Arab Scholars and Politics During Times of Uncertainty

The Arab Political Science Network (APSN) sponsored and organized a panel at the Middle East Studies Association‘s (MESA) annual conference that took place in New Orleans, Louisiana from November 14-17, 2019. The panel discussed how Arab scholars conceptualize the field of political science, teach it, and write about it following the uprisings. Politics and specifically Middle Eastern politics are so often viewed–and experienced–as spheres of disappointment. Conflicts, tensions, and misconceptions figure squarely in the literature on Arab societies and occasionally mark the public view of these communities. Teaching and researching Middle Eastern and North African politics are thus a painstaking exercise that involves critically analyzing historical trajectories and sociopolitical flows.

Chair / Discussant

Dalia Fahmy – Long Island University

Panelists

Nermin Allam – Rutgers University, USA

Mona Farag – Zayed University, UAE

Eid Mohamed – Doha Institute for Graduate Studies, Qatar

Hind Ahmed Zaki – University of Connecticut, USA