Giving a talk at Boston University this Thursday’s: American Illusions of Regional Order & the Emergence of Turbulence in MENA For details, see: www.eventbrite.com/e/american-i...

Rethinking IR Conference, June 13-14, 2026 at University of the Peloponnese, Greece. The deadline for abstract submission is 5 October 2025.

More dystopian fiction as urban redevelopment and planning www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...

La spirale de militarisation de la politique des États-Unis vis-à-vis du Moyen-Orient. A French translation of a memo for the @prismeorg.bsky.social project directed by @esoubrier.bsky.social shs.cairn.info/revue-conflu...

The ghost of James Baldwin?

Tom Barrack’s remarks to journalists trigger calls for an apology and media boycott.

Calling all part-time and full-time faculty in the South: Speak out on academic freedom, shared governance, and your working conditions! Survey closes 8/29 at 5pm ET. States: AL, AR, FL, GA, KY, LA, MS, NC, SC, TN, TX, VA. docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

What it’s like to be a Middle East Studies Professor in fall 2025 - my new post surveys the field, and my colleagues. Basically it sucks and it’s getting worse. But we haven’t given up. abuaardvarkghost.ghost.io/what-its-lik...

Lebanon mourns beloved artist Ziad Rahbani www.npr.org/2025/08/02/n...

The Project on Middle East Political Science is pleased to announce POMEPS Studies 56: Regional Order Making after October 7. Download the full PDF here: pomeps.org/pomeps-studi...

As we enter another peak season, re-posting this essay.. “Tourism Challenges in the Eastern Mediterranean: Overtourism, Geopolitical Conflicts and Sustainability”https://www.iemed.org/publication/tourism-challenges-in-the-eastern-mediterranean-overtourism-geopolitical-conflicts-and-sustainability/

I wrote about how @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social's campaign used the oldest & most powerful form of political propaganda. And no, it's not vertical videos newrepublic.com/article/1973...

Thanks @hurstpublishers.bsky.social for letting me add an afterword for my book to take into account the 12 days of open Israel-Iran war and the underwhelming US bombing of Fordo, and the ongoing moral atrocity inflicted on Gaza, but god it’s all so grim. www.hurstpublishers.com/book/america...

I was interviewed in English but this BBC story about the history of US interventions is in Spanish www.bbc.com/portuguese/a...

Off to visit the Temple of Apollo at Delphi and the Peloponnese… listening to podcast about the Iliad, hubris and the horrors of war.

Our first episode is out! @ayoub.bsky.social and @joyfulcarla.bsky.social on what Star Trek means to them and why they decided to start a podcast on the political importance of storytelling. Out wherever you get your podcasts. To support us and get perks: www.patreon.com/posts/1-lets...

ISA-Northeast Annual Conference 2025: Call For Proposals November 3, 2025: Virtual November 7-8, 2025: Providence, RI www.isanet.org/Conferences/...

Another really interesting (and useful for teaching) issue of the @apsamena.bsky.social Newsletter... with special sections of the question of a "New Regional Order" in the Middle East and the legacies of the Biden Administration's policy towards the Middle East.

“International students make up over 13% of the statewide University of Alabama graduate program, according to the school’s website.” www.huffpost.com/entry/ap-us-...

In preparation to take the kid to see 1st Star Wars film in a theater... I am reminded of the day 20 yrs ago escaping hot afternoon in Seville, Spain to watch Episode III (being re-released this week)...provoking me to hack out a letter to the editor.

Sfikas says that in the past, tourists coming to Greece were well-informed about its ancient monuments and museums. “Now, most of them are more informed about where to take the best photo.” www.ekathimerini.com/culture/1262...

Article in Dutch about surfing and tourism development in Imsouane, Morocco. www.mo.be/reportage/sl... "In Imsouane, as in many other surf villages, informal businesses of local entrepreneurs are being demolished to make way for luxury hotels."

■ An Ottoman Map of Northern America, 1868 #oldmaps #history #america #usa #ottomanempire #map

On AUB’s Center for Civic Engagement and Community Service directed by Rabih Shibli. www.chronicle.com/newsletter/l...

Lebanon broke a multiyear deadlock, electing Army Chief Joesph Aoun president. The thaw is part of the continuing cascade of consequences from October 7 and Israel’s total war — but is not likely to produce a transformational moment for Lebanon. www.bbc.com/news/article...

How to spend 36 Hours in Venice: Winter provides breathing room and deepens the mysteriousness of the city's narrow passageways and centuries-old buildings.

Developing a starter pack on ‘(Re)Theorising Touristic Governance’ for those interested in critically analysing/theorising tourism as a powerful global system. Let me know if you’d like to join (or be removed)! go.bsky.app/35rr3y4

Can’t beat an ice cream story… www.reuters.com/world/middle...

New York Times Sunday Magazine story about the amazing work of my former AUB colleagues Omar Dewachi and Ghassan Abu-Sittah..

I did a #Lebanon #Starterpack y’all go.bsky.app/Rh15fzv

With a section on "Star Wars and Tourism"... Burke, Liam, Jessica Balanzategui, and Tara Lomax. "Cine-mapping: Charting the Use of Scripted Spaces in Screen Tourism." JCMS: Journal of Cinema and Media Studies 64, no. 1 (2024): 38-65. dx.doi.org/10.1353/cj.2....

Reading this alongside Dylan Saba’s prescient analysis from last March www.nplusonemag.com/online-only/...

An effort to briefly survey the many factors that contribute to: "The Spiral of Militarization in US Policy Towards the Middle East" for Emma Soubrier's PRISME project prismeinitiative.org/blog/spiral-...