Pomeps Conversations

Nadya Hajj from Wellesley College joins Marc Lynch on this week's podcast to discuss her new book, Networked Refugees: Palestinian Reciprocity and Remittances in the Digital Age. In the book, Hajj finds that Palestinian refugees utilize Information Communication Technology platforms to motivate reciprocity—a cooperative action marked by the mutual exchange of favors and services—and informally seek aid and connection with their transnational diaspora community. (Starts at 0:48). David Steinberg of Johns Hopkins SAIS discusses his latest article, "How Voters Respond to Currency Crises: Evidence From Turkey," published in Comparative Political Studies. (Starts at 29:03). Thomas Serres of the University of California, Santa Cruz  discusses the fortunes of Algeria's Hirak movement. (Starts at 44:58). Music for this season's podcast was created by Bashir Saade (playing Ney) and Farah Kaddour (on Buzuq). You can find more of Bashir's work on his YouTube Channel.

Abdelmajid Hannoum of the University of Kansas discusses his latest book, The Invention of the Maghreb, with Marc Lynch on this week's podcast. The book examines how colonialism made extensive use of translations of Greek, Roman, and Arabic texts and harnessed high technologies of power to invent the region. (Starts at 0:41). Hannes Baumann of the University of Liverpool speaks about his new article entitled, "Avatars of Eurocentrism in international political economy textbooks: The case of the Middle East and North Africa" published in the Political Studies Association. (Starts at 36:07). Ammar Shamailah of the Doha Institute talks about recent trends in the Syrian regime and stability in Syria. (Starts at 50:00). Music for this season's podcast was created by Bashir Saade (playing Ney) and Farah Kaddour (on Buzuq). You can find more of Bashir's work on his YouTube Channel.

Khalid Medani of McGill University discusses his latest book, Black Markets and Militants: Informal Networks in the Middle East and Africa, with Marc Lynch on this week's podcast. The book examines the political and socio-economic factors which give rise to youth recruitment into militant organizations. (Starts at 0:56). Kristen Kao of the University of Gothenburg and Mara Revkin of Georgetown University speak about their new article entitled, "To Punish or to Pardon? Reintegrating Rebel Collaborators After Conflict in Iraq," published in X. (Starts at 32:55). Jonathan Fulton of Zayed University talks about the factors that explain China's relations with the Gulf monarchies. (Starts at 55:33). Music for this season's podcast was created by Bashir Saade (playing Ney) and Farah Kaddour (on Buzuq). You can find more of Bashir's work on his YouTube Channel.

Shamiran Mako of Boston University and Valentine Moghadam of Northeastern University discuss their latest book, After the Arab Uprisings: Progress and Stagnation in the Middle East and North Africa, with Marc Lynch on this week's podcast. The book examines the key elements in explaining the divergent outcomes of the Arab Spring uprisings. (Starts at 0:51). Salma Moussa of Yale University and William Marble of Princeton University speak about their new article entitled, "Can Exposure to Celebrities Reduce Prejudice? The Effect of Mohamed Salah on Islamophobic Behaviors and Attitudes," published at Yale University. (Starts at 32:21). Mai Hassan of the University of Michigan talks about Sudan's civil resistance. (Starts at 48:32). Music for this season's podcast was created by Bashir Saade (playing Ney) and Farah Kaddour (on Buzuq). You can find more of Bashir's work on his YouTube Channel.

Nils Hagerdal of Tufts University discusses his latest book, Friend or Foe: Militia Intelligence and Ethnic Violence in the Lebanese Civil War, with Marc Lynch on this week's podcast. The book examines the Lebanese civil war to offer a new theory that highlights the interplay of ethnicity and intelligence gathering. (Starts at 0:42). Emily Scott of McGill University speaks about her new article entitled, "Compromising Aid to Protect International Staff: The Politics of Humanitarian Threat Perception after the Arab Uprisings," published in the Journal of Global Security Studies. (Starts at 32:30). Esfandyar Batmanghelidj of the European Council on Foreign Relations talks about the Iranian economy under sanctions and the possible return of the JCPOA. (Starts at 50:09). Music for this season's podcast was created by Bashir Saade (playing Ney) and Farah Kaddour (on Buzuq). You can find more of Bashir's work on his YouTube Channel.

Nathan Brown of The George Washington University discusses his latest book (co-authored with Shimaa Hatab and Amr Adly), Lumbering State, Restless Society: Egypt in the Modern Era, with Marc Lynch on this week's podcast. The book highlights ways in which Egypt resembles other societies around the world, drawing from and contributing to broader debates in political science. (Starts at 0:41). Daniel Neep of Brandeis University speaks about his new article entitled, "‘What have the Ottomans ever done for us?’ Why history matters for politics in the Arab Middle East," published in International Affairs. (Starts at 26:24). Wolfram Lacher of the German Institute for International and Security Affairs talks about Libya's upcoming elections. (Starts at 44:28). Music for this season's podcast was created by Bashir Saade (playing Ney) and Farah Kaddour (on Buzuq). You can find more of Bashir's work on his YouTube Channel.

Western Privilege, Subverting Peace, and After al-Bayda (S. 11, Ep. 9) by Marc Lynch

Dana Moss of University of Notre Dame discusses her latest book, The Arab Spring Abroad: Diaspora Activism against Authoritarian Regimes, with Marc Lynch on this week's podcast. The book presents a new framework for understanding the transnational dynamics of contention and the social forces that either enable or suppress transnational activism, examining Libyan, Syrian, and Yemeni mobilization from the US and Great Britain before and during the revolutions. (Starts at 0:42). Wendy Pearlman of Northwestern University speaks about her new article entitled, "Mobilizing From Scratch: Large-Scale Collective Action Without Preexisting Organization in the Syrian Uprising," published in Comparative Political Studies. (Starts at 30:23). Salah Ben Hammou of University of Central Florida talks about the crisis unfolding in Sudan following the military coup. (Starts at 47:17). Music for this season's podcast was created by Bashir Saade (playing Ney) and Farah Kaddour (on Buzuq). You can find more of Bashir's work on hi

Nicholas Danforth of the Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy  discusses his latest book, The Remaking of Republican Turkey: Memory and Modernity since the Fall of the Ottoman Empire, with Marc Lynch on this week's podcast. The book demonstrates how transformations such as the birth of a multi-party democracy and NATO membership helped consolidate a consensus on the nature of Turkish modernity that continues to shape current political and cultural debates. (Starts at 0:47). Lucy Abbott of the University of Edinburgh and Vincent Keating of the University of Southern Denmark discuss their latest article, "Entrusted norms: security, trust, and betrayal in the Gulf Cooperation Council crisis," published in the European Journal of International Affairs. (Starts at 33:16). Kristian Ulrichsen of Rice University talks about the GCC reconciliation. (Starts at 49:00).  Music for this season's podcast was created by Bashir Saade (playing Ney) and Farah Kaddour (on Buzuq). You can find more of Bashi

Raphael Lefevre of University of Oxford discusses his latest book, Jihad in the City: Militant Islam and Contentious Politics in Tripoli, with Marc Lynch on this week's podcast. The book shows how militant Islamist groups are impacted by their grand ideology as much as by local contexts – with crucial lessons for understanding social movements, rebel groups and terrorist organizations elsewhere too. (Starts at 0:34). Sarah Parkinson of Johns Hopkins University speaks about her new article entitled, "(Dis)courtesy Bias: “Methodological Cognates,” Data Validity, and Ethics in Violence-Adjacent Research," published in Comparative Political Studies. (Starts at 29:07). Mohamed Daadaoui of Oklahoma City University talks about Morocco's election and the PJD. (Starts at 46:38). Music for this season's podcast was created by Bashir Saade (playing Ney) and Farah Kaddour (on Buzuq). You can find more of Bashir's work on his YouTube Channel. You can listen to this week’s podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music

Benjamin Smith of University of Florida & David Waldner of University of Virginia discuss their latest book, Rethinking the Resource Curse: Elements in the Politics of Development, with Marc Lynch on this week's podcast. The book includes results of the authors' own research, showing that a set of historically contingent events in the Middle East and North Africa are at the root of what has been mistaken for a global political resource curse. (Starts at 0:36). Kevan Harris of UCLA & Rasmus Elling of University of Copenhagen speak about their new article entitled, "Difference in difference: language, geography, and ethno-racial identity in contemporary Iran," published in Ethnic and Racial Studies. (Starts at 38:54). Marsin Alshamary of the Brookings Institution talks about the upcoming Iraqi election. (Starts at 58:31). Music for this season's podcast was created by Bashir Saade (playing Ney) and Farah Kaddour (on Buzuq). You can find more of Bashir's work on his YouTube Channel.

Raffaella Del Sarto of Johns Hopkins SAIS Europe talks about her latest book, Borderlands: Europe and the Mediterranean Middle East, with Marc Lynch on this week's podcast. The book proposes a profound rethink of the complex relationship between Europe-defined here as the European Union and its members-and the states of the Mediterranean Middle East and North Africa (MENA), Europe's 'southern neighbours'. (Starts at 0:49). Lucia Ardovini of Swedish Institute of International Affairs speaks about her latest article, "Re-Thinking the Tanzim: Tensions between Individual Identities and Organizational Structures in the Muslim Brotherhood after 2013," published in the Middle East Law and Governance Journal. (Starts at 29:01). Toby Dodge of The London School of Economics discusses the upcoming Iraqi elections.  (Starts at 44:36). Music for this season's podcast was created by Bashir Saade (playing Ney) and Farah Kaddour (on Buzuq). You can find more of Bashir's work on his YouTube Channel.

Zaid al-Ali of Princeton University talks about his latest book, Arab Constitutionalism: The Coming Revolution, with Marc Lynch on this week's podcast. He deconstructs the popular demands that were made in 2011 and translates them into a series of specific actions that would have led to freer societies and a better functioning state. (Starts at 0:43). Marsin Alshamary of the Brookings Institution speaks about her new article entitled, "Religious Peacebuilding in Iraq: Prospects and Challenges from the Hawza," published in the Journal of Intervention and Statebuilding. (Starts at 30:11). James Shires, of Leiden University, talks about his work on digital authoritarianism. (Starts at 42:43). Music for this season's podcast was created by Bashir Saade (playing Ney) and Farah Kaddour (on Buzuq). You can find more of Bashir's work on his YouTube Channel.

Kevin Mazur, a post-doctoral fellow at Princeton University, talks about his latest book, Revolution in Syria: Identity, Networks, and Repression, with Marc Lynch on this week's podcast. The book shows that the challenge to the Syrian regime did not erupt neatly along ethnic boundaries, and that lines of access to state-controlled resources played a critical structuring role; the ethnicization of conflict resulted from failed incumbent efforts to shore up network ties and the violence that the Asad regime used to crush dissent by challengers excluded from those networks. (Starts at 0:48). Faten Ghosn of the University of Arizona joins the podcast to discuss her article, "The Journey Home: Violence, Anchoring, and Refugee Decisions to Return" (co-authored by Tiffany Chu, Miranda Simon, Alex Braithwaite, Michael Frith, and Joanna Jandali), published by Cambridge University Press. (Starts at 30:32). Heiko Wimmen of the International Crisis group discusses Lebanon's banking crisis. (Starts at 45:43).  Musi

Mona El Ghobashy of New York University talks about her latest book, Bread and Freedom: Egypt's Revolutionary Situation, with Marc Lynch on this week's podcast. The book is a multivocal account of why Egypt's defeated revolution remains a watershed in the country's political history. (Starts at 1:28). Killian Clarke of Georgetown University speaks about his new article entitled, "Which protests count? Coverage bias in Middle East event datasets," published by Mediterranean Politics. (Starts at 31:48). Laryssa Chomiak, the Director of Centre d'Etudes Maghrébines à Tunis, to talk about recent political developments in Tunisia. (Starts at 47:05). Music for this season's podcast was created by Bashir Saade playing Ney, along with Farah Kaddour on Buzuq. You can find more of Bashir's work on his YouTube Channel.

POMEPS 12th Annual Conference Part 2 (S. 10, Ep. 24) by Marc Lynch

This special episode features a round-table discussion from the POMEPS 12th Annual Conference, which was held on June 9-10, 2021. The panel, "Confronting Old and New Obstacles to Political Science Research," features five scholars: Nermin Allam, Assistant Professor of Politics at Rutgers University Mert Arslanalp, Assistant Professor of Political Science at Bogazici University Laryssa Chomiak, Director of the Centre d'Etudes Maghrébines à Tunis (CEMAT) Jannis Julien Grimm, Freie Universität Berlin, Member of the Executive Board and Associated Researcher at the Institute for Protest and Social Movement Studies in Berlin (ipb) Sarah Parkinson, Assistant Professor of Political Science and International Studies at Johns Hopkins University Music for this season’s podcast was created by Feras Arrabi. You can find more of his work on his Facebook and Instagram page.

Maha Nassar of the University of Arizona talks about her book, Brothers Apart: Palestinian Citizens of Israel and the Arab World, with Marc Lynch on this week's podcast. The book is the first book to reveal how Palestinian intellectuals forged transnational connections through written texts and engaged with contemporaneous decolonization movements throughout the Arab world, challenging both Israeli policies and their own cultural isolation. Nassar reexamines these intellectuals as the subjects, not objects, of their own history and brings to life their perspectives on a fraught political environment. (Starts at 0:40). Also, Ian Lustick of the University of Pennsylvania talks about his book, Paradigm Lost: From Two-State Solution to One-State Reality, with Marc Lynch. The book argues that negotiations for a two-state solution between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River are doomed and counterproductive. Israeli Jews and Palestinian Arabs can enjoy the democracy they deserve but only after decades of st

Omar Ashour of the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies talks about his latest book, How ISIS Fights: Military Tactics in Iraq, Syria, Libya and Egypt, with Marc Lynch on this week's podcast. The book analyses the military and tactical innovations of ISIS and their predecessors in Iraq, Syria, Libya and Egypt. Ashour shows how their capacity to mix conventional military tactics with innovative guerrilla warfare and urban terrorism strategies allowed ISIS to expand and endure beyond expectations. (Starts at 30:52). Max Gallien of the University of Sussex talks about his article, "Informal Institutions and the Regulation of Smuggling in North Africa." (Starts at 0:45). Aytuğ Şaşmaz of the Harvard Kennedy School Middle East Initiative talks about his article, "Navigating welfare regimes in divided societies: Diversity and the quality of service delivery in Lebanon" (co-authored by Melani Cammett). (Starts at 16:22).

This is a special edition of the POMEPS Middle East Political Science Podcast. Our program typically hosts conversations with scholars about recent books and academic publications. But the ongoing war in Gaza and the broader political crisis among Israelis and Palestinians impacts so many members of our scholarly field and the people and communities we study that we felt both an intellectual and a moral obligation to put together something different: a special edition of the podcast featuring short research based conversations with a wide range of scholars from within the POMEPS network. Marc Lynch The podcast includes contributions from the following scholars. For more from these scholars, see below: Yousef Munayyer, University of Maryland and Arab Center Washington – “There Will Be a One-State Solution But What Kind of State Will It Be?” Dana el-Kurd, University of Richmond – Polarized and Demobilized: Legacies of Authoritarianism in Palestine Nadav Shelef, University of Wisconsin –Evolving Nationalism