Research Intrests and Areas

Comparative Politics Theory; Development Theory; International Relations Theory; Qualitative Methods; Interpretive Methods; Political Culture; Authoritarianism; Social Movements; Middle East Politics; U.S. Foreign Policy toward the Middle East; Islamism and Politics; Political Elites, Institutions, and Co-optation; Elections, Opposition Movements in Non-Democratic Contexts; Democracy Promotion; Egyptian History, Politics and Society; Syrian Politics

Authoritarianism:

My earliest scholastic interests revolved around issues relating to blocked democratization and political liberalization. As the field developed I became interested in questions of authoritarian durability, which served as the basis of my doctoral dissertation. Specifically, I focus on path trajectories of institutions and how they affect co-optation as a means of explaining authoritarian persistence. To a large degree, these interests have been manifest in studying authoritarianism in Egypt and Syria.

With the sub-field of authoritarianism, I have looked at the role of elites, institutions, co-optation practices, policing strategies, opposition parties, and elections under authoritarian rule. Another ongoing interest is in the systematic study of hereditary succession in republics. I am currently writing an article that re-interprets the 2000 presidential succession in Syria. I am also working on a book project that compares institutions co-optation, and authoritarian adaptation in Egypt & Syria.

While my work until now has focused on the Arab world, I also closely follow and read the general literature on authoritarianism to look for wider applicable trends.

Social Movements:

I research and publish on social movements in the Arab world. By examining how groups form and develop to push for change, I research Islamist movements. My work focuses on the Society of Muslim Brothers and the Wasat Initiative in Egypt. I also maintain an interest in protest movements in the Middle East. Most of my research has been ethnographic through shadowing Muslim Brother candidates in electoral politics or following the Kifaya movement’s attempts to resist the state in Egypt.

I look forward to continuing to research and publish on the Egyptian Muslim Brothers.

US Foreign Policy and Democracy Promotion:

Considering the case countries that I follow have an array of approaches to the US, I keenly examine US foreign policy as well as attempts to promote democracy in the region. Since 2003, I have been interested in the effects of liberalizing pressure, sanctions, and regime change on authoritarian regimes. I am currently developing a working paper on the character of the US-Egyptian relationship and its globalizing effect on Egyptian autocracy.