Member of the Month - June 2008

Tamara Cofman Wittes

Director, Middle East Democracy and Development Project Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution
[WIIS Member Since June 2002]

Tamara Cofman Wittes is a Senior Fellow in the Saban Center for Middle East Policy, a regional policy center at The Brookings Institution. She also directs the Saban Center’s Middle East Democracy and Development (MEDD) Project, which analyzes political and economic reform in the region and US efforts to promote democracy there. It also hosts visiting fellows from the Middle East.

Before joining the Saban Center in December 2003, Dr. Wittes served as Middle East specialist at the US Institute of Peace and previously as director of programs at the Middle East Institute in Washington. She has also taught courses in International Relations and Security Studies at Georgetown University. Dr. Wittes was one of the first recipients of the Rabin-Peres Peace Award, established by President Bill Clinton in 1997.

Dr. Wittes’s latest book is Freedom’s Unsteady March: America’s Role in Building Arab Democracy (Brookings Press, 2008). She is also editor of How Israelis and Palestinians Negotiate: A Cross-Cultural Analysis of the Oslo Peace Process (USIP, 2005). She is a frequent commentator on broadcast media including CNN, CNNI, BBC, On Point with Tom Ashbrook (WBUR), Marketplace (PRI), and Al-Jazeera and in print outlets worldwide. Her analyses of US democracy promotion, Arab politics, the Middle East peace process, and other policy topics have been published in the Washington Post, Policy Review, the American Interest, and the Weekly Standard, among others. Dr. Wittes holds a B.A. in Judaic and Near Eastern Studies from Oberlin College; her M.A. and Ph.D. in Government are from Georgetown University. She is a member of Women in International Security and the Council on Foreign Relations, and serves as board chair of the Tharwa Foundation, USA.

Words of Advice:
Never be ashamed to admit “I don’t know.” Often, younger people assume that being an expert in something means never speaking those three words. But covering up your knowledge gaps can keep you from learning! Moreover, would YOU really trust someone who always has ALL the answers? Try these on for size: "I haven't heard of that [author, article, whatever] -- can you tell me about it?" and "I don't know the answer, but I will find out!" And remember that sometimes uncertainty is the most honest response to complex situations. Expertise means a lot, but reliability means more.

Dr Wittes can be reached at twittes@brookings.edu for comments or questions.

Get involved! We would like to feature a WIIS member each month. Please submit suggestions and recommendations to Jennifer Park, Outreach Coordinator for WIIS at wiisoutreach@georgetown.edu.