Welcome! I am an Associate Professor of Political Science at Temple University. I specialize in the comparative politics and international relations of the Middle East and North Africa. I am also a Senior Fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute (FPRI) and Non-Resident Senior Fellow at Democracy in the Arab World Now (DAWN).

My latest book is Jordan: Politics in an Accidental Crucible (Oxford University Press, 2025). Two decades in the making, this is a systematic and sweeping roadmap of Jordan’s politics. It covers the origins of its state, the struggles of ordinary people, the battle for democracy, the paradoxical economy, and its remarkable foreign policy.

My other work grapples with the dynamics of authoritarianism and democratization in the MENA. In addition to the politics of Jordan, I also work on Morocco and Kuwait and the Gulf. I am also deeply concerned with the limits of American hegemony, which implicates issues of foreign policy, political economy, and geopolitical order. I occasionally comment on breaking developments in the Middle East for popular outlets and the media. I sit on the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Middle East Studies and the Editorial Committee of the Middle East Report and Information Project, and serve as an Associate Editor of Research & Politics.

Updated Nov. 2025