The general goal of the seminar is to revisit the evolving influence of global powers in the region in historical perspective. This seminar will examine how state and non-state actors in the Middle East perceive the changing interests and engagement of China, Russia, and the United States   More specifically, we will revisit a two-part assumption from the perspectives of regional actors: First, that actors in the region perceive the U.S. as more passive or disengaged during the Obama and Trump administrations, particularly in comparison to its regional role during the two decades from 1991 to 2011. Second, that actors in the region believe Russia and China are playing more active roles in the region in an effort to fill the regional "power vacuum" created by what some have characterized as U.S.'s foreign policy retrenchment or rebalancing.