Abraham Accords – The Gulf States, Israel, and the Limits of Normalization

Dr. Elham Fakhro (HLS LLM ’10) will discuss her groundbreaking in-depth analysis of the Abraham Accords, shedding new light on their causes and consequences. In her new book published by Columbia University Press, Fakhro demonstrates how shared security concerns, economic interests, and regional political shockwaves led to a surprising strategic convergence between the Gulf states and Israel, setting the stage for covert relations to come out into the open. Fakhro underscores how Washington’s Middle East policy shifted toward expanding the agreements at the expense of attention to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict—with profound costs.