On this week's episode of the podcast, Rabab El Mahdi of the American University in Cairo, Janine Clark of the University of Toronto, Laryssa Chomiak of Centre d'Études Maghrébines à Tunis (CEMAT),  and Rima Majed of the American University of Beirut join Marc Lynch to discuss the ethical challenges and positionally of research. (Starts at 1:41). Dahlia Scheindlin of Century International and Yael Berda of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem to discuss their new article, "Israel’s Annexation of the West Bank Has Already Begun," published in Foreign Affairs. (Starts at 36:37). Thank you for listening to Season 12 of the POMEPS Middle East Political Science Podcast!Music for this season’s podcast was created by Myyuh. You can find more of her work on SoundCloud and Instagram.You can listen to this week’s podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, or SoundCloud:

On this week's episode of the podcast, Rabab El Mahdi of the American University in Cairo, Janine Clark of the University of Toronto, Laryssa Chomiak of Centre d'Études Maghrébines à Tunis (CEMAT),  and Rima Majed of the American University of Beirut join Marc Lynch to discuss the ethical challenges and positionally of research. (Starts at 1:41). Dahlia Scheindlin of Century International and Yael Berda of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem to discuss their new article, "Israel’s Annexation of the West Bank Has Already Begun," published in Foreign Affairs. (Starts at 36:37).  Thank you for listening to Season 12 of the POMEPS Middle East Political Science Podcast! Music for this season’s podcast was created by Myyuh. You can find more of her work on SoundCloud and Instagram. You can listen to this week’s podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, or SoundCloud:

Research Ethics and Israel's Annexation of the West Bank (S. 12, Ep. 30)

On this week's episode, Marc Lynch talks with members of the POMEPS Steering Committee and Advisory Board on a variety of topics at the POMEPS Annual Conference held at GWU in late May 2023.  Noora Lori of Boston University, Rima Majed of American University of Beirut, Wendy Pearlman of Northwestern University discuss migration and refugee studies. (Starts at 1:01). Curtis Ryan of Appalachian State University and Andre Bank of German Institute for Global and Area Studies take a look at what's happening in  Jordan. (Starts at 30:56). Nathan Brown of George Washington University and Steven Brooke of University of Wisconsin-Madison assess the state of political Islam in the region. (Starts at 50:24).Music for this season’s podcast was created by Myyuh. You can find more of her work on SoundCloud and Instagram.

On this week's episode, Marc Lynch talks with members of the POMEPS Steering Committee and Advisory Board on a variety of topics at the POMEPS Annual Conference held at GWU in late May 2023.  Noora Lori of Boston University, Rima Majed of American University of Beirut, Wendy Pearlman of Northwestern University discuss migration and refugee studies. (Starts at 1:01). Curtis Ryan of Appalachian State University and Andre Bank of German Institute for Global and Area Studies take a look at what's happening in  Jordan. (Starts at 30:56). Nathan Brown of George Washington University and Steven Brooke of University of Wisconsin-Madison assess the state of political Islam in the region. (Starts at 50:24). Music for this season’s podcast was created by Myyuh. You can find more of her work on SoundCloud and Instagram.

POMEPS 14th Annual Conference (S. 12. Ep. 29)

Stacey Philbrick Yadav of Hobart and William Smith Colleges joins Marc Lynch to discuss her new book, Yemen in the Shadow of Transition: Pursuing Justice Amid War. The book shows how the transitional process was ultimately overtaken by war, and explains why features of the transitional framework nevertheless remain a central reference point for civil actors engaged in peacebuilding today. (Starts at 1:09).Gregory Gause of Texas A&amp;M University, Waleed Hazbun of the University of Alabama, and Sarah Bush of Yale University join Marc Lynch at this years POMEPS Annual Conference to discuss American primacy, multipolarity and the region's response to changes in the international system. (Starts at 31:34).

Stacey Philbrick Yadav of Hobart and William Smith Colleges joins Marc Lynch to discuss her new book, Yemen in the Shadow of Transition: Pursuing Justice Amid War. The book shows how the transitional process was ultimately overtaken by war, and explains why features of the transitional framework nevertheless remain a central reference point for civil actors engaged in peacebuilding today. (Starts at 1:09). Gregory Gause of Texas A&amp;M University, Waleed Hazbun of the University of Alabama, and Sarah Bush of Yale University join Marc Lynch at this years POMEPS Annual Conference to discuss American primacy, multipolarity and the region's response to changes in the international system. (Starts at 31:34).

Yemen in the Shadow of Transition and the End of American Primacy (S. 12, Ep. 28)

Dying Abroad and The Racial Muslim (S. 12, Ep. 27) by Marc Lynch

Dying Abroad and The Racial Muslim (S. 12, Ep. 27)

In this week's episode, Marc Lynch speaks with Sebnem Gumuscu of Middlebury College about her book, Democracy or Authoritarianism: Islamist Governments in Turkey, Egypt, and Tunisia. The author draws upon extensive fieldwork in three countries to explain why some Islamist governments adhered to democratic principles and others took an authoritarian turn following electoral success. (Starts at 0:53).Today's episode also includes a roundtable discussion of the upcoming Turkish elections, with Lisel Hintz of Johns Hopkins University, Şebnem Yardımcı Geyikçi of University of Bonn, and Harun Ercan of Binghamton University.  (Starts at 31:22).

In this week's episode, Marc Lynch speaks with Sebnem Gumuscu of Middlebury College about her book, Democracy or Authoritarianism: Islamist Governments in Turkey, Egypt, and Tunisia. The author draws upon extensive fieldwork in three countries to explain why some Islamist governments adhered to democratic principles and others took an authoritarian turn following electoral success. (Starts at 0:53). Today's episode also includes a roundtable discussion of the upcoming Turkish elections, with Lisel Hintz of Johns Hopkins University, Şebnem Yardımcı Geyikçi of University of Bonn, and Harun Ercan of Binghamton University.  (Starts at 31:22).

Democracy or Authoritarianism & Upcoming Turkish Elections (S. 12 Ep. 26)

Samuel Helfont of the Naval Postgraduate School joins Marc Lynch to discuss his new book, Iraq Against the World: Saddam, America, and the Post-Cold War Order. In the book, Helfont offers a new narrative of Iraqi foreign policy after the 1991 Gulf War to argue that Saddam Hussein executed a political warfare campaign that facilitated this disturbance to global norms. The book explores how the move away from post-Cold War unipolarity and the rise of revisionist states like Russia and China pose a rapidly escalating and confounding threat for the liberal international order. (Starts at 0:52).Khalid Mustafa Medani of McGill University discusses the current situation in Sudan and prospects for moving forward. Medani is the author of Black Markets and Militants: Informal Networks in the Middle East and North Africa. (Starts at 33:47).Music for this season’s podcast was created by Myyuh. You can find more of her work on SoundCloud and Instagram.

Samuel Helfont of the Naval Postgraduate School joins Marc Lynch to discuss his new book, Iraq Against the World: Saddam, America, and the Post-Cold War Order. In the book, Helfont offers a new narrative of Iraqi foreign policy after the 1991 Gulf War to argue that Saddam Hussein executed a political warfare campaign that facilitated this disturbance to global norms. The book explores how the move away from post-Cold War unipolarity and the rise of revisionist states like Russia and China pose a rapidly escalating and confounding threat for the liberal international order. (Starts at 0:52). Khalid Mustafa Medani of McGill University discusses the current situation in Sudan and prospects for moving forward. Medani is the author of Black Markets and Militants: Informal Networks in the Middle East and North Africa. (Starts at 33:47). Music for this season’s podcast was created by Myyuh. You can find more of her work on SoundCloud and Instagram.

Iraq Against the World and Developments in Sudan (S. 12, Ep. 25)

Rita Stephan of North Carolina State University and Maro Youssef of the University of Southern California join Marc Lynch to discuss their new book, COVID and Gender in the Middle East. Stephen, editor of the book, gathers an impressive group of local scholars, activists, and policy experts, to provide empirical evidence of COVID’s gendered effects. The book examines a range of national and localized responses to gender-specific issues around COVID’s health impact and the economic fallout and resulting social vulnerabilities, including the magnified marginalization of Syrian refugees; the inequitable treatment of migrant workers in Bahrain; and the inadequate implementation of gender-based violence legislation in Morocco.Mai Hassan of Massachusetts Institute of Technology also joins Marc Lynch on this week's podcast to discuss the recent developments in Sudan's civil war crisis.Music for this season’s podcast was created by Myyuh. You can find more of her work on SoundCloud and Instagram.

Rita Stephan of North Carolina State University and Maro Youssef of the University of Southern California join Marc Lynch to discuss their new book, COVID and Gender in the Middle East. Stephen, editor of the book, gathers an impressive group of local scholars, activists, and policy experts, to provide empirical evidence of COVID’s gendered effects. The book examines a range of national and localized responses to gender-specific issues around COVID’s health impact and the economic fallout and resulting social vulnerabilities, including the magnified marginalization of Syrian refugees; the inequitable treatment of migrant workers in Bahrain; and the inadequate implementation of gender-based violence legislation in Morocco. Mai Hassan of Massachusetts Institute of Technology also joins Marc Lynch on this week's podcast to discuss the recent developments in Sudan's civil war crisis. Music for this season’s podcast was created by Myyuh. You can find more of her work on SoundCloud and Instagram.

COVID and Gender in the Middle East & Sudan's Civil War Crisis(S. 12, Ep. 24)

David Roberts of King’s College London  joins Marc Lynch to discuss his new book, Security Politics in the Gulf Monarchies: Continuity and Change. Roberts offers a definitive guide to continuity and change in the Gulf region. He explores the forces challenging and bolstering the status quo across the political, social, economic, military, and environmental dimensions of security.Jeroen Gunning of King's College London, also joins Marc Lynch on this week's podcast to discuss his new paper, Who you gonna call? Theorising everyday security practices in urban spaces with multiple security actors – The case of Beirut's Southern Suburbs . This paper explores the ways in which residents and security actors – state and nonstate – negotiate everyday (in)security in contested urban spaces with multiple security actors .Music for this season’s podcast was created by Myyuh. You can find more of her work on SoundCloud and Instagram.

David Roberts of King’s College London  joins Marc Lynch to discuss his new book, Security Politics in the Gulf Monarchies: Continuity and Change. Roberts offers a definitive guide to continuity and change in the Gulf region. He explores the forces challenging and bolstering the status quo across the political, social, economic, military, and environmental dimensions of security. Jeroen Gunning of King's College London, also joins Marc Lynch on this week's podcast to discuss his new paper, Who you gonna call? Theorising everyday security practices in urban spaces with multiple security actors – The case of Beirut's Southern Suburbs . This paper explores the ways in which residents and security actors – state and nonstate – negotiate everyday (in)security in contested urban spaces with multiple security actors . Music for this season’s podcast was created by Myyuh. You can find more of her work on SoundCloud and Instagram.

Security Politics & Beirut's Southern Suburbs (S. 12, Ep. 23)

Sarah Bush of Yale University and Lauren Prather of the University of California, San Diego join Marc Lynch on this week's podcast to discuss their new book, Monitors and Meddlers: How Foreign Actors Influence Local Trust in Elections. Bush and Prather explain how and why outside interventions influence local trust in elections, a critical factor for democracy and stability. Marsin Alshamary of the Harvard University Kennedy School and Hamzeh Hadad of the European Council of Foreign Relations also join Marc Lynch to discuss their article, The Collective Neglect of Southern Iraq: Missed Opportunities for Development and Good Governance. They conceptualize southern Iraq as an imagined region, whose identity has been shaped by the collective neglect it has suffered from both internal and external actors.

Sarah Bush of Yale University and Lauren Prather of the University of California, San Diego join Marc Lynch on this week's podcast to discuss their new book, Monitors and Meddlers: How Foreign Actors Influence Local Trust in Elections. Bush and Prather explain how and why outside interventions influence local trust in elections, a critical factor for democracy and stability. Marsin Alshamary of the Harvard University Kennedy School and Hamzeh Hadad of the European Council of Foreign Relations also join Marc Lynch to discuss their article, The Collective Neglect of Southern Iraq: Missed Opportunities for Development and Good Governance. They conceptualize southern Iraq as an imagined region, whose identity has been shaped by the collective neglect it has suffered from both internal and external actors.

Monitors and Meddlers & Underdevelopment of Southern Iraq (S. 12, Ep. 22)

Dawn Murphy of the US National War College joins Marc Lynch on this week's podcast to discuss her book, China's Rise in the Global South: The Middle East, Africa, and Beijing's Alternative World Order.The book examines China's behavior as a rising power in two key Global South regions, the Middle East and Sub-Saharan Africa. Murphy compares and analyzes thirty years of China's interactions with these regions across a range of functional areas: political, economic, foreign aid, and military.Houda Mzioudet of the University of Toronto also spoke on anti-blackness and racial identity in Tunisia. In the Q&amp;A with Houda Mzioudet she spoke on the state of the anti-immigrant and anti-black sentiment in Tunisia in light of President Kais Saied’s fear-mongering statements about migrants last month.

Dawn Murphy of the US National War College joins Marc Lynch on this week's podcast to discuss her book, China's Rise in the Global South: The Middle East, Africa, and Beijing's Alternative World Order.The book examines China's behavior as a rising power in two key Global South regions, the Middle East and Sub-Saharan Africa. Murphy compares and analyzes thirty years of China's interactions with these regions across a range of functional areas: political, economic, foreign aid, and military. Houda Mzioudet of the University of Toronto also spoke on anti-blackness and racial identity in Tunisia. In the Q&amp;A with Houda Mzioudet she spoke on the state of the anti-immigrant and anti-black sentiment in Tunisia in light of President Kais Saied’s fear-mongering statements about migrants last month.

China's Rise in the Global South & Anti-Blackness and Identity in Tunisia (S. 12, Ep. 21)

Discussing news and innovations in the Middle East.

For those looking beyond headlines about news in the Middle East, this podcast is a must. These conversations provide excellent analysis and astute context to the challenges and opportunities facing the region, and those who study it, today.

Excellent source

POMEPS Middle East Political Science Podcast

Toby Matthiesen

On this week's podcast, Marc Lynch speaks with Toby Matthiesen about sectarianism in the Gulf, particularly looking at Saudi Arabia and Iran."What I'm going to try to do in my new project is to look at the impact of the Iranian revolution on Shia movements— and on the regional more broadly— but also the reaction towards Iran," said Matthiesen. "I think we are living in a new era. More spaces have opened up for confrontations, and there's a stronger I 'internationalization' of particular, local conflicts— and a connection to each other, and a correction of that to the broader kind of Saudi-Iranian or Iranian-versus-a-lot-of-others rivalry, which was there to a certain extent before, but the Syrian war has just opened up."Matthiesen is a Senior Research Fellow in the International Relations of the Middle East at the Middle East Centre, St. Antony’s College, University of Oxford. He is the author of several recent books including The Other Saudis: Shi’ism, Dissent and Sectarianism recently published by Cambridge University Press and Sectarian Gulf: Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and the Arab Spring That Wasn't."In the context of the Arab uprisings, and the crackdown on Shia protest movements, you have almost the whole clerical leadership of the Shia community in Saudi Arabia now backing the state line. Telling people not to protest, not to make any trouble, just stay quiet and basically work together with the ruling family.  One of the only people who didn't do that was Nimr al-Nimr and he's been executed. But people from all the different movements— whether they're pro Iranian or anti-Iranian or old clerical families— more or less agree on the politics of no confrontation with the Saudi state.""What I'm trying to do is combine a kind of broad IR, and international history perspective that looks at archives around the world with interviews, and sources from the region, memoirs and publications." said Matthiesen. "History is always written from where we are right now— that's why we write history. So we can't get around that fact. But we obviously shouldn't impose narratives on the past just because we think they are relevant today."

On this week's podcast, Marc Lynch speaks with Toby Matthiesen about sectarianism in the Gulf, particularly looking at Saudi Arabia and Iran. "What I'm going to try to do in my new project is to look at the impact of the Iranian revolution on Shia movements— and on the regional more broadly— but also the reaction towards Iran," said Matthiesen. "I think we are living in a new era. More spaces have opened up for confrontations, and there's a stronger I 'internationalization' of particular, local conflicts— and a connection to each other, and a correction of that to the broader kind of Saudi-Iranian or Iranian-versus-a-lot-of-others rivalry, which was there to a certain extent before, but the Syrian war has just opened up." Matthiesen is a Senior Research Fellow in the International Relations of the Middle East at the Middle East Centre, St. Antony’s College, University of Oxford. He is the author of several recent books including The Other Saudis: Shi’ism, Dissent and Sectarianism recently published by Cambridge University Press and Sectarian Gulf: Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and the Arab Spring That Wasn't. "In the context of the Arab uprisings, and the crackdown on Shia protest movements, you have almost the whole clerical leadership of the Shia community in Saudi Arabia now backing the state line. Telling people not to protest, not to make any trouble, just stay quiet and basically work together with the ruling family. One of the only people who didn't do that was Nimr al-Nimr and he's been executed. But people from all the different movements— whether they're pro Iranian or anti-Iranian or old clerical families— more or less agree on the politics of no confrontation with the Saudi state." "What I'm trying to do is combine a kind of broad IR, and international history perspective that looks at archives around the world with interviews, and sources from the region, memoirs and publications." said Matthiesen. "History is always written from where we are right now— that's why we write history. So we can't get around that fact. But we obviously shouldn't impose narratives on the past just because we think they are relevant today."

Sectarianism in the Gulf: A Conversation with Toby Matthiesen (S. 6, Ep. 7)

Julie Chernov Hwang

On this week's podcast, Julie Chernov Hwang talks about her new book, Why Terrorists Quit: The Disengagement of Indonesian Jihadists, (Cornell Press, 2018) on the factors  that convince jihadists to move away from the extremist ideologies of groups like Jemaah Islamiyah and Mujahidin KOMPAK. Over the course of six years Chernov Hwang conducted more than one hundred interviews with current and former leaders and followers of radical Islamist groups in Indonesia to write this book."The linchpin of successful disengagement, reintegration. is the establishment of an alternative social network of friends, mentors, and supportive family members. Then second and complementary to that are priority shifts that refocus the extremist away from movement- towards family, towards furthering one's education, towards finding gainful employment to sustain life," says Chernov Hwang. "And so these two factors taken together can help the extremists develop a post Jihad identity, possibly post group identity. And moreover they can function as a counterweight to the pull of the movement, the friends, and the incentives for reengagement too."Julie Chernov Hwang is an associate professor of political science and international relations in the Center for People, Politics and Markets at Goucher College. She was a 2012 Luce South East Asia Fellow at the East West Center and currently serves as Managing Editor of Asian Security.

On this week's podcast, Julie Chernov Hwang talks about her new book, Why Terrorists Quit: The Disengagement of Indonesian Jihadists, (Cornell Press, 2018) on the factors  that convince jihadists to move away from the extremist ideologies of groups like Jemaah Islamiyah and Mujahidin KOMPAK. Over the course of six years Chernov Hwang conducted more than one hundred interviews with current and former leaders and followers of radical Islamist groups in Indonesia to write this book. "The linchpin of successful disengagement, reintegration. is the establishment of an alternative social network of friends, mentors, and supportive family members. Then second and complementary to that are priority shifts that refocus the extremist away from movement- towards family, towards furthering one's education, towards finding gainful employment to sustain life," says Chernov Hwang. "And so these two factors taken together can help the extremists develop a post Jihad identity, possibly post group identity. And moreover they can function as a counterweight to the pull of the movement, the friends, and the incentives for reengagement too." Julie Chernov Hwang is an associate professor of political science and international relations in the Center for People, Politics and Markets at Goucher College. She was a 2012 Luce South East Asia Fellow at the East West Center and currently serves as Managing Editor of Asian Security.

Why Terrorists Quit: A Conversation with Julie Chernov Hwang (S. 6, Ep. 19)

Carter Malkasian

Carter Malkasian speaks about the recent history of conflict in Iraq and how it it laid the foundation for the Islamic State to flourish. His new book is Illusions of Victory: The Anbar Awakening and the Rise of the Islamic State."The question confronting every tribal leader in Anbar was: 'How do I stand up against the Islamic state if that means siding with the government— and siding against Islam?'"Malkasian also speaks about the way the military action has changed— and what lessons we should take from Iraq. "I think if you talk to generals in the military today, you would get a much greater degree of skepticism about what one can attain. There is more worry about, 'If we're doing here is going to last? Can there be success?' I think you have much more skepticism of, 'You can have complete victory.'""I think this should give us pause for thinking about future interventions. So we're going into an intervention. We should be thinking, 'Well, if we're going to be putting troops there, we're going to have something there for a long time.' That means the cost— even if it's small— every year, over time we're really talking about a decade or more here that cost is going to go up. And when you see that that should make us question if we should do it in the first place that should make us question if whatever is at stake in this conflict whatever attack we think is going to occur and the United States that we should make a careful judgment is is it really that bad to warrant this kind of commitment or a very long commitment. Can't we manage this? Can't we be resilient?""We should not assume we will achieve victory in those cases, where we think the threat is big enough we need to do something about it. We should be looking to strategies that are thrifty that can be employed over a long time— versus something that's been fairly expensive."

Carter Malkasian speaks about the recent history of conflict in Iraq and how it it laid the foundation for the Islamic State to flourish. His new book is Illusions of Victory: The Anbar Awakening and the Rise of the Islamic State. "The question confronting every tribal leader in Anbar was: 'How do I stand up against the Islamic state if that means siding with the government— and siding against Islam?'" Malkasian also speaks about the way the military action has changed— and what lessons we should take from Iraq. "I think if you talk to generals in the military today, you would get a much greater degree of skepticism about what one can attain. There is more worry about, 'If we're doing here is going to last? Can there be success?' I think you have much more skepticism of, 'You can have complete victory.'" "I think this should give us pause for thinking about future interventions. So we're going into an intervention. We should be thinking, 'Well, if we're going to be putting troops there, we're going to have something there for a long time.' That means the cost— even if it's small— every year, over time we're really talking about a decade or more here that cost is going to go up. And when you see that that should make us question if we should do it in the first place that should make us question if whatever is at stake in this conflict whatever attack we think is going to occur and the United States that we should make a careful judgment is is it really that bad to warrant this kind of commitment or a very long commitment. Can't we manage this? Can't we be resilient?" "We should not assume we will achieve victory in those cases, where we think the threat is big enough we need to do something about it. We should be looking to strategies that are thrifty that can be employed over a long time— versus something that's been fairly expensive."

Conflict in Iraq: A Conversation with Carter Malkasian (S. 6, Ep. 2)

Susanne Dahlgren

Marc Lynch speaks with Susanne Dahlgren about Yemen. Dahlgren is the author of Contesting Realities: The Public Sphere and Morality in Southern Yemen, and is a Visiting Research Associate Professor at National University of Singapore as well as a Academy Research Fellow at the University of Helsinki.Dahlgren speaks about the history of southern Yemen and its union to become present-day Yemen in 1990. "In the beginning it was a happy union, but very soon it turned out to be very ugly politics from the perspective of the Southerners. Things went really bad in 1993– or the three years after the unity— and that led to the first inter-Yemeni war. The current war, which started in 2015 is considered by southern Yemenis as the inter-Yemeni war.""They think that the the Houthi's movement—together with the former president Ali Abdullah Saleh— want to conquer South Yemen militarily. They have taken up arms in order to resist and they are working in cooperation with with the Saudi war coalition" said Dahlgren. "In Yemen, you have two very contradictory ideas about the Saudi involvement in this war. In the south, they consider that the Saudis are they allies. While in the North, it's considered an aggression."

Marc Lynch speaks with Susanne Dahlgren about Yemen. Dahlgren is the author of Contesting Realities: The Public Sphere and Morality in Southern Yemen, and is a Visiting Research Associate Professor at National University of Singapore as well as a Academy Research Fellow at the University of Helsinki. Dahlgren speaks about the history of southern Yemen and its union to become present-day Yemen in 1990. "In the beginning it was a happy union, but very soon it turned out to be very ugly politics from the perspective of the Southerners. Things went really bad in 1993– or the three years after the unity— and that led to the first inter-Yemeni war. The current war, which started in 2015 is considered by southern Yemenis as the inter-Yemeni war." "They think that the the Houthi's movement—together with the former president Ali Abdullah Saleh— want to conquer South Yemen militarily. They have taken up arms in order to resist and they are working in cooperation with with the Saudi war coalition" said Dahlgren. "In Yemen, you have two very contradictory ideas about the Saudi involvement in this war. In the south, they consider that the Saudis are they allies. While in the North, it's considered an aggression."

Politics in South Yemen: A Conversation with Susanne Dahlgren (S. 6, Ep. 9)

Quinn Mecham

On this week's podcast, Quinn Mecham talks about his new book, Institutional Origins of Islamist Political Mobilization, on the politicization of Islam."So often in the Arab world we think about jihadi networks; we think about sometimes Islamist movements particularly the Muslim Brotherhood that have a social component to them, but also are involved street protests in many places in the Islamic world," says Mecham. "While actually it's more common to see militias— for example, Taliban or al Shabaab in Somalia."Quinn Mecham is Associate Professor of Political Science and the Coordinator for Middle East Studies at Brigham Young University. He was an Academy Scholar at Harvard University, and was a Franklin Fellow in Policy Planning at the U.S. Department of State. His primary research focuses on Islamic movements and the strategies and behavior of Islamist political parties."As different Islamist movements observe Islamic moves in other countries, they are influenced by— and we do see clear trends over time that there is a spread across countries over time. One of the the broader trends in the book is that the big Islamist protest movements like the Iranian revolution and the post-election Algerian protests— and then sighting these kinds of things have diminished over time. Until we get to some of the core civil wars in the last few years. But the range of countries that are experiencing Islamists either voting or using violent through things has greatly expanded."

On this week's podcast, Quinn Mecham talks about his new book, Institutional Origins of Islamist Political Mobilization, on the politicization of Islam. "So often in the Arab world we think about jihadi networks; we think about sometimes Islamist movements particularly the Muslim Brotherhood that have a social component to them, but also are involved street protests in many places in the Islamic world," says Mecham. "While actually it's more common to see militias— for example, Taliban or al Shabaab in Somalia." Quinn Mecham is Associate Professor of Political Science and the Coordinator for Middle East Studies at Brigham Young University. He was an Academy Scholar at Harvard University, and was a Franklin Fellow in Policy Planning at the U.S. Department of State. His primary research focuses on Islamic movements and the strategies and behavior of Islamist political parties. "As different Islamist movements observe Islamic moves in other countries, they are influenced by— and we do see clear trends over time that there is a spread across countries over time. One of the the broader trends in the book is that the big Islamist protest movements like the Iranian revolution and the post-election Algerian protests— and then sighting these kinds of things have diminished over time. Until we get to some of the core civil wars in the last few years. But the range of countries that are experiencing Islamists either voting or using violent through things has greatly expanded."

Islamist Political Mobilization: A Conversation with Quinn Mecham (S. 6, Ep. 14)

On this week's podcast, Asef Bayat talks about his new book, Revolution Without Revolutionaries: Making Sense of the Arab Spring, (Stanford University Press, 2017) a comparative analysis on the 2011 revolutions and those of the 1970s."These [2011] revolutions happened at a time when the very idea of revolution, the very concept of revolution had dissipated," says Bayat. "The activists were not thinking in terms of revolution in the way that the activists in the 1970s or earlier during the Cold War had been thinking about revolution. They were reading about revolutions, about the experiences, having groups, and so forth."Asef Bayat is the Catherine and Bruce Bastian Professor of Global and Transnational Studies and Professor of Sociology at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. He is the author of Life as Politics: How Ordinary People Change the Middle East (Stanford, 2009, 2013) and Making Islam Democratic: Social Movements and the Post-Islamist Turn (Stanford, 2007)."In the case of say Iran, women who have been forced to wear hijab- some do who voluntarily wear hijab, but many others do not want to wear hijab- pull back their hijabs back, and back, and back.  And they do it not necessarily as a movement collectively but rather they do it in their everyday life, individually while they are on the street or on a bus. And then you do it. She's doing it, he's doing it, and many others are doing it. And you're also noticing each other doing it. There is what is called a passive network among these people. It is a collective action which is somewhat encroaching into the law of this state or norms. By doing so the hope is to create alternative norms in society."

On this week's podcast, Asef Bayat talks about his new book, Revolution Without Revolutionaries: Making Sense of the Arab Spring, (Stanford University Press, 2017) a comparative analysis on the 2011 revolutions and those of the 1970s. "These [2011] revolutions happened at a time when the very idea of revolution, the very concept of revolution had dissipated," says Bayat. "The activists were not thinking in terms of revolution in the way that the activists in the 1970s or earlier during the Cold War had been thinking about revolution. They were reading about revolutions, about the experiences, having groups, and so forth." Asef Bayat is the Catherine and Bruce Bastian Professor of Global and Transnational Studies and Professor of Sociology at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. He is the author of Life as Politics: How Ordinary People Change the Middle East (Stanford, 2009, 2013) and Making Islam Democratic: Social Movements and the Post-Islamist Turn (Stanford, 2007). "In the case of say Iran, women who have been forced to wear hijab- some do who voluntarily wear hijab, but many others do not want to wear hijab- pull back their hijabs back, and back, and back.  And they do it not necessarily as a movement collectively but rather they do it in their everyday life, individually while they are on the street or on a bus. And then you do it. She's doing it, he's doing it, and many others are doing it. And you're also noticing each other doing it. There is what is called a passive network among these people. It is a collective action which is somewhat encroaching into the law of this state or norms. By doing so the hope is to create alternative norms in society."

Revolution Without Revolutionaries: A Conversation with Asef Bayat (S. 6, Ep. 18)

Shiraz Maher

Shiraz Maher speaks with Marc Lynch about his new book, Salafi-Jihadism: The History of an Idea. In the book, he explores the intellectual trajectory of Salafi-Jihadism from its origins in the mountains of the Hindu Kush to the jihadist insurgencies of the 1990s and the 9/11 wars.“I wanted to chart the intellectual migration of this movement with reference to Islamic theology and to try to bring that into the Western discourse to show people here is ISIS or al-Qaeda and here is how they are rationalizing, justifying, or explaining what they're doing,” Maher explains. “I regard all these as being constructions of Islam. And that for me I think is an interesting part of the debate to look at how they're building these ideas and ideology.”Dr. Shiraz Maher is Director of the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation (ICSR) and a member of the War Studies Department at King’s College London. Maher is a recognized expert on jihadist movements. The BBC has described him as “one of the world’s leading experts on radicalization,” and the Washington Post has called him “a respected specialist on Islamic State.” His book, Salafi-Jihadism: The History of an Idea (Oxford University Press; and Hurst &amp; Co.) has been widely acknowledged as a ground-breaking exploration of the political philosophy behind contemporary jihadist movements. Maher is also an adjunct lecturer at Johns Hopkins University (where he currently teaches separate courses on radicalization and political Islam), and was a visiting lecturer at Washington College during the Spring Semester of 2012 (where he taught Middle East politics).Music for this season's podcast was created by Feras Arrabi. You can find more of his work on his Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/ferasarrabimusic)and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/feras.arrabi/)page.

Shiraz Maher speaks with Marc Lynch about his new book, Salafi-Jihadism: The History of an Idea. In the book, he explores the intellectual trajectory of Salafi-Jihadism from its origins in the mountains of the Hindu Kush to the jihadist insurgencies of the 1990s and the 9/11 wars. “I wanted to chart the intellectual migration of this movement with reference to Islamic theology and to try to bring that into the Western discourse to show people here is ISIS or al-Qaeda and here is how they are rationalizing, justifying, or explaining what they're doing,” Maher explains. “I regard all these as being constructions of Islam. And that for me I think is an interesting part of the debate to look at how they're building these ideas and ideology.” Dr. Shiraz Maher is Director of the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation (ICSR) and a member of the War Studies Department at King’s College London. Maher is a recognized expert on jihadist movements. The BBC has described him as “one of the world’s leading experts on radicalization,” and the Washington Post has called him “a respected specialist on Islamic State.” His book, Salafi-Jihadism: The History of an Idea (Oxford University Press; and Hurst &amp; Co.) has been widely acknowledged as a ground-breaking exploration of the political philosophy behind contemporary jihadist movements. Maher is also an adjunct lecturer at Johns Hopkins University (where he currently teaches separate courses on radicalization and political Islam), and was a visiting lecturer at Washington College during the Spring Semester of 2012 (where he taught Middle East politics). Music for this season's podcast was created by Feras Arrabi. You can find more of his work on his Facebook (<a href="https://www.facebook.com/ferasarrabimusic)and" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/ferasarrabimusic)and</a> Instagram (<a href="https://www.instagram.com/feras.arrabi/)page" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.instagram.com/feras.arrabi/)page</a>.

Salafi-Jihadism: A Conversation with Shiraz Maher (S. 7, Ep. 12)

Curtis Ryan

Curtis Ryan discusses his new book, Jordan and the Arab Uprisings: Regime Survival and Politics Beyond the State, on this week's POMEPS Conversations. This book explains how Jordan weathered the turmoil of the Arab Spring. Crossing divides between state and society, government and opposition, Dr. Ryan analyzes key features of Jordanian politics, including Islamist and leftist opposition parties, youth movements, and other forms of activism, as well as struggles over elections, reform, and identity.Curtis Ryan is a professor of political science at Appalachian State University in North Carolina. He is the author of Jordan in Transition: From Hussein to Abdullah (2002) and Inter-Arab Alliances: Regime Security and Jordanian Foreign Policy (2009).Music for this season's podcast was created by Feras Arrabi. You can find more of his work on his Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/ferasarrabimusic)and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/feras.arrabi/)page.

Curtis Ryan discusses his new book, Jordan and the Arab Uprisings: Regime Survival and Politics Beyond the State, on this week's POMEPS Conversations. This book explains how Jordan weathered the turmoil of the Arab Spring. Crossing divides between state and society, government and opposition, Dr. Ryan analyzes key features of Jordanian politics, including Islamist and leftist opposition parties, youth movements, and other forms of activism, as well as struggles over elections, reform, and identity. Curtis Ryan is a professor of political science at Appalachian State University in North Carolina. He is the author of Jordan in Transition: From Hussein to Abdullah (2002) and Inter-Arab Alliances: Regime Security and Jordanian Foreign Policy (2009). Music for this season's podcast was created by Feras Arrabi. You can find more of his work on his Facebook (<a href="https://www.facebook.com/ferasarrabimusic)and" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/ferasarrabimusic)and</a> Instagram (<a href="https://www.instagram.com/feras.arrabi/)page" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.instagram.com/feras.arrabi/)page</a>.

Jordan and the Arab Uprisings: A Conversation with Curtis Ryan (S. 7, Ep. 3)

Jonathan Fulton

On this week's podcast, Jonathan Fulton talks about his book China's Relations with the Gulf Monarchies with Marc Lynch."It's interesting because a lot of the narrative about China-Gulf relations seemed to be stuck in this oil-for-trade narrative— that China is buying a lot of oil and selling a lot of stuff— and that's kind of the extent of the relationship. And from what I've seen here in Abu Dhabi, there's just so much more going on. And it really felt like like there had to be something that looked at it from an IR perspective and gave a fuller picture of the relationships," said Fulton.Fulton explains what and how China's policy towards Gulf monarchies changed in regards to foreign and domestic policies, in the past and now.Fulton is an assistant professor of political science in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences at Zayed University, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, where he researches China – Middle East relations, Chinese foreign policy, the global strategic implications of the Belt and Road Initiative, and international relations of the Gulf region.Music for this season's podcast was created by Feras Arrabi. You can find more of his work on his Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/ferasarrabimusic)and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/feras.arrabi/)page.

On this week's podcast, Jonathan Fulton talks about his book China's Relations with the Gulf Monarchies with Marc Lynch. "It's interesting because a lot of the narrative about China-Gulf relations seemed to be stuck in this oil-for-trade narrative— that China is buying a lot of oil and selling a lot of stuff— and that's kind of the extent of the relationship. And from what I've seen here in Abu Dhabi, there's just so much more going on. And it really felt like like there had to be something that looked at it from an IR perspective and gave a fuller picture of the relationships," said Fulton. Fulton explains what and how China's policy towards Gulf monarchies changed in regards to foreign and domestic policies, in the past and now. Fulton is an assistant professor of political science in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences at Zayed University, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, where he researches China – Middle East relations, Chinese foreign policy, the global strategic implications of the Belt and Road Initiative, and international relations of the Gulf region. Music for this season's podcast was created by Feras Arrabi. You can find more of his work on his Facebook (<a href="https://www.facebook.com/ferasarrabimusic)and" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/ferasarrabimusic)and</a> Instagram (<a href="https://www.instagram.com/feras.arrabi/)page" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.instagram.com/feras.arrabi/)page</a>.

China’s Relations with the Gulf Monarchies: A Conversation with Jonathan Fulton (S. 8, Ep. 5)

Ziya Meral

Ziya Meral speaks with Marc Lynch about his latest book, How Violence Shapes Religion: Belief and Conflict in the Middle East and Africa."I really wanted to demystify the conversation on religion and violence," said Meral. "I wanted to highlight another direction of this discussion— which is how violence leads to religion, how violence alters religions, and impacts them— and why is it that religions are so present in violent conflicts that they don't necessarily triggered themselves."Meral is a British and Turkish researcher, and is a senior resident fellow at the UK Army's Centre for Historical Analysis and Conflict Research based at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. He is also the Director of the Centre on Religion and Global Affairs, based in London and Beirut.Music for this season's podcast was created by Feras Arrabi. You can find more of his work on his Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/ferasarrabimusic)and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/feras.arrabi/)page.

Ziya Meral speaks with Marc Lynch about his latest book, How Violence Shapes Religion: Belief and Conflict in the Middle East and Africa. "I really wanted to demystify the conversation on religion and violence," said Meral. "I wanted to highlight another direction of this discussion— which is how violence leads to religion, how violence alters religions, and impacts them— and why is it that religions are so present in violent conflicts that they don't necessarily triggered themselves." Meral is a British and Turkish researcher, and is a senior resident fellow at the UK Army's Centre for Historical Analysis and Conflict Research based at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. He is also the Director of the Centre on Religion and Global Affairs, based in London and Beirut. Music for this season's podcast was created by Feras Arrabi. You can find more of his work on his Facebook (<a href="https://www.facebook.com/ferasarrabimusic)and" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/ferasarrabimusic)and</a> Instagram (<a href="https://www.instagram.com/feras.arrabi/)page" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.instagram.com/feras.arrabi/)page</a>.

How Violence Shapes Religion: A Conversation with Ziya Meral (S. 7, Ep. 9)

Wendy Pearlman

Boaz Atzili

Wendy Pearlman and Boaz Atzili talk about their new book, Triadic Coercion: Israel’s Targeting of States That Host Nonstate Actors."The inspiration for the book goes back to the 2006 war between Israel and Lebanon— or Israel and Hezbollah," said Peralman. "Boaz and I both had postdoc fellowships at Harvard and we met in the aftermath of that... We're both quite intrigued by one aspect of that war, which was Israel's targeting of Lebanon as a state. Why would Israel target a weak host state— and demand it to stop non-state actors?""We find is that in earlier years [of this policy], it's basically a trial and error kind of process. Israel has tried many different things— defensive measures, targeting civilians, etc.— and among them was what we call 'trial coercion.' So trying to target the forces of the state the military or police of the state and using that as a way to coerce the state to try to rein in the non-state actors. And when we get to the 1990s, that's where we see a shift where Israel basically adopt this policy more wholesale— and without considering whether it's working or not working," said Atzili."Our argument there is that attractive coercion can only succeed against a host state that is strong. The host state needs a minimum amount of political cohesion and institutional capacity to even meet the demands of the coercer. When this type of strategy is used against a weak host state— even if it is predisposed to be cooperative with Israel, even if it shares Israel's opposition to the non-state actor—it simply doesn't have the internal cohesion or institutional capacity to actually act against a non-state actor," said Pearlman.Wendy Pearlman is an associate professor of political science at Northwestern University, where she also holds the Martin and Patricia Koldyke Outstanding Teaching Professorship and is a faculty fellow at the Buffett Institute for Global Studies. Boaz Atzili is an associate professor and the Director of Doctoral Studies at the School of International Service (SIS) in American University, Washington DC.Music for this season's podcast was created by Feras Arrabi. You can find more of his work on his Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/ferasarrabimusic)and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/feras.arrabi/)page.

Wendy Pearlman and Boaz Atzili talk about their new book, Triadic Coercion: Israel’s Targeting of States That Host Nonstate Actors. "The inspiration for the book goes back to the 2006 war between Israel and Lebanon— or Israel and Hezbollah," said Peralman. "Boaz and I both had postdoc fellowships at Harvard and we met in the aftermath of that... We're both quite intrigued by one aspect of that war, which was Israel's targeting of Lebanon as a state. Why would Israel target a weak host state— and demand it to stop non-state actors?" "We find is that in earlier years [of this policy], it's basically a trial and error kind of process. Israel has tried many different things— defensive measures, targeting civilians, etc.— and among them was what we call 'trial coercion.' So trying to target the forces of the state the military or police of the state and using that as a way to coerce the state to try to rein in the non-state actors. And when we get to the 1990s, that's where we see a shift where Israel basically adopt this policy more wholesale— and without considering whether it's working or not working," said Atzili. "Our argument there is that attractive coercion can only succeed against a host state that is strong. The host state needs a minimum amount of political cohesion and institutional capacity to even meet the demands of the coercer. When this type of strategy is used against a weak host state— even if it is predisposed to be cooperative with Israel, even if it shares Israel's opposition to the non-state actor—it simply doesn't have the internal cohesion or institutional capacity to actually act against a non-state actor," said Pearlman. Wendy Pearlman is an associate professor of political science at Northwestern University, where she also holds the Martin and Patricia Koldyke Outstanding Teaching Professorship and is a faculty fellow at the Buffett Institute for Global Studies. Boaz Atzili is an associate professor and the Director of Doctoral Studies at the School of International Service (SIS) in American University, Washington DC. Music for this season's podcast was created by Feras Arrabi. You can find more of his work on his Facebook (<a href="https://www.facebook.com/ferasarrabimusic)and" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/ferasarrabimusic)and</a> Instagram (<a href="https://www.instagram.com/feras.arrabi/)page" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.instagram.com/feras.arrabi/)page</a>.

Israel and Nonstate Actors: A conversation with Wendy Pearlman and Boaz Atzili (S. 7, Ep. 10)

Thomas Hegghammer

On this week's episode of the POMEPS Conversation Podcast, Marc Lynch speaks with Thomas Hegghammer, an expert on violent Islamism. Hegghammer talks about current status of the Islamic State (ISIS), as well as future of violent extremism."The way I see the the the Islamic State terrorism campaign in Europe in 2015, 2016, and 2017 happened because there was a new generation of leaders in place who hadn't quite realized or internalized the repercussions of [their] strategy," Hegghammer says. "But I think that now— even in the Islamic State family— there is a growing realization that if you want to stay alive, or if you want to keep some kind of operation locally, you want to be careful about what you what you do. So I suspect that at least the medium-term effect of this will be a certain type of some kind of taming of the Islamic State animal."Hegghammer is currently a senior research fellow at the Norwegian Defence Research Establishment (FFI) and adjunct professor of political science at the University of Oslo. He is the author of numerous books, including Jihadi Culture: The Art and Social Practices of Militant Islamists and The Meccan Rebellion: The Story of Juhayman al-'Utaybi Revisited.Music for this season's podcast was created by Feras Arrabi. You can find more of his work on his Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/ferasarrabimusic)and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/feras.arrabi/)page.

On this week's episode of the POMEPS Conversation Podcast, Marc Lynch speaks with Thomas Hegghammer, an expert on violent Islamism. Hegghammer talks about current status of the Islamic State (ISIS), as well as future of violent extremism. "The way I see the the the Islamic State terrorism campaign in Europe in 2015, 2016, and 2017 happened because there was a new generation of leaders in place who hadn't quite realized or internalized the repercussions of [their] strategy," Hegghammer says. "But I think that now— even in the Islamic State family— there is a growing realization that if you want to stay alive, or if you want to keep some kind of operation locally, you want to be careful about what you what you do. So I suspect that at least the medium-term effect of this will be a certain type of some kind of taming of the Islamic State animal." Hegghammer is currently a senior research fellow at the Norwegian Defence Research Establishment (FFI) and adjunct professor of political science at the University of Oslo. He is the author of numerous books, including Jihadi Culture: The Art and Social Practices of Militant Islamists and The Meccan Rebellion: The Story of Juhayman al-'Utaybi Revisited. Music for this season's podcast was created by Feras Arrabi. You can find more of his work on his Facebook (<a href="https://www.facebook.com/ferasarrabimusic)and" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/ferasarrabimusic)and</a> Instagram (<a href="https://www.instagram.com/feras.arrabi/)page" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.instagram.com/feras.arrabi/)page</a>.

Violent Islamism: A Conversation with Thomas Hegghammer (S. 7, Ep. 8)

Jason Brownlee

Jason Brownlee researches and teaches about authoritarianism and political emancipation. He is the author of Authoritarianism in an Age of Democratization(Cambridge University Press, 2007), Democracy Prevention: The Politics of the U.S.-Egyptian Alliance (Cambridge University Press, 2012), and (with Tarek Masoud and Andrew Reynolds) The Arab Spring: Pathways of Repression and Reform(Oxford University Press, 2012), as well as articles in American Journal of Political Science, World Politics, Comparative Political Studies, and other scholarly journals. Professor Brownlee is currently studying intersections of the U.S. political economy and Middle Eastern conflicts."While I think that domestic movements for promoting foreign policy change are essential and can be highly influential at particular points, for example eventually bringing the United States around to join the international consensus against apartheid South Africa in the 1980s, I think for a long term behavioral change away from interventionism we would need something that is more global to provide security for the most powerful actors so that we have a time horizon in which people in which states and the people running them can see that intervention is no longer necessary."Music for this season's podcast was created by Feras Arrabi. You can find more of his work on his Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/ferasarrabimusic)and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/feras.arrabi/)page.

Jason Brownlee researches and teaches about authoritarianism and political emancipation. He is the author of Authoritarianism in an Age of Democratization(Cambridge University Press, 2007), Democracy Prevention: The Politics of the U.S.-Egyptian Alliance (Cambridge University Press, 2012), and (with Tarek Masoud and Andrew Reynolds) The Arab Spring: Pathways of Repression and Reform(Oxford University Press, 2012), as well as articles in American Journal of Political Science, World Politics, Comparative Political Studies, and other scholarly journals. Professor Brownlee is currently studying intersections of the U.S. political economy and Middle Eastern conflicts. "While I think that domestic movements for promoting foreign policy change are essential and can be highly influential at particular points, for example eventually bringing the United States around to join the international consensus against apartheid South Africa in the 1980s, I think for a long term behavioral change away from interventionism we would need something that is more global to provide security for the most powerful actors so that we have a time horizon in which people in which states and the people running them can see that intervention is no longer necessary." Music for this season's podcast was created by Feras Arrabi. You can find more of his work on his Facebook (<a href="https://www.facebook.com/ferasarrabimusic)and" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/ferasarrabimusic)and</a> Instagram (<a href="https://www.instagram.com/feras.arrabi/)page" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.instagram.com/feras.arrabi/)page</a>.

U.S. Interventionism in the Middle East: A Conversation with Jason Brownlee (S. 7, Ep. 6)

Mark C. Thompson

On this week's podcast, Mark C. Thompson talks about his new book, Being Young, Male and Saudi: Identity and Politics in a Globalized Kingdom, with Marc Lynch."The main goal of this book was to give a voice to a very wide variety of young Saudi men across the Kingdom— about how they feel about living in today's contemporary Saudi Arabia, their aspirations and concerns," said Thompson."Outside of Saudi Arabia, people tend to look at these sort of socio-economic, socio-cultural transformations that are happening in the Kingdom— particularly in the West—  through the prism of what's happening to Saudi women. And they get all the attention, whereas the young men sort of get disregarded, and yet their side of the story is as equally as important— and actually informs us about the current role of Saudi women."Thompson is a Senior Associate Fellow at the King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies. He is also an Assistant Professor of Middle East Studies at the King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM).Music for this season's podcast was created by Feras Arrabi. You can find more of his work on his Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/ferasarrabimusic)and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/feras.arrabi/)page.

On this week's podcast, Mark C. Thompson talks about his new book, Being Young, Male and Saudi: Identity and Politics in a Globalized Kingdom, with Marc Lynch. "The main goal of this book was to give a voice to a very wide variety of young Saudi men across the Kingdom— about how they feel about living in today's contemporary Saudi Arabia, their aspirations and concerns," said Thompson. "Outside of Saudi Arabia, people tend to look at these sort of socio-economic, socio-cultural transformations that are happening in the Kingdom— particularly in the West—  through the prism of what's happening to Saudi women. And they get all the attention, whereas the young men sort of get disregarded, and yet their side of the story is as equally as important— and actually informs us about the current role of Saudi women." Thompson is a Senior Associate Fellow at the King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies. He is also an Assistant Professor of Middle East Studies at the King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM). Music for this season's podcast was created by Feras Arrabi. You can find more of his work on his Facebook (<a href="https://www.facebook.com/ferasarrabimusic)and" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/ferasarrabimusic)and</a> Instagram (<a href="https://www.instagram.com/feras.arrabi/)page" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.instagram.com/feras.arrabi/)page</a>.

Identity and Politics in a Globalized Saudi Arabia: Mark C. Thompson (S. 8, Ep. 8)

Ariel I. Ahram

Ariel I. Ahram speaks with Marc Lynch about his new book, Break all the Borders: Separatism and the Reshaping of the Middle East. In Break all the Borders, Ariel I. Ahram examines the separatist movements that aimed to remake the borders of the Arab world and create new independent states. With detailed studies of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, the federalists in eastern Libya, the southern resistance in Yemen, and Kurdish nationalist parties, Ahram explains how separatists captured territory and handled the tasks of rebel governance, including managing oil exports, electricity grids, and irrigation networks."I think an assumption about the way the Middle East worked— especially after 2011— everyone talked about state failure, but no one had any idea what the real forces were that were emerging from state failure," says Ahram. "The presumption about the region was that if the states were broken, they would break into a million little pieces. In fact, I found that there were only certain actors and certain countries that were really pushing to redraw borders. Most of the political contestation in the region was focused on trying to take power in the center not to break away. What I wanted to do them with the book was to focus on the actors who were really pushing to address territorial issues within the state."Ahram is Associate Professor in the Virginia Tech School of Public and International Affairs in Alexandria, Virginia, and non-resident fellow at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy. He earned a Ph.D. in government and M.A. in Arab Studies from Georgetown and B.A., summa cum laude, from Brandeis. He writes widely on security issues in the Middle East and North Africa. He was a fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington D.C. and has spoken and lectured at the World Bank, Marine Corps University, and the German Institute for Global Affairs. In 2015, he testified before the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee on the Islamic State’s abuses of women and children.Music for this season's podcast was created by Feras Arrabi. You can find more of his work on his Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/ferasarrabimusic)and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/feras.arrabi/)page.

Ariel I. Ahram speaks with Marc Lynch about his new book, Break all the Borders: Separatism and the Reshaping of the Middle East. In Break all the Borders, Ariel I. Ahram examines the separatist movements that aimed to remake the borders of the Arab world and create new independent states. With detailed studies of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, the federalists in eastern Libya, the southern resistance in Yemen, and Kurdish nationalist parties, Ahram explains how separatists captured territory and handled the tasks of rebel governance, including managing oil exports, electricity grids, and irrigation networks."I think an assumption about the way the Middle East worked— especially after 2011— everyone talked about state failure, but no one had any idea what the real forces were that were emerging from state failure," says Ahram. "The presumption about the region was that if the states were broken, they would break into a million little pieces. In fact, I found that there were only certain actors and certain countries that were really pushing to redraw borders. Most of the political contestation in the region was focused on trying to take power in the center not to break away. What I wanted to do them with the book was to focus on the actors who were really pushing to address territorial issues within the state."Ahram is Associate Professor in the Virginia Tech School of Public and International Affairs in Alexandria, Virginia, and non-resident fellow at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy. He earned a Ph.D. in government and M.A. in Arab Studies from Georgetown and B.A., summa cum laude, from Brandeis. He writes widely on security issues in the Middle East and North Africa. He was a fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington D.C. and has spoken and lectured at the World Bank, Marine Corps University, and the German Institute for Global Affairs. In 2015, he testified before the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee on the Islamic State’s abuses of women and children. Music for this season's podcast was created by Feras Arrabi. You can find more of his work on his Facebook (<a href="https://www.facebook.com/ferasarrabimusic)and" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/ferasarrabimusic)and</a> Instagram (<a href="https://www.instagram.com/feras.arrabi/)page" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.instagram.com/feras.arrabi/)page</a>.

Separatism and the Reshaping of the Middle East: A Conversation With Ariel I. Ahram (S. 7, Ep. 11)

Aaron Zelin

This week's podcast is a conversation with Aaron Y. Zelin who discusses his new book, Your Sons Are at Your Service: Tunisia's Missionaries of Jihad.In the book, Zelin explains how Tunisia became one of the largest sources of foreign fighters for the Islamic State— even though the country stands out as a democratic bright spot of the Arab uprisings and despite the fact that it had very little history of terrorist violence within its borders prior to 2011.Zelin is the Richard Borow Fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy and a visiting research scholar in the Department of Politics at Brandeis University. He is the founder of the website Jihadology.net, a primary source archive of global jihadi materials.Music for this season's podcast was created by Feras Arrabi. You can find more of his work on his Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/ferasarrabimusic)and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/feras.arrabi/)page.

This week's podcast is a conversation with Aaron Y. Zelin who discusses his new book, Your Sons Are at Your Service: Tunisia's Missionaries of Jihad. In the book, Zelin explains how Tunisia became one of the largest sources of foreign fighters for the Islamic State— even though the country stands out as a democratic bright spot of the Arab uprisings and despite the fact that it had very little history of terrorist violence within its borders prior to 2011. Zelin is the Richard Borow Fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy and a visiting research scholar in the Department of Politics at Brandeis University. He is the founder of the website <a href="http://Jihadology.net" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Jihadology.net</a>, a primary source archive of global jihadi materials. Music for this season's podcast was created by Feras Arrabi. You can find more of his work on his Facebook (<a href="https://www.facebook.com/ferasarrabimusic)and" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/ferasarrabimusic)and</a> Instagram (<a href="https://www.instagram.com/feras.arrabi/)page" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.instagram.com/feras.arrabi/)page</a>.

Tunisia’s Missionaries of Jihad: A Conversation with Aaron Zelin (S. 8, Ep. 3)

Simon Mabon

Simon Mabon speaks about his new book, Houses Built on Sand: Violence, Sectarianism and Revolution in the Middle East, with Marc Lynch on this week's podcast."I was trying to understand one way the Arab uprisings played out— in particular, the ways across the region," said Mabon. "What I've done instead is to look at how the relationship between 'rulers and ruled' has evolved across the region across the 20th and 21st centuries. And those particular relationships have created conditions that sometimes allowed for the possibility of dissent and political protest, while at other times prohibited it from taking place, as a consequence of the types of structures, forces and against coercive capacities of particular regimes— which meant that people can take to the streets or not."Mabon is Senior Lecturer in International Relations and Director of the Richardson Institute at Lancaster University in the United Kingdom.Music for this season's podcast was created by Feras Arrabi. You can find more of his work on his Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/ferasarrabimusic)and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/feras.arrabi/)page.

Simon Mabon speaks about his new book, Houses Built on Sand: Violence, Sectarianism and Revolution in the Middle East, with Marc Lynch on this week's podcast. "I was trying to understand one way the Arab uprisings played out— in particular, the ways across the region," said Mabon. "What I've done instead is to look at how the relationship between 'rulers and ruled' has evolved across the region across the 20th and 21st centuries. And those particular relationships have created conditions that sometimes allowed for the possibility of dissent and political protest, while at other times prohibited it from taking place, as a consequence of the types of structures, forces and against coercive capacities of particular regimes— which meant that people can take to the streets or not." Mabon is Senior Lecturer in International Relations and Director of the Richardson Institute at Lancaster University in the United Kingdom. Music for this season's podcast was created by Feras Arrabi. You can find more of his work on his Facebook (<a href="https://www.facebook.com/ferasarrabimusic)and" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/ferasarrabimusic)and</a> Instagram (<a href="https://www.instagram.com/feras.arrabi/)page" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.instagram.com/feras.arrabi/)page</a>.

Houses Built on Sand: A Conversation with Simon Mabon (S. 8, Ep. 4)

How did the idea of a unified global Muslim community come about? That's the question Cemil Aydin and Marc Lynch tackle in this week's podcast. Aydin's new book explores the how the world's 1.5 billion Muslims have become seen as a single religious/political bloc."In many ways, I wanted to engage with the contemporary discussions of Muslim unity, Muslim solidarity or Muslim exceptionalism by going back to the last 200 years to try to understand the genealogy and the roots of the idea of Muslims constituting a global community and a shared political project," says Aydin, an associate professor of history at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.In his book, Aydin makes the argument that up until the 19th century, there really was no Muslim world. "That doesn't mean there were many different Muslims in different parts of the world. They have always had different global or regional imaginations— but it doesn't match with our current conceptions of a Muslim world extending from Senegal or Morocco to Indonesia. Different Muslim legal scholars may have categorizations about the 'land of Islam' versus the 'land of the land of non-Muslims,'" says Aydin. "But these are legal classifications. We need to ask, 'Who made them?' or 'Who read them and how they applied them.'The fact that there were such legal categories doesn't mean that these categories are almost like a party program or a doctrine that every Muslim child had to read.... and memorize it and imagine the world accordingly.""We have to account for the fact that Muslims lived in empires— and different empires and different empires of the world to work with. There were so many different Caliphates."Aydin sees the history he just wrote about reflected in current events. "Publishing this book after Donald Trump is also very ironic in the sense that Trump's Muslim ban— or a kind of 'new' Islamophobia, which actually  originates from the 1980s onward, after Salman Rushdie appears— again created the kind of outer boundaries of the Muslim world. The new racism against Muslims actually creates a context for Muslims to defend themselves. So I have one message for Muslims: ask for your rights, whether in America or Europe or other places, without being trapped by poisonous, bad narratives. Sometimes they think that the old narrative of Muslim solidarity to preserve themselves, or to negotiate with the colonial powers,  might actually not serve their interests, but further try to 'racialize' them.""There was an assumption that only Muslim solidarity could help Muslims, which created the counter-narrative that Muslims are almost isolated from the rest of humanity. So I try to think about these symbiotic relationship between racism against Muslims in the West and the Muslims or Muslim's own pan-Islamic thinking that their solidarity is needed to empower them."By showing how deconstruction this is, "We can think differently. We can imagine a different future. That doesn't mean that Muslims don't have a right to imagine a politics based on their religious values. As a Muslim, I also do that— some of my values come from the example of Prophet Mohammad and others. But that shouldn't be a trap. Some of my values also come from the examples of Martin Luther King Jr. or Nelson Mandela. So why am I only thinking that they will only come from a specified, narrow notion of religion?"

How did the idea of a unified global Muslim community come about? That's the question Cemil Aydin and Marc Lynch tackle in this week's podcast. Aydin's new book explores the how the world's 1.5 billion Muslims have become seen as a single religious/political bloc. "In many ways, I wanted to engage with the contemporary discussions of Muslim unity, Muslim solidarity or Muslim exceptionalism by going back to the last 200 years to try to understand the genealogy and the roots of the idea of Muslims constituting a global community and a shared political project," says Aydin, an associate professor of history at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In his book, Aydin makes the argument that up until the 19th century, there really was no Muslim world. "That doesn't mean there were many different Muslims in different parts of the world. They have always had different global or regional imaginations— but it doesn't match with our current conceptions of a Muslim world extending from Senegal or Morocco to Indonesia. Different Muslim legal scholars may have categorizations about the 'land of Islam' versus the 'land of the land of non-Muslims,'" says Aydin. "But these are legal classifications. We need to ask, 'Who made them?' or 'Who read them and how they applied them.'The fact that there were such legal categories doesn't mean that these categories are almost like a party program or a doctrine that every Muslim child had to read.... and memorize it and imagine the world accordingly." "We have to account for the fact that Muslims lived in empires— and different empires and different empires of the world to work with. There were so many different Caliphates." Aydin sees the history he just wrote about reflected in current events. "Publishing this book after Donald Trump is also very ironic in the sense that Trump's Muslim ban— or a kind of 'new' Islamophobia, which actually originates from the 1980s onward, after Salman Rushdie appears— again created the kind of outer boundaries of the Muslim world. The new racism against Muslims actually creates a context for Muslims to defend themselves. So I have one message for Muslims: ask for your rights, whether in America or Europe or other places, without being trapped by poisonous, bad narratives. Sometimes they think that the old narrative of Muslim solidarity to preserve themselves, or to negotiate with the colonial powers, might actually not serve their interests, but further try to 'racialize' them." "There was an assumption that only Muslim solidarity could help Muslims, which created the counter-narrative that Muslims are almost isolated from the rest of humanity. So I try to think about these symbiotic relationship between racism against Muslims in the West and the Muslims or Muslim's own pan-Islamic thinking that their solidarity is needed to empower them." By showing how deconstruction this is, "We can think differently. We can imagine a different future. That doesn't mean that Muslims don't have a right to imagine a politics based on their religious values. As a Muslim, I also do that— some of my values come from the example of Prophet Mohammad and others. But that shouldn't be a trap. Some of my values also come from the examples of Martin Luther King Jr. or Nelson Mandela. So why am I only thinking that they will only come from a specified, narrow notion of religion?"

The Idea of the Muslim World: A Conversation with Cemil Aydin (S. 5, Ep. 38)

Narges Bajoghli

Launching our new season of the POMEPS Conversations podcast, Narges Bajoghli discusses her book, Iran Reframed: Anxieties of Power in the Islamic Republic.  In this book, Bajoghli provides an inside look at what it means to be pro-regime in Iran, and the debates around the future of the Islamic Republic.Dr. Narges Bajoghli is an award-winning anthropologist, filmmaker, and writer. Her work focuses on the intersections of power and media.Music for this season's podcast was created by Feras Arrabi. You can find more of his work on his Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/ferasarrabimusic)and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/feras.arrabi/)page.

Launching our new season of the POMEPS Conversations podcast, Narges Bajoghli discusses her book, Iran Reframed: Anxieties of Power in the Islamic Republic.  In this book, Bajoghli provides an inside look at what it means to be pro-regime in Iran, and the debates around the future of the Islamic Republic. Dr. Narges Bajoghli is an award-winning anthropologist, filmmaker, and writer. Her work focuses on the intersections of power and media. Music for this season's podcast was created by Feras Arrabi. You can find more of his work on his Facebook (<a href="https://www.facebook.com/ferasarrabimusic)and" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/ferasarrabimusic)and</a> Instagram (<a href="https://www.instagram.com/feras.arrabi/)page" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.instagram.com/feras.arrabi/)page</a>.

Iran Reframed: A Conversation with Narges Bajoghli (S. 8, Ep. 1)

Gershon Shafir

On today's podcast, Marc Lynch speaks with Gershon Shafir about his latest book, A Half Century of Occupation: Israel, Palestine, and the World’s Most Intractable Conflict. Shafir is a Professor of Sociology at the University of California, San Diego."In many ways, the occupation is all about is a military control that allows Israel to deploy various [methods] of control that no civilian government could could contemplate. This affects not only Palestinians who engage in hostile activities against Israel— or even suspect of engaging activities— but also their families, friends, and the rest of the Palestinian population.""I would say that today Israel itself is being occupied by the occupation." Shafir says, "Not only the West Bank, but the Israeli mind is being colonized."

On today's podcast, Marc Lynch speaks with Gershon Shafir about his latest book, A Half Century of Occupation: Israel, Palestine, and the World’s Most Intractable Conflict. Shafir is a Professor of Sociology at the University of California, San Diego. "In many ways, the occupation is all about is a military control that allows Israel to deploy various [methods] of control that no civilian government could could contemplate. This affects not only Palestinians who engage in hostile activities against Israel— or even suspect of engaging activities— but also their families, friends, and the rest of the Palestinian population." "I would say that today Israel itself is being occupied by the occupation." Shafir says, "Not only the West Bank, but the Israeli mind is being colonized."

A Half Century of Occupation: A Conversation with Gershon Shafir (S. 6, Ep. 16)

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