Tag Archives: Middle East

Benjamin Netanyahu’s efforts to give Israel’s Parliament the ability to overturn high court decisions has been met with widespread protests. What are the stakes of these protests? What’s the democratic and political future for Israel? [ dur: 58mins. ]

Mira Sucharov is Professor of Political Science in the Department of Political Science at Carlton University. She is the author of The International Self: Psychoanalysis and the Search for Israeli-Palestinian Peace and co-editor (with Aaron J. Hahn Tapper) of Social Justice and Israel/Palestine: Foundational & Contemporary Debates.
Liron Levy, is assistant Professor in the Department of Political Studies at Bar-Ilan University, Israel. She is the author of King Bibi, the personification of democratic values in the 2019 2021 election cycle recently published in the book, the election in Israel 2019 to 2021.

This program is produced by Ankine Aghassian, Doug Becker, Mihika Chechi, and Sudd Dongre.

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Scholars' Circle Interviews

Scholars’ Circle – Women protest in Iran, a persistent struggle – April 2, 2023

April 2, 2023 host

After the murder of Mahsa Amini by morality police Iran has seen protests, demonstrations, and an ongoing resistance movement against its regime. What best explains the origins and persistence of this movement? What has influenced Iran’s resistant movement? We will explore the status of women and the history of women’s rights movement in Iran. [ dur: 58mins. ]

Also, Iran has a substantial number of diaspora around the world. They help frame the issues that are occurring inside its borders. What is the interaction between Iranians abroad and Iranians in Iran and the resistance movement going on right now in the nation?

Persis Karim is the Neda Nobari Chair of the Center for Iranian Diaspora Studies and a professor in the Comparative and World Literature department at SF State. She is the author of Let Me Tell You Where I’ve Been: New Writing by Women of the Iranian Diaspora.
Nayereh Tohidi is Professor Emerita in the Department of Gender & Women’s Studies and Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies at California State University, Northridge. She is the author of Women’s Rights and Feminist Movements in Iran.

This program is produced by Ankine Aghassian, Doug Becker, Melissa Chiprin, Mihika Chechi, and Sudd Dongre.

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Scholars’ Circle – Humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh from blockade at Lachin Corridor – March 12, 2023

March 13, 2023 host

The deteriorating humanitarian condition in the Armenian-majority breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh. The Lachin corridor, the only road that connects the region to the outside world, has been blocked by a military campaign limiting food and other essential supplies and trapping 120,000 people.

We explore the legal, political and military implications of this campaign.How are international actors responding to this campaign? What role is Turkey, Russia, and the United States playing in the blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh? [ dur: 58mins. ]

Richard Giragosian is the Founding Director of the Regional Studies Center (RSC), an independent “think tank” located in Yerevan, Armenia. He is Visiting Professor at the College of Europe’s Natolin Campus and Senior Expert at Yerevan State University’s Center for European Studies (CES). He is the author of the book chapter Small States and Large Costs of Regional Fracture: The Case of Armenia
Steve Swerdlow, esq. is Associate Professor of the Practice of Human Rights in the Department of Political and International Relations at the University of Southern California. A human rights lawyer and expert on the former Soviet region, Swerdlow was Senior Central Asia researcher at Human Rights Watch, heading the organization’s work on Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, and founding its Kyrgyzstan field office. He is the author of Uzbekistan’s Religious and Political Prisoners and Uzbekistan’s Ethnic Minorities: Out of Sight, But Not Out of Mind.

This program is produced by Ankine Aghassian, Doug Becker, Melissa Chiprin, Mihika Chechi, and Sudd Dongre.

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Scholars’ Circle – Turkey earthquake, disaster relief politics and humanitarian laws – Feb. 19, 2023

February 18, 2023 host

A massive earthquakes has rocked Turkey and Syria and killed thousands of people. The disaster response to this earthquake has faced challenges, including governance of the relief efforts and legal requirements under international law. We explore the relief efforts in light of scholarship on best practices and legal obligations. Who is responsible for security in the disaster zone? How much are local actors prioritized versus those who have come to the region to provide relief? And what happens when the security capacity of the affected state is so devastated by the disaster itself? [ dur: 58mins. ]

Andrea de Guttry is Professor of International Law at Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna (SSSA) in Pisa, Italy. He is the author of Foreign fighters under international law and International Disaster Response Law.
Branda Nowell is Professor at the School of Public and International Affairs at NC State University. She is the author of Public Management in an Era of the Unprecedented: Dominant Institutional Logics as a Barrier to Organizational Sensemaking and The Structure of Effective Governance of Disaster Response Networks: Insights >From the Field.
Nukhet Sandal is Associate Professor of Political Science and Associate Dean in the College of Arts & Sciences at Ohio University. She is the author of Religious populist parties, nationalism, and strategies of competition: the case of the AK Party in Turkey and Religious Leaders and Conflict Transformation. She is the Editor-in-Chief of the Oxford Research Encyclopedia of International Studies.

Earthquake Relief Organizations:

This program is produced by Ankine Aghassian, Doug Becker, Melissa Chiprin, Mihika Chechi, and Sudd Dongre.

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Scholars’ Circle – Libyan civil war continues after Gaddafi’s Rule ; Methods for Peace Building – September 18, 2022

September 17, 2022 host

We explore the civil war in Libya. Why did it break out and why does it persist? What are possible solutions? Host: Doug Becker. [ dur: 30mins. ]

Haala Hweio is Adjunct Instructor of Political Science at Rosary College of Arts and Sciences at Dominican University. She is the author of Tribes in Libya: From Social Organization to Political Power, The Libyan Revolution and Women’s Participation in Politics and Media and The Muslim Brotherhood: Libya as the Last Resort for the Continued Existence of the Global Movement
Alan J Kuperman is Associate Professor of Public Affairs and is founding coordinator of the Nuclear Proliferation Prevention Project at The University of Texas Austin, Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs. He is the author of Constitutions and Conflict Management in Africa: Preventing Civil War Through Institutional Design (National and Ethnic Conflict in the 21st Century), Did the R2P foster violence in Libya? and “Obama’s Libya Debacle“

Beyond ending war what does it take to make a lasting quality peace? Host: Maria Armoudian. [ dur: 28mins. ]

Recorded November 22, 2015.

Peter Wallensteen is Research Professor Emeritus of Peace Studies at Joan B Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, University of Notre Dame. He is the author of Quality Peace: Peacebuilding, Victory and World Order, Understanding Conflict Resolution: Peace, War, and the Global System and editor of the volume International Sanctions: Between Wars and Words.

This program is produced by Ankine Aghassian, Doug Becker, Mihika Chechi, Melissa Chiprin, and Sudd Dongre.

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Scholars' Circle Interviews

Scholars’ Circle – Conflict hot spots: Ukraine and Yemen – January 30, 2022

January 29, 2022 host

Conflict hot spots are popping up all around the world. We discuss two of them.

Is Russia acting out of aggression or self-defense in its threats against Ukraine? [ dur: 28mins. ]

Robert English is Associate Professor of International Relations and Co-Director of the Central European Studies Program at the University of Southern California (USC). He is the author of Russia and the Idea of the West.

The Houthis in Yemen launched drone strikes against the United Arab Emirates this week. Is this a new round of escalation in that ongoing and devastating war?

We will explore the new escalations in the civil war in Yemen. [ dur: 30mins. ]

Hamoud Salhi is Professor of Political Science and Associate Dean of International Education at California State University, Dominguez Hills. He is commentator for Arabic media.
Charles Schmitz is Professor of Geography at Towson University in Baltimore, Maryland. He is an Affiliated Scholar with the Middle East Institute in Washington DC. He is the author of the publications Historical Dictionary of Yemen, “Huthi Visions of the State: A Huthi Republic with an Unofficial Imam,” in Hamidaddin, Abdullah (ed). The Huthi Movement in Yemen: Ideology, Ambition and Security in the Arab Gulf and “A Parasitic Political Economy,” in Amat Alsoswa and Noel Brehony (eds.), Building a New Yemen: Transition and International Community.

This program is produced by Maria Armoudian, Doug Becker, Ankine Aghassian, Melissa Chiprin and Sudd Dongre.

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Scholars' Circle Interviews

Scholars’ Circle – Impact of American Lawyers on International Human Right Cases ; One Year after Armenia and Azerbaijan war – October 3, 2021

October 2, 2021 host

We interview Maria Armoudian who has published a book on international human rights and the role that lawyers have played at advancing cases against human rights abusers. Maria Armoudian is the author of Lawyers Beyond Borders : Advancing International Human Rights Through Local Laws and Courts. [ dur: 30 mins. ]

Maria Armoudian is a lecturer at the University of Auckland in New Zealand. She is the author of the books Reporting from the Danger Zone: Frontline Journalists, Their Jobs and an Increasingly Perilous Future, Kill the Messenger: The Media’s Role in the Fate of the World, and her most recent Lawyers Beyond Borders : Advancing International Human Rights Through Local Laws and Courts . Maria is a host and anchor of this show, the Scholars’ Circle.

Then, we explore the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan a year after the war over the disputed region of Ngoro-Karabagh. What is the current status of the region following the cease-fire? Is there possibility of lasting peace? [ dur: 26 mins. ]

Anna Ohanyan is the Richard B. Finnegan Distinguished Professor of Political Science and International Relations at Stonehill College, and a two-times Fulbright Scholar in the South Caucasus. She is the editor of Russia Abroad: Driving Regional Fracture in Post-Communist Eurasia and Beyond, and her latest book “The Neighborhood Effect: The Imperial Roots of Regional Fracture in Post-Communist Eurasia“. Professor Ohanyan is also a nonresident senior scholar in the Russia and Eurasia Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

This program is produced by Ankine Aghassian, Doug Becker, Melissa Chiprin and Sudd Dongre.

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Scholars' Circle Interviews

Scholars’ Circle – Israel’s occupation policies challenges its commitment to democracy and human rights – May 30, 2021

May 29, 2021 host

What does the continued occupation and discrimination against its Palestinian population mean for Israeli identity as a democratic nation? What exactly is Israel’s relationship with the world’s Jewish population? And what precisely is the ideology of Zionism? Hosted by Doug Becker. [ dur:58mins. ]

Mira Sucharov is Professor of Political Science and University Chair of Teaching Innovation in the Department of Political Science at Carlton University. She is the author of The International Self: Psychoanalysis and the Search for Israeli-Palestinian Peace and co-editor (with Aaron J. Hahn Tapper) of Social Justice and Israel/Palestine: Foundational & Contemporary Debates.
Brent Sasley is Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Texas, Arlington. He is the author of the book Politics in Israel: Governing a Complex Society and the book chapter “The End of Oslo and The Second Intifada, 2000-2005.”
Joshua Shanes is Associate Professor of Jewish Studies and Director of Arnold Center for Israel Studies at College of Charleston. He is the author of Diaspora Nationalism and Jewish Identity in Habsburg Galicia. And is the co-author of the article We Need a Better Definition for Ant-Semitism.

Produced by the Scholars’ Circle team: Ankine Aghassian, Melissa Chiprin and Sudd Dongre.

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Scholars' Circle Interviews

Scholars’ Circle – Yemini War and humanitarian crisis; Secret Heroes Who Shaped the World – March 28, 2021

March 27, 2021 host

The Yemeni War has created the world’s largest humanitarian disaster. Over 80% of the population is at risk, with particular vulnerabilities to children. And the Covid pandemic has worsened conditions. What are the causes of the war? Why is it not ending? And how can it be resolved? Hosted by Doug Becker. [ dur: 43mins. ]

Hamoud Salhi is Professor of Political Science and Associate Dean of International Education at California State University, Dominguez Hills. He is commentator for Arabic media.
Charles Schmitz is Professor of Geography at Towson University in Baltimore, Maryland. He is an Affiliated Scholar with the Middle East Institute in Washington DC. He is the author of the publications Negotiating Yemeni Peace: Deep Divisions and Hard Realities, No Winners in Yemen and Historical Dictionary of Yemen.

Then, secret heroes. We know the role of presidents and other leaders in shaping history, however we hear little about the unsung heroes; many who have risked their lives to liberate and rescue others. Who might some of those secret heroes be? Hosted by Maria Armoudian.[ dur: 14mins. ]

Paul Martin is writer, editor and journalist., He is the author of Secret Heroes: Everyday Americans Who Shaped Our World and Villains, Scoundrels, and Rogues.

This program is produced by Ankine Aghassian, Doug Becker, Melissa Chiprin and Sudd Dongre.

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Scholars’ Circle – Insight into the Abraham Accord between Israel and some Arab States – January 31, 2021

January 30, 2021 host

Several Arab states have signed normalization agreements with Israel. What do these “Abraham Accords” mean for security in the region and for the future of Palestinian people? What are the solutions to the Palestinian conflict? What are the alternatives to a two state solution and should the focus for Palestinians be on their civil rights? Hosted by Doug Becker. [ dur: 58mins. ]

Laurie A. Brand is the Robert Grandford Wright Professor of International Relations and Middle East Studies at the University of Southern California. She is the author of Citizens Abroad: States and Migration in the Middle East and North Africa and Official Stories: Politics and National Narratives in Egypt and Algeria.
Mira Sucharov is Professor of Political Science and University Chair of Teaching Innovation at Carlton University. She is the author of Borders and Belonging: A Memoir and the co-editor (with Aaron J. Hahn Tapper) of Social Justice and Israel/Palestine: Foundational & Contemporary Debates.
Hamoud Salhi is a Professor of Political Science and Middle East, and Associate Dean of the College of Social and Natural Sciences at California State University, Dominguez Hills. He is a political commentator for Arabic media. Hamoud is a host of SWANA Region Radio on KPFK, Los Angeles.

This program is produced with generous contribution from Ankine Aghassian, Melissa Chiprin and Sudd Dongre.

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The Scholars' Circle Interviews

Tag Archives: Middle East

Scholars’ Circle – Israel’s democratic challenge – April 23, 2023

Scholars’ Circle – Women protest in Iran, a persistent struggle – April 2, 2023

Scholars’ Circle – Humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh from blockade at Lachin Corridor – March 12, 2023

Scholars’ Circle – Turkey earthquake, disaster relief politics and humanitarian laws – Feb. 19, 2023

Scholars’ Circle – Libyan civil war continues after Gaddafi’s Rule ; Methods for Peace Building – September 18, 2022

Scholars’ Circle – Conflict hot spots: Ukraine and Yemen – January 30, 2022

Scholars’ Circle – Impact of American Lawyers on International Human Right Cases ; One Year after Armenia and Azerbaijan war – October 3, 2021

Scholars’ Circle – Israel’s occupation policies challenges its commitment to democracy and human rights – May 30, 2021

Scholars’ Circle – Yemini War and humanitarian crisis; Secret Heroes Who Shaped the World – March 28, 2021

Scholars’ Circle – Insight into the Abraham Accord between Israel and some Arab States – January 31, 2021

By Maria Armoudian