On The Issues Episode 110: Marwan Muasher

On the Issues with Alon Ben-Meir

Today’s guest is Marwan Muasher, vice president for studies at Carnegie and former Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister of Jordan. In this episode, Alon and Marwan discuss the Israel-Hamas war – what exit strategy that can be envisioned at this time and what parameters will need to be established, what changes are needed among the Israeli, Palestinian, and American governments to enable a conducive negotiating process, and the current conflagration’s impact on Jordan. Full bio Marwan Muasher is vice president for studies at Carnegie, where he oversees research in Washington and Beirut on the Middle East. Muasher served as foreign minister (2002–2004) and deputy prime minister (2004–2005) of Jordan, and his career has spanned the areas of diplomacy, development, civil society, and communications. Muasher began his career as a journalist for the Jordan Times. He then served at the Ministry of Planning, at the prime minister’s office as press adviser, and as director of the Jordan Information Bureau in Washington. In 1995, Muasher opened Jordan’s first embassy in Israel, and in 1996 he became minister of information and the government spokesperson. From 1997 to 2002, he served in Washington again as ambassador, negotiating the first free-trade agreement between the United States and an Arab nation. He then returned to Jordan to serve as foreign minister, where he played a central role in developing the Arab Peace Initiative and the Middle East roadmap. In 2004, he became deputy prime minister responsible for reform and government performance and led the effort to produce a ten-year plan for political, economic, and social reform. From 2006 to 2007, he was a member of the Jordanian Senate. From 2007 to 2010, he was senior vice president of external affairs at the World Bank. He is the author of The Arab Center: The Promise of Moderation (Yale University Press, 2008) and The Second Arab Awakening and the Battle for Pluralism (Yale University Press, 2014).