Ian Steven Lustick (born 1949) is an American political scientist and specialist on the modern history and politics of the Middle East. He currently holds the Bess W. Heyman Chair in the department of Political Sciences at the University of Pennsylvania.
He is a founder and past president of the Association for Israel Studies and past president of the American Political Science Association-Politics and History Section. Lustick became more broadly known with the publication of his book Trapped in the War on Terror (2006) in which he argues that the War on Terrorism is an irrational policy for fighting America's enemies. He argues that this policy was initially conceived of by a neo-conservative cabal[b] at the Project for a New American Century who were determined to shift the direction of U.S. foreign policy towards unilateralism. Given a number of political features unique to the US system, Lustick concluded, the War on Terror has ultimately turned into something beyond anyone's control.
In 2019 he came out with a new book Paradigm Lost: From Two-State Solution to One-State Reality analyzes the origins and implications of the disappearance of the two-state solution.
Video Title: Ian Lustick: Two States or One? Source: Middle East Policy Council. Date Published: October 15, 2013. Description:
Ian Lustick (Professor of Political Science, University of Pennsylvania) describes negotiations over a two-state solution as mere cover for continued settlement expansion and occupation. In his view, Israelis will not feel compelled to significantly alter the status quo except in the event that they feel existentially threatened. Deeply entrenched political, economic and security realities reinforce this assessment, he argues.
From the Middle East Policy Council's 74th Capitol Hill Conference, "Two States or One? The Future of Israelis and Palestinians" This event was held October 9, 2013, at the Washington Court Hotel on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. More content from this event can be found at www.mepc.org.
