Dr. Robert Mason is Associate Professor and Director of the Middle East Studies Center at the American University in Cairo. His research focus is on the international relations of the Middle East, with a particular emphasis on the Gulf States. His most recent books include Reassessing Order and Disorder in the Middle East: Regional Imbalance or Disintegration (Rowman and Littlefield, 2017) and Egypt and the Gulf: A Renewed Regional Policy Alliance (Gerlach Press, 2017).