Kelsey Norman of Rice University talks about her latest book, Reluctant Reception: Refugees, Migration and Governance in the Middle East and North Africa with Marc Lynch on this week’s podcast. The book proposes the concept of ‘strategic indifference’, where states [such as Egypt, Morocco, and Turkey] proclaim to be indifferent toward migrants and refugees, thereby inviting international organizations and local NGOs to step in and provide services on the state’s behalf. (Starts at 28:27). Gail Buttorff of University of Houston speaks about her new report, “COVID-19 Pandemic Compounds Challenges Facing MENA Research,” (co-authored with Nermin Allam of Rutgers University and Marwa Shalaby of University of Wisconsin-Madison) published in the American Political Science Association Fall 2020 MENA Politics Newsletter. You can also read their pieces: “A Survey Reveals How the Pandemic Has Hurt MENA Research” and “Gender, COVID and Faculty Service.” (Starts at 1:40). Samer Abboud of Villanova University discusses his piece, “Syria, Crisis Ecologies, and Enduring Insecurities in the MENA,” published in POMEPS Studies 42: MENA’s Frozen Conflicts. You can also read his latest pieces: “Reconciling fighters, settling civilians: the making of post-conflict citizenship in Syria” and “Imagining Localism in Post-Conflict Syria: Prefigurative Reconstruction Plans and the Clash Between Liberal Epistemology and Illiberal Conflict.” (Starts at 14:05).
Music for this season’s podcast was created by Feras Arrabi. You can find more of his work on his Facebook and Instagram page.
You can listen to this week’s podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or SoundCloud: