterations in U.S. foreign policy prescriptions and their uptake due to the aforementioned factors are evident from the establishment of an education city in Qatar and the unique set of challenges faced by American universities in Egypt, Afghanistan, and Iraq. These examples are explored in detail to explicate the variations and impacts ranging from a functional diplomatic relationship in Qatar to military intervention in Afghanistan and Iraq. A consistent theme is how the internationalization and globalization of higher education, and the liberalization, democratization, and deradicalization that usually accompany the process, have formed the underlying orientation of U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East toward the proliferation of American-style higher education and universities. This underlying ideology and realization by the U.S., regional governments, and the Middle Eastern public that American universities represent U.S. and western interests and soft power in the region create challenges ranging from government sanctions and, at times, attacks on the university campuses and abductions of university officials in response to regional and geopolitical events. This highlights the ideological challenge these universities pose as geopolitics, regional tensions, and U.S. foreign policy interact in the region. The ideological role played by universities and their administrators is also explored by noting temporal changes affecting the significance of these institutions over different time periods because of changes in global, regional, local, and U.S. events. The author also notes the complex challenges and tensions that university administrators face, often having to act as arbitrators between local, regional, and U.S. stakeholders...