In this podcast, Peter Mandaville, Professor of Government and Politics at George Mason University, and Mohammad Sagha, Associate at the Project on Shi'ism and Global Affairs at Harvard's Weatherhead Center discuss U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East, Islamic revivalist movements and political thought in the region, as well Mandaville's scholarly works, including his survey study, Islam and Politics. The discussion also centers on important sectarian dynamics between Shi'a and Sunni Muslims in the Middle East as well as U.S. grand strategy and potential future geopolitical trajectories for state actors in West Asia, especially in light of China's growing influence in the region. Dr. Peter Mandaville is Professor of Government and Politics in the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University. He is also a Nonresident Senior Fellow in Foreign Policy Studies at the Brookings Institution and Senior Research Fellow at Georgetown University’s Berkley Center for Religion, Peace & World Affairs. From 2015-16 he was a Senior Advisor in the Office of Religion and Global Affairs at the U.S. State Department. Previous government experience includes serving as a member of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s Policy Planning Staff from 2011-12 where he helped shape the U.S. response to the Arab Spring. At Mason he was previously the Founding Director of the Center for Global Studies and also Director of the Ali Vural Ak Center for Global Islamic Studies. His previous visiting affiliations have included American University, the Center for Strategic and International Studies, and the Pew Research Center.