Distinguished Visiting Professor

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Academic Background

1990
Ph.D., University of Chicago, Department of Political Science. Thesis title:"Successful Authoritarianism: The Social and Structural Origins of Populist Authoritarian Rule in Syria, 1946-1963"

1986

M.A., University of Chicago, Department of Political Science

Professional Background

since 2007
Vice president of Applied Research on Conflict, United States Institute of Peace, Washington, D.C.

2003-2007
Director of the Center for Democracy and Civil Society and Research Associate Professor, Georgetown University.

2001-2003
Director of the Program on Philanthropy and the Nonprofit Sector, Social Science Research Council, New York.

2001
Visiting Professor, European University Institute, Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies, Florence, Italy.

1997-2000
Associate Professor, Columbia University, Department of Political Science.

1997
World Fund Senior Fellow, Yale University, Center for International and Area Studies.

1990-1997
Director of the Program on International Peace and Security and the Program on the Near and Middle East, Social Science Research Council, New York.

1981-1984
Editorial Assistant of Middle East Journal (1981-1984) and Director of Programs and Research (1983-1984), Middle East Institute, Washington, D.C.

Research Interest

Authoritarian governance

Economic development

Social policy

Political and economic reform

Civil society

Regional Focus

Comparative Politics and Political Economy of the Middle East and North Africa (special focus on Syria)

Teaching

International Relations and Regional Order of the MENA (Summer Term 2015)

International Relations and Regional Order of the Middle East (Summer Term 2014)

Publications

• Middle East Authoritarianism: Governance, Contestation, and Regime Resilience in Syria and Iran, co-edited with Reinoud Leenders, Stanford University Press, 2013.
• Globalization, Philanthropy, and Civil Society: Projecting Institutional Logics Abroad, co-edited with David C. Hammack, Indiana University Press, 2009.
• The Legitimacy of Philanthropic Foundations: United States And European Perspectives, co-edited, Russell Sage Foundation Press, 2006.
• Networks of Privilege in the Middle East: The Politics of Economic Reform Revisited, editor, Palgrave Press, 2004.
• War, Institutions and Social Change in the Middle East, editor, University of California Press, 2000.
• Authoritarianism in Syria: Institutions and Social Conflict, 1946-1970, Cornell University Press, 1999.

• "Embracing the Change, Accepting the Challenge? Western Response to the Arab Spring" in: Re-thinking Western Policies in Light of the Arab Uprisings, eds.Riccardo Alcaro and Miguel Haubrich-Seco (IAI Research Paper, April 2012).
• "Lebanon After Elections: The End of the Beginning." al-Majalla, July 2009 (cover essay in Arabic and English language editions).
• "The Return of Local Politics in Lebanon?" al-Majalla, June 2009 (cover essay in Arabic and English language editions).
• "Institutions and Economic Performance: The Use and Abuse of Culture in New Institutional Economics," Studies in Comparative International Development, (March 2008).
• "Social Pacts and the Persistence of Authoritarianism in the Middle East," in: Debating Arab Authoritarianism: Dynamics and Durability in Non-Democratic Regimes, ed. Oliver Schlumberger (Stanford University Press, 2007).
• "Upgrading Authoritarianism in the Arab World," Saban Center, Brookings Institution, October 2007.
• "In the Shadow of Democracy." Middle East Journal, Vol. 60, No. 1 (Winter 2006).
• Unlocking the Employment Potential in the Middle East and North Africa: Toward a New Social Contract, (contributing author, World Bank, 2003).
• "La question de la democratie dans les travaux sur le monde arabe." Critique Internationale, (October 2002).
• "Middle East Studies After 9/11: Defending the Discipline." Journal of Democracy, (July 2002).

Memberships

American Political Science Association (APSA)
Middle East Studies Association (MESA)
International Studies Association (ISA)
Association for Research on the Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Associations (ARNOVA)
International Society for Third Sector Research (ISTR)