Sarah Neumann
The Middle East—a region long roiled by wars, revolutions, and foreign interventions—is witnessing a profound shift in US foreign policy under the second Trump administration. President Trump’s unprecedented meeting in May 2025 with Ahmad al-Shara, the new leader of Syria and former head of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, alongside his announcement lifting US sanctions on Syria, marked not only a turning point in regional diplomacy but also a potential paradigm shift in US Middle East policy. This shift—from democracy promotion and human rights to pragmatism, economic deals, and acceptance of authoritarian rulers—raises questions about the region’s future.
Can such a policy bring lasting stability, or will it, by sidelining democratic aspirations, plunge the Middle East deeper into a cycle of authoritarianism and unrest? I would argue that this pivot, by abandoning democratic values and focusing on economic transactions and “stability,” will only bolster authoritarianism across the region. Trump’s meeting with al-Shara and support for Syria’s new government—despite its jihadist roots and authoritarian constitution—stand as stark symbols of this dangerous turn, marking the end of US interventionist policies and the dawn of a new era of regional authoritarianism with dire consequences for human rights and long-term stability.
For decades, particularly after the September 11 attacks, US foreign policy in the Middle East centred on democracy promotion and military interventions aimed at regime change. The 2003 invasion of Iraq and support for the Arab Spring uprisings exemplified this approach, often unleashing instability, extremist groups, and ultimately a failure to build sustainable democracies. However, during his second term, Donald Trump explicitly rejected these policies. In his May 2025 speech in Riyadh, Trump criticised “nation builders” and “neoconservatives,” branding the United States’ past interventions as “failures,” pointing to trillions spent in Kabul and Baghdad and the lack of any development results. Instead of championing democratic values, Trump embraced what he called the “Arab way,” essentially endorsing regional traditions often synonymous with authoritarian rule.
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