Near and Middle Eastern Studies Commons^™

The Mazdakites, The ʿAyyārs And The Mithraists, Parvaneh Pourshariati

Publications and Research

No revolutionary movement in Iranian Late Antiquity has attracted as much attention as the fascinating and enigmatic Mazdakite uprising of the late fifth century. The scholarly consensus about these has it that 1) they engaged in ibāḥat al-nisā, sharing of wives; 2) advocated the sharing of property and 3) that their past time was wine imbibing and merrymaking. I shall argue here that, as Shaki correctly suspected but did not pursue the topic, the description of the Mazdakite in our primary sources (the Letter of Tansar, Ibn Qutayba, Ṭabarī, Dīnkard, Shahrestānī), actually follows the praxis of the ʿayyārs, chivalrous men …

Triumphs In Leadership: Exploring The Positive Power Of Appreciative Inquiry, Emotional Intelligence, And Social Constructivism Among Successful Lebanese Women Leaders In Higher Education, Lina Safa

Education Division Scholarship

This qualitative study investigates the success strategies of Lebanese women leaders in higher education, a sector where they have historically faced underrepresentation. It examines the evolution of women’s roles in this field, highlighting the progress and ongoing challenges related to gender biases and societal constraints in Lebanon. The research employs a phenomenological approach to explore the lived experiences of these leaders, focusing on how they navigate cultural norms and societal expectations. Theoretical frameworks like appreciative inquiry, emotional intelligence, and social constructivism are used to analyze their transformative potential within Middle Eastern patriarchal structures. This study aims to inform policies and …

Syria As An International War, Ruby Meyer

AUCTUS: The Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Scholarship

The war in Syria evolved from a civil war into an international war due to the involvement of foreign nations. Russia, Iran, the United States, and Israel were all key players in not only turning the conflict into a global one, but also one of the most complex. Russia and Iran supported the Assad regime, providing military aid and conducting airstrikes. Russia and Iran both supported the regime for their own reasons, but both had a preexisting relationship with the Syrian government. On the other side of the conflict the US opposed Assad and supported rebel groups like the Free …

We Downplayed The Signs Of Peace, Then Downplayed The Signs Of War, Yossi Alpher

Faculty Journal Articles

The October War came as a shock to the Israeli leadership and security community. Their failure to take Sadat’s peace approaches and the imminent threat of war seriously led to changes to both the regional and domestic Israeli political landscapes

Miscalculations And Legacies: A Look Back At The 1973 War Half A Century On, David Makovsky

Faculty Journal Articles

Historians continue to debate “what if” scenarios about the pivotal conflict which reshaped the Middle East.

What If The October War Had Happened Differently?, William B. Quandt

Faculty Journal Articles

Four “what ifs” that could have changed the course of history.

Shifting Tides: Egypt’S Unexpected Path After The 1973 War, Ali E. Hillal Dessouki

Faculty Journal Articles

What prompted Egypt to move from a socialist state to a capitalist one, from Israel’s adversary to its reluctant diplomatic partner, from being a country with a strong national identity to a deeply divided one? The answer is war.

United States Diplomacy And The 1973 War, Daniel Kurtzer

Faculty Journal Articles

Before the October 1973 War, U.S. administrations showed little interest in trying to resolve the Arab-Israeli conflict. The war was pivotal in launching U.S. diplomacy in the Middle East and kick-starting serious steps toward Egyptian-Israeli peacemaking.

The 1973 October War And The Soviet Union, Vitaly Naumkin, Vasily Kuznetsov

Faculty Journal Articles

The Soviets tried to work out viable policies to deal with the fallout of the October War and Egypt’s pivot to the West.

Israel And The United States Did Not See The 1973 War Coming, Zaki Shalom

Faculty Journal Articles

Israel’s mistaken pre-war assumptions about the 1973 War caused it to fail to foresee the potential outbreak of a war with Egypt and Syria. What were these calculations based on and why did the United States follow suit?

The 1973 War And Its Aftermath: The View From Damascus, Murhaf Jouejati

Faculty Journal Articles

Syrian gains in the conflict were elusive as an unilateral strategic move from the Egyptians put them in jeopardy.

1973—A Global Paradigm Shift, Nabil Fahmy

Faculty Journal Articles

The outcomes of wars are evaluated based on how close any of the warring parties come to reaching their objectives. In the case of Egypt in the October War, it is undeniable that the country fulfilled its objectives.

Gaza Conflict Cascading Effects: The Rafah Question, Maryam El-Prince

Faculty Journal Articles

No abstract provided.

Ringside Seat To Real-Time Radicalization, Lawrence Pintak

Faculty Journal Articles

Research on radicalization finds that exposure to violence leads to further violence. Israel’s military campaign has made Gaza a “living Hell.”

Failures Of International Law And Violence In Gaza, Abigail Flynn

Faculty Journal Articles

The recent attacks on Gaza have raised important questions regarding the effectiveness of international law in preventing violence.

‘I Just Wish Palestinians Would Disappear’, Geoffrey Aronson

Faculty Journal Articles

The war being fought today offers the latest evidence that the brutal reality of Palestinian dispossession has changed little in the decades since Israel’s founding.

Biden Aims To Contain Violence In Israel/Palestine. His Policy May Be Stoking It Instead, Shibley Telhami

Faculty Journal Articles

Biden’s recent attempts at deescalation do not challenge or overturn decades of America enabling Israel’s violent occupation of Palestine. Instead, Biden has continued to systematically dismantle any non-violent avenues for Palestinian resistance while strengthening the militant Israeli far right.

Scouring For Meaning, And Hope, In The Rubble Of Gaza, Karim Haggag, Firas Al-Atraqchi

Faculty Journal Articles

The latest war in Gaza has shocked the world by its sheer violence, and the potential to escalate into a full-blown regional conflict. Worst of all has been the international community’s deafening silence.

Delivering The Palestinians To Israel: The Lasting Effects Of The 1973 War On The Palestinian Question, Khaled Elgindy

Faculty Journal Articles

In the years following the creation of Israel, the United States became the game master of the Arab-Israeli peace process. For Palestinians, this meant that they would not have a seat at the table for decades to come.

October 1973: Memoires Of A Soldier And Scholar, Abdelmonem Said Aly

Faculty Journal Articles

Reflections on how I experienced the war, first as a student-activist, then as a soldier, and later as a political scientist.

“Without Water, Nothing”: Examining The Water Saving Practices Of Women In Amman Under Periodic Water Supply, Rory Dixon

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Jordan is among the most water-scarce countries in the world. Consequently, water is only pumped to households once a week and households store water in tanks to last them until the next water day. Women conducting housework do so under conditions of environmental stress that this research calls resource-scarce domestic labor. In this study, I apply an eco-feminist lens to examine the water-saving practices women employ to manage and conserve domestic water supplies. I explore the larger causes of these behaviors including climate change, government management, and regional politics. Resource-scarce domestic labor is not a practice unique to Jordan and …

Should I Stay Or Should I Go: A Preliminary Case Study Of Labor Migration Aspirations Among Female Undergraduate Students At The University Of Jordan, Simon Khairallah

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This preliminary case study investigated the composition, complexity, and presence of labor migration aspirations among female undergraduate students at the University of Jordan. The University of Jordan was selected as the research site due to its size and prominence in Jordan. The study sought to explore female participants’ perspectives on the current economic situation in Jordan, migration aspirations, and desired destinations. Interviews were conducted with undergraduate students at the University of Jordan. Of these ten participants, six expressed clear labor migration aspirations, three expressed aspirations to stay, and one expressed ambivalent migration aspirations. Nearly all participants expressed negative views of …

Arab Feminism And The Hijab: Exploring The Intersection Of Feminism And Islam In Jordan, Melanie Kallah

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The goal of this qualitative research is to procure a definition of Arab Feminism from the religious and cultural beliefs of Jordanian Muslim women while also highlighting the feminist roots of Islam. The hijab is the perfect symbol to analyze Arab feminism under and discuss the difference between religion and culture.

This paper first dives into the history of the Jordanian women’s movement and the origins of today's activism. This hinges on the work of Rana Husseini, who has the only in-depth account of the Jordanian women’s movement. This history allows the reader to better understand the current conditions of …

Democratic Commitment In The Middle East: A Conjoint Analysis, Hannah M. Ridge

Political Science Faculty Articles and Research

Polls from the Middle East/North Africa show high support for democracy. However, the veracity of this support has been called into question. This study uses a conjoint analysis to show that citizens support democratic institutions, as well as favoring an effective welfare state and a state religion. The results demonstrate that support for elected governance is not contingent on the state's providing economic benefits; citizens are more likely to favor participatory government at each level of economic outcome. Interest in incorporating religion in the state, however, is contingent on the political and economic profile described; the contingent effects suggest interest …

Muslim Enough? Egyptian Enough? American Enough?, Essraa Nawar

Library Presentations, Posters, and Audiovisual Materials

Born in Alexandria, Egypt, Essraa has studied, lived and worked in many places, including the Gulf area (Qatar), Washington D.C., where she worked for The Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia, and Alexandria, Egypt where she worked for Bibliotheca Alexandrina. In 2002, she moved with her husband and family to the United States where they have been studying, working, and living for 20 plus years. In this vulnerable presentation, Essraa will share for the first time her journey navigating motherhood as an immigrant, Muslim women while thousands of miles away from her family in Egypt. Everyday Essraa will ask herself: Is …

Reflections On Cop27: How Egypt And India Can Work Together, Sanjay Verma

Faculty Journal Articles

In the face of the global climate crisis, India and Egypt must continue to lead the Global South in pursuing equitable climate action and building on the outcomes of the twenty-seventh Conference of the Parties in Sharm El-Sheikh.

The Future Of Water In Mena Is At Stake, Malak Altaeb

Faculty Journal Articles

The MENA region, one of the driest in the world, is facing unprecedented water management challenges due to the effects of climate change.

A Bank Of Actions: Making Good On Losses And Damages, Arunabha Gosh

Faculty Journal Articles

In the seat of the COP27 Presidency, Egypt has the chance to reframe the Conference of the Parties as a forum for action based on accountability.

Cop27 And The Sustainable City: Global Climate Solution Or Mirage?, Patrick J. Bohlen

Faculty Journal Articles

The COP27 meeting in Sharm El-Sheikh highlighted the gap between climate policy goals and climate reality. In the MENA region and globally, cities are key to advancing climate goals

Good To The Last Drop, Thomas L. Crisman, Zachary S. Winters

Faculty Journal Articles

Why nature-based solutions and adaptive management may hold the key to water conservation in the MENA region.