Bashar al-Asad's Agenda for 2007: Is Syria Part of the Problem or Part of the Solution in the Middle East?

By Carsten Wieland

Wieland examines how recent domestic events in Syria, including pressure from both reformists and regime hardliners, will affect Bashar al-Asad's foreign policy and position on reform in the coming year.

Published 04/27/2007

I'm safer in Jordan than a Palestinian in America

By David M. DeBartolo

David Bartolo reflects on his own experiences in Jordan and Palestine and contrasts them with a recent bias-related incident at Guilford College in North Carolina.

Published 04/27/2007

Muslim Brotherhood leader (and CCAS guest) published in Al-Ahram

By Amr El-Shoubaky

Amr El-Shoubaky was a guest speaker at the 2007 Arab Studies Symposium on Islamist politics. This article, printed in Arabic, appeared in the major Egyptian daily a week ago.

Published 04/05/2007

Hear out the Muslim Brotherhood

By Samer Shehata and Joshua Stacher

Professor Shehata, along with AUC colleague Joshua Stacher, argues in this Boston Globe op-ed that the United States government should rethink its stubborn refusal to interact with the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood.

Published 03/29/2007

American Perceptions and Misconceptions of the Middle East: A Georgetown Case Study

By Elizabeth Nugent

During the spring semester of the 2005-2006, I participated in the Georgetown University Research Opportunity Project (GUROP) under the supervision of CCAS professor Rochelle Davis in order to learn more about Georgetown students’ perceptions of the Middle East. Of the twenty-two questions in the survey, six groups of questions portray the difference that experience with and knowledge about the Middle East can make in understanding and disproving stereotypes.

Published 10/11/2006

The Brotherhood Goes to Parliament

  Political Reform
By Samer Shehata and Joshua Stacher

CCAS Professor Samer Shehata publishes about the Muslim Brotherhood parliamentary bloc in Egypt in the Middle East Report, MER 240, Fall 2006.

Published 08/28/2006

Emails from Beirut

  Lebanon and Syria
By Maya Mikdashi

From: mtm2116
Subject: update
Date: August 13, 2006 3:35:22 PM EDT

This article is one in a series of narratives from alumni on the ground in Lebanon. 

Published 08/06/2006

The Logic of Authoritarian Bargains

  Arab Authoritarianism , Arab Human Development
By Yousef, Olofsgård, and Desai

The social contract in dictatorships is commonly explained as an authoritarian bargain between rulers and citizens by which citizens relinquish political rights for economic security. Yet the content of these bargains is often unclear and their implications have not been broadly tested.

Published 06/05/2006

Authoritarian Mechanics

  Arab Authoritarianism , Arab Human Development
By Samer Shehata

Authoritarian Mechanics is an article by CCAS Assistant Professor of Arab Politics, Samer S. Shehata. He writes in Al-Ahram Weekly, "For 25 years the emergency laws have fed terrorism rather than help combat it." in his article entitled, "Authoritarian Mechanics."

Published 05/24/2006

Ports Deal: A UAE Perspective

  East-West Relations
By Abdul Khaleq Abdullah

Gulf News features an interesting article on the Dubai ports debacle, "Ports Deal: A UAE Perspective" by Abdul Khaleq Abdullah, Professor of Political Science at the Emirates University.

Published 03/17/2006