The presentation situates the current discussion about American policy towards the Middle East within the ongoing debate about if we are witnessing the “end of the American era in the Middle East.” It argues the Obama administration’s response to 2010-12 Arab uprisings have sought a redefinition of the American rationale for its continuing, if not expanding, diplomatic and military presence in the region. I show how the American recognition of an Arab democratic imaginary has allowed the US and Europe to speak about the possible incorporation of the Arab world in a US-led liberal international order defined by economic independence and mutual security arrangements and regulated by global (or rather “Western-dominated”) norms and international institutions. A close reading of events, however, shows how shifts in US policy have largely been in response to political change generated by local social and political forces (be they liberal, populist, or Islamist) who largely reject external efforts to define the regional order. The presentation suggests that several emerging forces are pushing to shape the development of a multi-actor, though possibly more unstable, regional system in the Middle East. A major, ongoing trend has been the increasing assertiveness of regional ‘middle powers’ such as Turkey, Iran, now Qatar and likely Egypt in the future. Each of these states is using a range of tools to project influence, exploit geopolitical shifts caused but the uprisings, and articulate (rival) visions for the emergence of a multi-actor regional order. It is not clear, however, to what degree the US is willing to accommodate the rise of more autonomous regional actors. In fact, recent events seem to be leading the US to become more narrowly reliant on Israel and the smaller Gulf states to sustain the American ability to project power in the region. The presentation concludes that we might be returning to an era like the 1950s, when public opinion and popular mobilization can shape the foreign policy behavior of states. In such a system, the US will likely be less willing to rely on soft power as it faces more rivals in the struggle to maintain its regional influence. The US will again have to choose if it wants influence gained through persuasion and diplomacy, which would also mean a retreat from its current regional posture, or forgo such influence in a effort to seek control through projecting military power.