Pivotal States Project

As part of its “Muslim World Initiative,” the Pivotal States project constitutes a major analytical effort to examine states that by virtue of their geo-strategic importance or political and religious influence play a significant role within the Muslim world. While America's bilateral relations with these states receives intense scrutiny in the public arena, the question of their influence within the broader Muslim world is much less apparent and not well understood. Moreover, despite the heightened level of interest in these countries post-9/11, there is little understanding as to how their political and social evolution will affect U.S. interests across the broader arena of the Muslim world.

As the centerpiece of this research effort, the Institute is publishing a series of monographs based on the premise that a state can be pivotal both in positive and negative terms depending upon its role in their region and beyond. Expanding this notion to the Muslim world and U.S. interests in the Muslim world, this series contends that some states are clearly more important than others and that these states should comprise the focus of U.S. attention and resources.

This series aims to look at each pivotal state in the Muslim World.  Each volume in this series will examine the various “vectors” of influence exerted by a state across the Muslim world.  These vectors include geostrategic, economic/financial, political/diplomatic, cultural, social and/or legal sources of influence. 

As initially conceived, the “Pivotal States” project covers Turkey, Pakistan, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Indonesia and Nigeria.

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