POMEPS Middle East Political Science Podcast

On this week's episode of the podcast, Sofia Fenner of Colorado College joins Marc Lynch to discuss her new book, Shouting in a Cage: Political Life After Authoritarian Co-optation in North Africa. The book offers new ways to understand co-optation’s power and its limits by examining two co-opted parties, the Wafd Party in Egypt and the Istiqlal Party in Morocco. Sofia Fenner argues that co-optation is less a corrupt bargain than a discursive contest—a clash of competing interpretations. (Starts at 0:35). Kristian Ulrichsen of the Baker Institute for Public Policy at Rice University also joins Marc Lynch to discuss Saudi Arabia and the GCC. (Starts at 32:50). Music for this season’s podcast was created by Malika Zarra. You can find more of her work on Instagram and Linktree.

On this week's episode of the podcast, Dipali Mukhopadhyay of the University of Minnesota join Marc Lynch to discuss her new book (co-authored with Kimberly Howe of Tufts University), Good Rebel Governance: Revolutionary Politics and Western Intervention in Syria. This book moves the scholarship on insurgent rule forward by considering how governing authority arises and evolves during violent conflict, and whether particular institutions of insurgent rule can be cultivated through foreign intervention. Mukhopadhyay explains how United States and its allies embarked on an effort to encourage liberal, democratic politics amid the Syrian conflict. (Starts at 00:52). Imad Alsoos of Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology also joins Marc Lynch on a spotlight on Hamas and Gaza. (Starts at 33:00). Music for this season’s podcast was created by Malika Zarra. You can find more of her work on Instagram and Linktree.

On this week's episode of the podcast, Toby Matthiesen of the University of Bristol joins Marc Lynch to discuss his new book, The Caliph and the Imam: The Making of Sunnism and Shiism. This book is an authoritative account of Islam's schism that for centuries has shaped events in the Middle East and the Islamic world. This dispute over who should guide Muslims, the Caliph or the Imam, marks the origin of the Sunni-Shii split in Islam, and Toby Matthiesen sheds light on the many ways that this division has shaped the Islamic world. Lisa Anderson and Rabab El Mahdi of Columbia University also join Marc Lynch to discuss the commission, Research Ethics in the Middle East and North Africa (REMENA). The Special Commission on Social Science Research in the Middle East and North Africa is dedicated to developing guidelines for the conduct of responsible, ethical and constructive social inquiry.  The two-year project will animate an interdisciplinary network of scholars to assess the landscape of social science research conducted in the Arab world, particularly some of the ethical, political and economic challenges to conducting such research responsibly. Music for this season’s podcast was created by Malika Zarra. You can find more of her work on Instagram and Linktree.

On this week's episode of the podcast, Ora Szekely of Clark University joins Marc Lynch to discuss her new book, Syria Divided: Patterns of Violence in a Complex Civil War. Szekely draws on sources including in-depth interviews, conflict data, and propaganda distributed through social media to examine how these competing narratives have shaped the course of the conflict. Szekely argues that the competition to control the narrative in the eyes of important audiences at home and abroad has not only influenced the choices of participants, it has also—shaped in part by the use of social media—led many to treat warfare as a kind of performance. Wendy Pearlman of Northwestern University also joins Marc Lynch to discuss the Perspectives on Politics journal, of which she serves as co-editor. The journal aims to foster dialogue and collaboration among political scientists with wide-ranging subfield specializations, epistemological perspectives, analytical approaches, and thematic interests.  The journal plays a role as an impactful conduit for political science’s engagement beyond the academy. Music for this season’s podcast was created by Malika Zarra. You can find more of her work on Instagram and Linktree.

On this week's episode of the podcast, Thomas Serres of the University of California, Santa Cruz joins Marc Lynch to discuss his new book, The Suspended Disaster. In his book, he examines the dynamics of the Algerian political system, offering new insights into the last years of Bouteflika’s rule and the factors that shaped the emergence of an unexpected social movement. He argues that the Algerian ruling coalition developed a mode of government based on the management of a seemingly never-ending crisis, (Starts at 0:49). Lisel Hintz of Johns Hopkins SAIS also joins Marc Lynch in a conversation about the zoom group that she formed for Syrian and Turkish academics affected by the earthquake. They also discuss Hintz's own research on Turkish pop culture and how you can learn about politics by studying the media. Music for this season’s podcast was created by Malika Zarra. You can find more of her work on Instagram and Linktree.

On this week's episode of the podcast, Alice Wilson of the University of Sussex joins Marc Lynch to discuss her new book, Afterlives of Revolution. Alice Wilson considers the "social afterlives" of revolutionary values and networks, looking particularly at the legacies of officially silenced revolutionaries in Oman. Marsin Al-Shammary, Sajad Jiyad and Fanar Haddad Shia, contributors on Power Comes of Age: The Transformation of Islamist Politics in Iraq, 2003–2023, also join Marc Lynch to explore Shia Power. They discuss the radical transformation of Shia Islamist politics in Iraq over the last two decades, as well as the factors that explain politics and the pursuit of power. Music for this season’s podcast was created by Malika Zarra. You can find more of her work on Instagram and Linktree.

In this week's episode, Robert Kubinec of NYU Abu Dhabi joins Marc Lynch to discuss his book,. Kubinec argues that businesses must respond to changes in how perks and privileges are distributed after political transitions, either by forming political coalitions or creating new informal connections to emerging politicians. Employing detailed case studies and original experiments, Making Democracy Safe for Business advances our empirical understanding of the study of the durability of corruption in general and the dismal results of the Arab Uprisings in particular. (Starts at 2:35). Also this week, due to the American Political Science Association (APSA) annual meeting disruption, Marc Lynch invites four junior scholars from the APSA MENA section panels to put together "virtual posters" describing their work and its significance to our podcast audience. (Starts at 37:18). The four scholars are: Ansar Jasim (Free University of Berlin), "Unmaking Homes: Urban Violence and its Afterlives in Baghdad"; Elizabeth Parker-Magyar (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), "Workplace, Networks and Social Movements: Evidence from Jordan"; Amir Mahdavi (University of Connecticut), "Iran's 2021 Election: A Turning Point from Electoral to Hegemonic Authoritarianism"; Ameni Mehrez (Central European University), "The Political Legacy of Secular Policies: Evidence from Tunisia." Music for this season’s podcast was created by Malika Zarra. You can find more of her work on Instagram and Linktree.

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, 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.

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&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).