Description
For decades, Israeli security policy has been shaped by military dominance, deterrence and the pursuit of strategic control.
Yet despite overwhelming military superiority, the region remains locked in recurring cycles of violence and instability.
Bringing together leading historians and geopolitical thinkers, this conversation examines the long-term consequences of security-driven statecraft, the evolution of Israeli strategic doctrine and the question of whether military power alone can ever produce lasting peace or security in the region.
About the Academic
Professor Paul Rogers
Paul is Emeritus Professor of Peace Studies at Bradford University. He is a biologist by original training, lecturing at Imperial College in plant pathology and working as a senior scientific officer in Uganda and Kenya. He moved to Peace Studies at Bradford University in 1979, working primarily on the changing causes of international conflict, especially in relation to socio-economic divisions and environmental limits to growth. He is international security adviser to Open Democracy, writes a weekly column, and is a frequent broadcaster. His most recent book is The Insecurity Trap, Hawthorn Press, 2024.
About the Speaker
Salman Shaikh
Salman Shaikh is the Founder and CEO of The Shaikh Group (TSG), a specialised peace-building organisation dedicated to mitigating and resolving violent conflict, with a focus on the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Shaikh has extensive experience leading mediation and Track II diplomacy initiatives with local actors, governments, and key international actors – with a focus on Syria, the broader Levant, the Gulf region and Iran. Before establishing TSG, Shaikh was the director of the Brookings Institution’s Doha Center, where his research focused on conflict resolution, domestic policy, and geopolitics of the Middle East. Shaikh previously worked the United Nations in a number of offices. Shaikh also served as director for policy and research in the private office of Her Highness Sheikha Moza bin Nasser al-Missned, the Consort of the former Emir of the State of Qatar.
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