AT THE CENTER

The U.S. Push for Saudi-Israel Normalization

The Biden administration has been making efforts to expand the Abraham Accords by brokering an agreement on normalization of relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel. The Saudis have set out their goals, which alongside their desire for progress on the Israel-Palestinian issue include several major “asks” from the US: a security guarantee, easier access to

“The threat to the liberal order comes not from political shifts within democratic societies from liberal to conservative parties; that’s the normal cycle of democratic politics. It comes from resurgent autocrats in Russia, China, North Korea and Iran who do not tolerate such political shifts. Authoritarianism, not nationalism, poses the real threat to the liberal order.”

-Jacob Heilbrunn

“The most important summits between leaders in Washington and Moscow—during the Nixon and Reagan administrations—took place precisely when the two governments recognized the dangers of inveterate mutual hostility and sought to limit them.”

-Paul J. Saunders