Plus, major new surveys of Syrian public opinion and German academics. Britain, France, Canada and Portugal have now officially recognized the State of Palestine, in one of the first really major political consequences of Israel's horrific war on Gaza. At one level, this is a major symbolic moment,
The crackdown on Gaza protests paved the way to today’s full on assault on free speech. Abu Aardvark's MENA Academy depends on support from readers – become a core supporter today Join the MENA Academy The UN's Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian
Early in my academic career I spent a lot of time in Jordan. I still remember the shock across the country and King Hussein’s palpable rage when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu authorized an assassination attempt on Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal in Amman. This was only a few years after
The fall semester is now well underway, which has been exhilerating in some ways and exhausting in others. There's a lot going on in the Trump administration's ongoing war on higher education and a lot going on in the Middle East. For now, though, I want
Basically, it sucks. Last week, Tuft's Dan Drezner and my GW colleague Dave Karpf published really good pieces on what it's like to be, respectively, a dean of international affairs and a professor of political communications in the fall of 2025. Karpf observes that "Most
A little book review essay on a critical subject to launch the new semester. Thank you so much for subscribing to Abu Aardvark's Ghost and the MENA Academy (sounds like a killer indy band, right?). Moving from Substack to Ghost raised the costs of maintaining the blog considerably
And other big questions about the direction of Middle Eastern politics. Thank you so much for subscribing to Abu Aardvark's Ghost and the MENA Academy (sounds like a killer indy band, right?). Moving from Substack to Ghost raised the costs of maintaining the blog considerably – Ghost's
Stephane Lacroix's spectacular new book on Islamism in Egypt, plus (perhaps) the last MENA Academy scholarship roundup of the summer The end of the summer is fast arriving, I'm afraid. Last week, I offered up some grim forecasts for the coming semester along with a long
Maybe I can help. The first of August is the traditional breaking point for academics to suddenly realize that despite the scorching temperatures the summer is rapidly coming to an end. The coming semester is going to be deeply challenging for all of us, and especially for those of us
A fascinating new collection of essays building on our recent book has never been more timely Note: I've been sick the last few days and have fallen behind on posting. I'll be making up for that, I'm afraid. Keep an eye out very soon
An important new book offers surprising answers. That, plus a call for papers on Syria and this week's roundup of new journal articles! As promised, we're back this week with a full MENA Academy roundup – including not only journal articles but also a return to our
My new Foreign Affairs piece with Shibley Telhami points out the opportunities and the potential traps of recognition in a new regional reality Back in June, France and Saudi Arabia were pushing plans for a UN conference on the two state solution for Israel and Palestine centered on a push
Plus, a new MENA Academy roundup Twelve years ago today, huge crowds took to the streets in Egypt demanding that President Mohammed el-Morsi step down from office. The Tamarod June 30 protests were not, as claimed at the time, the biggest democratic uprising in history, but they were big. They
An incompetent administration leaps without looking into a new phase of regional war There was a brief moment last week when it looked like Donald Trump had come to his senses. After signaling that he was about to bomb Iran, he suddenly stepped back from the brink, indicating that he
The huge US decision about entering the Iran-Israel war feels strangely familiar. For the last fifteen years or so, my graduate level Elliott School course on the International Relations of the Middle East has included a simulation exercise built around the scenario of Israel requesting that the United States join
Vali Nasr's new book offers a guide to how Iran will likely respond to Israel's war. Israel's surprise attack on Iran has upended many long-held assumptions about regional order and security in the Middle East. Over the first four days of the war, Israel
What is it really trying to achieve... and can it succeed? Last night, Israel launched a major military strike against Iran, killing a number of its senior military commanders and taking shots at key nuclear sites. The strike came only days before the sixth round of the US-Iran nuclear talks
Plus a full new roundup from the MENA academy! Syria's new government has made significant progress in recent weeks, but still has a tough road ahead of it. On the positive side, the Trump administration appears to be following through on its commitment during the Saudi Gulf summit
A report from the launch conference of a major project challenging our field. Apologies for not posting for a while – end of the semester and final copy edits on America's Middle East have kept me busy. I am just now finishing up a short trip to New York
Plus regional order, racialization, Gulf politics, and all the new research in the MENA Academy! I've been writing a lot about regional politics this week because of Trump's visit to the Gulf. But the MENA Academy never rests. Seriously, I don't think it ever
On Monday, I published a piece in Foreign Affairs laying out all the strategic issues and context to Trump's visit to Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar. Now that he's made his big speech in Riyadh, and has taken off for Doha, how did it all
This week's trip to the Gulf has everyone guessing. My new article previews the issues and the stakes. Most of the optics around Donald Trump's upcoming visit to the Gulf this week has been around his search for investment and deals, and the almost unbelievably brazen
Plus, a rich new weekly roundup of scholarship on the Middle East. As regular readers know, Shibley Telhami and I have for several years been tracking the views of Middle East academic experts about threats to academic freedom, antisemitism, and other critical campus issues. Today, Bright Line Watch released its
I'm thrilled to announce the publication of POMEPS Studies 55: State and Regime Violence. Based on a POMEPS workshop jointly organized with Toby Dodge at LSE's Middle East Centre last fall, and edited and introduced by me, this collection brings together a diverse, top-notch group of