Sebnem Gumuscu is an associate professor of political science at Middlebury College and the author of Democracy or Authoritarianism: Islamist Governments in Turkey, Egypt, and Tunisia. Access Bonus Episodes on Patreon Make a one-time Donation to Democracy Paradox. If these Islamist organizations want to stay in these contexts and keep playing the democratic game, they... Continue Reading →
Shadi Hamid is a columnist and member of the Editorial Board at The Washington Post. He is also a research professor of Islamic studies at Fuller Seminary and the co-host of the podcast Wisdom of Crowds. His most recent book is The Problem of Democracy: America, the Middle East, and the Rise and Fall of an... Continue Reading →
Robert reported on foreign policy for The Atlantic for three decades and is currently the Robert Strausz-Hupé Chair in Geopolitics at the Foreign Policy Research Institute. His most recent book is The Loom of Time: Between Empire and Anarchy, from the Mediterranean to China. Access Bonus Episodes on Patreon Make a one-time Donation to... Continue Reading →
Isabel Kershner is a reporter at The New York Times and the author of a new book called The Land of Hope and Fear: Israel's Battle for Its Inner Soul. Access Bonus Episodes on Patreon Make a one-time Donation to Democracy Paradox. It's very hard to understand what's happening today without looking at the... Continue Reading →
Cole Bunzel is a fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University and the editor of the blog Jihadica. He is the author of the book Wahhābism: The History of a Militant Islamic Movement. Access Bonus Episodes on Patreon Make a one-time Donation to Democracy Paradox. The Jihadis today root themselves theologically and ideologically... Continue Reading →
Marsin Alshamary is a research fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Middle East Initiative and nonresident fellow at the Brookings Institution’s Center for Middle East Policy. She is the author of the paper "Iraq’s Struggle for Democracy" in the Journal of Democracy. Access Bonus Episodes on Patreon Make a one-time Donation to Democracy Paradox. The... Continue Reading →
Steven served on the National Security Council staff from 1994 to 1999 and again fro 2011 to 2012. Earlier he served in the State Department for fifteen years. He is currently a Robert E. Wilhelm Fellow at the MIT Center for International Studies and his most recent book is Grand Delusion: The Rise and Fall... Continue Reading →
By Cathryn Grothe A Spotlight on Qatar The international spotlight is on Qatar for the 2022 World Cup. It’s not only the football matches that are receiving global attention, but also Qatar’s harrowing human rights record. To fully appreciate the controversy surrounding this year's host country, it is important to understand the long history of... Continue Reading →
By Justin Kempf A review of Quest for Democracy: Liberalism in the Modern Arab World by Line Khatib Liberalism in the Modern Arab World On July 25th, 2021 Tunisian President Kaïs Saïed suspended parliament and dismissed Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi. It marked the collapse of the last remaining democracy to emerge from the Arab Spring.... Continue Reading →
By Prof Shahram Akbarzadeh, Convenor of Middle East Studies Forum, Deakin University. He is the author of Middle East Politics and International Relations: Crisis Zone. You can follow him on Twitter at @S_Akbarzadeh Widespread protests against the ruling regime in Iran have raised serious questions about the future. Will the regime survive this popular expression of dissent?... Continue Reading →
