With a weak and divided leadership amongst the Palestinians, a new right wing government in Israel, and recurring political instability throughout the broader Middle East, the salience of different types of Islamist groups on regional and international politics is not likely to be on the wane anytime soon. Policy wonks and diplomats in Europe and the United States continue to debate how to respond to the continued successes of such groups.

Introducing his new book Resistance: The Essence of the Islamist Revolution, Alastair Crooke will provide background on what he calls the "Islamist Revolution" in the Middle East, helping to offer strategic insights into the origins and logic of Islamist groups which have adopted military resistance as a tactic, including Hamas and Hizbollah.

Tracing the essence of the Islamist Revolution from its origins in Egypt, through Najaf, Lebanon, Iran and the Iranian Revolution up to the present day, Crooke unlocks some of the thorniest issues surrounding stability in the current Middle East landscape.

Crooke, who is Director and Founder of Conflicts Forum and based in Beirut, is a former Mideast adviser to EU High Representative Javier Solana, was a senior staff member of Senator Mitchell's Fact-Finding Committee into the causes of the Intifada in 2000-2001, and has mediated cease-fire negotiations with Israel, Islamic Jihad, and Hamas in the past. He has become one of the most hands-on, informed, and controversial interpreters of modern political Islamism.

Join us for a discussion of Crooke's findings and what they might mean for American and European policy in Lebanon, Iran, Iraq, Israel/Palestine, and the wider Middle East.