Roby Barrett

Dr. Roby Barrett is  the president of a consulting firm, specializing in defense and security technology applications and systems including nuclear issues, police-border security,  command and control, and weapons acquisition issues. He is a former Foreign Service officer and a graduate of the Foreign Service Institute’s intensive 2-year Arab Language and Middle East Area Studies program as well as the Counterterrorism Tactics and Special Operations courses.

Dr. Barrett is a Senior Fellow with the Joint Special Operations University and the Air Force Special Operations School. He was an Eisenhower-Roberts fellow of the Eisenhower Institute in Washington D.C., a Rotary International fellow at the Russian and East European Institute at the University of Munich, a Scottish Rite Research fellow at Oxford University.

Dr. Barrett was a guest speaker at the Bahrain MOI Gulf Security Forum (2008), at the opening of the King Abdullah Special Operations Training Center (Amman 2009), and the Bahrain SOF Conference (2010). Dr. Barrett supported numerous military units including the 5th Special Forces Group, 101st Airborne both in the U.S. and Iraq, Naval Special Warfare Command both in the U.S. and the Arabian Gulf, 4th Psychological Warfare Group, and 19th Special Forces Group.

Education
B.A. in History and Government at Texas A&M University - Commerce; M.A. in History and Government at Baylor University; M.A. in Government at Texas A&M University - Commerce; Ph.D. in Middle East and South Asian History at University of Texas at Austin.

Publication Highlights

"The Gulf and the Struggle for Hegemony: Arabs, Iranians, and the West in Conflict", Middle East Institute [More Info]
"The Collapse of Iraq and Syria: The End of the Colonial Construct in the Greater Levant", Joint Special Operations University [PDF]
"Saudi Arabia: Modernity, Stability and the Twenty-First Century Monarchy," Joint Special Operations University [PDF]
"Intervention in Iraq, 1958-1959," The Middle East Institute [PDF]
"Iran: Illusion, Reality, and Interests," Joint Special Operations University [PDF]
"U.S. Policy and Iraq: Pragmatism and Progressive Ideals," NPEJ [PDF]
"Yemen: A Different Political Paradigm in Context," Joint Special Operations University [PDF]
"Oman: The Present in the Context of a Fractured Past," Joint Special Operations University [PDF]

Languages
Arabic, German

Countries of Expertise
Arabian Gulf States, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Palestine, Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, Pakistan, India

Issues of Expertise
Terrorism/Security Issues, Political Movements, Cultural/Tribal Issues, Regional Foreign Policy, Political/Military Affairs, Nuclear Issues

Contact: rbarrett@c-commcorp.com

Publications

Analysis

Jan 20, 2016

Roby Barrett

U.S. Policy in Post-Sykes-Picot Era

Jan 20, 2016

Roby Barrett

The 2003 invasion of Iraq began a process that returned the Levant region to its historic state as a borderland between competing centers of power. The resulting power vacuum destroyed the artificial state structures that flowed from Sykes-Picot, shattering state control in the region. Can U.S. policy and the structure of foreign policy institutions adjust to this new reality?
Survey

Sep 28, 2015

Roby Barrett

The UAE and Foreign Aid

Sep 28, 2015

Roby Barrett

A recent Ipsos poll asked citizens of the world’s 17 countries that give the most foreign aid their opinion regarding this assistance. The UAE, a small state, has for some time used its petroleum wealth to exert large-state influence in multiple arenas. Its generous foreign aid program is part of that effort. Just as important, the UAE government has worked to gain the buy-in of its citizens to support this policy, and the poll numbers indicate that the government indeed enjoys significant support from the more educated elements of its citizenry regarding foreign aid.
Analysis

Jun 17, 2015

Roby Barrett

Oman’s Balancing Act in the Yemen Conflict

Jun 17, 2015

Roby Barrett

Oman’s government has declined to participate in the current Saudi-led military effort in Yemen. Instead, the country’s ruler, Sultan Qaboos, has called for “non-interference.” This position is an argument for internal political compromise that will eliminate the perceived need for Arab military intervention.
Analysis

May 4, 2015

Roby Barrett

Saudi Arabia’s Return to Traditional Yemen Policy

May 4, 2015

Roby Barrett

Saudi Arabia’s intervention in Yemen is not surprising given Riyadh’s past policies and current perspectives on Arabian Gulf security. Yemen has always suffered from varying degrees of chaos and civil strife. Even in the best of times, large areas of the country lacked government control, and few if any in the region saw it as a functioning nation state. Whatever Gulf Arab leaders may have said publicly, most have viewed Yemen as a loose collection of autonomous or even independent regions, held together only by the lines drawn on a map. As long as Yemen’s problems remained contained within those lines, the Kingdom and its allies could engage with Yemen’s leadership, particularly the governments of President Ali Abdullah Saleh and Interim President Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi, to debate solutions—but this is no longer the case.