The Giant Has Problems Too: An insider’s look at the challenges of US power
Key information
- Date
- Time
-
5:00 pm to 6:00 pm
- Venue
- Main Building, SOAS
- Room
- Khalili Lecture Theatre (KLT)
About this event
The SOAS Middle East Institute is pleased to welcome SOAS alum David Des Roches (Politics, 1991), Associate Professor at the Near East South Asia Center for Security Studies, and an expert in defence policy and security studies, to deliver a public talk.
Des Roches is a veteran of the White House, the Pentagon, and the US Department of Homeland Security. His talk, “The Giant Has Problems Too: An Insider’s Look at the Challenges of US Power”, will discuss the United States’ national security goals and the systemic obstacles to achieving them. His insights promise to offer a frank view into the underlying structural issues and circumstances that have restricted well-known initiatives, such as the "pivot" to Asia, the strategic shift in U.S. foreign policy towards prioritising its engagement and presence in the Asia-Pacific region in 2011, which has persisted since the Obama administration.
Join us for a timely talk unpacking what’s behind changes in US foreign policy priorities including towards the Middle East.
About the speaker
David B. Des Roches is Associate Professor at the Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies (NESA) at National Defense University, where he specializes in countries of the Arabian Peninsula, Gulf Cooperation Council Regional Security, Border Security, Weapons Transfers, Missile Defense, Counterinsurgency, Terrorism and emerging trends.
He joined NESA in 2011 after serving the Office of the Secretary of Defense for Policy in numerous positions, including as Director of the Gulf and Arabian Peninsula, the DoD liaison to the Department of Homeland Security, the Senior Country Director for Pakistan, the NATO Operations Director (where he drafted the NATO comprehensive approach directive), the Deputy Director for Peacekeeping, and the spokesman for the Defense Security Cooperation Agency. Prior to that, he served in the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy as an International Law Enforcement Analyst and Special Assistant for Strategy.
Professor Des Roches has lectured at the Qatari Staff College, the Saudi War College, and is the author of numerous articles and chapters on Gulf security. He is the editor of The Arms Trade, Military Services and the Security Market in the Gulf: Trends and Implications (Berlin: Gerlach, 2016), and a contributing author of the NATO curriculum on counterinsurgency as well as the NATO curriculum on counterterrorism. He regularly presents at various Washington and international think tanks on Middle East and security issues.
Chair
- Lina Khatib (Director, SOAS Middle East Institute)
Registration
This event is free to attend, but registration is required. Please note that seating is on a first-come, first-served basis.
