Publications

This backgrounder examines America’s grand strategic objectives and how they’re complicated by the threats posed by groups such as ISIS and al Qaeda. The complications, in turn, trigger certain requirements, including 1) nuanced assessments of the structure, methods and...chevron_right

This backgrounder lays out America’s strategic objectives in Iraq and Syria, which include 1) ending the civil wars in both countries; 2) destroying opposing groups and preventing their reconstitution; and 3) extricating Iraq and Syria from...chevron_right

This paper utilizes the case study of Japan to demonstrate that the equalization of legislative representation reduces policy biases. Using cross-municipal data, the authors present evidence that muni...chevron_right

This paper examines the politics surrounding the development of European rights by focusing on what the author considers the key right of EU citizenship: mobility. The author charts the concept of EU ...chevron_right

This paper investigates how comparative context shapes public preferences over international economic policies. The author contends that national institutions, particularly those that alter the incide...chevron_right

This report by Amnesty International analyzes the process of paramilitary disarmament and demobilization in Medellín and Colombia in general. The report stresses that any demobilization of members of ...chevron_right

This paper analyzes how humor was used in Egypt as a form of political protest, both during the regime of President Mubarak and the Arab Spring protests of 2011 The authors discuss the types of humor ...chevron_right

This paper looks at digital activism in Lebanon and the benefits and disadvantages of the digital and social media tools used for it. The authors find that digital activism in Lebanon is on the rise a...chevron_right

This paper examines the nature and function of discursive slogans during the 2011 Egyptian revolution. Using examples of some of the slogans written in public places during this time, the author argue...chevron_right

This paper continues a study that began in 2007 that examines the status quo of audiovisual translation in the Arab world. Specifically, it analyzes the challenges of localizing audiovisual translati...chevron_right

This paper studies the tweets and posts made by political protest movements in Libya and Syria on Twitter and Facebook both during and after the 2011 uprisings in these countries. The authors particul...chevron_right

Using case studies of the 2011 protests in Egypt and the 2009 post-election protest in Iran, this paper explores the effect of social media and internet-based communication on social movements. The au...chevron_right

Focusing on the case of Moroccan social movements and their framing of the 2009 Gaza war, this paper analyzes how the Internet contributes to the capacity of oppositional civil society groups to chall...chevron_right

Drawing from results of over fifty interviews and the study of three newspapers, this paper identifies internal and external pressures that profoundly limit the autonomy of Palestinian print journalis...chevron_right

Nearly all studies and most opinion about new media and information technologies in the Middle East have held that they are a boon in an environment of information-averse regimes, state-controlled med...chevron_right