Essays

Middle East History

Research notes on political Islam, Iranian institutions, regional conflict, and historical interpretation.

Crude Intentions

Examining Stephen Pelletiere's argument that the 2003 invasion of Iraq was driven by control of oil rather than security threats.

On the incoherence of US policy toward Egypt from Mubarak through Morsi, and the cost of indecision after the revolution.

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem as an enduring site of pilgrimage and a symbol of Crusader and Latin Christian identity.

An overview of Iran's layered military: the conventional army, the Revolutionary Guard, and the Basij, all under clerical command.

How Iran's conventional army, Revolutionary Guard, and Basij intertwine under clerical control to form a complex security establishment.

Contrasting Khomeini's case for a strong Islamic leader with Turabi's vision of gradual Islamization rising from the Umma.

The Syrian Muslim Brotherhood's shifting stance toward the regime and its waning influence amid the country's civil war.

From Bouazizi's self-immolation through the Arab Spring, and the souring of early optimism as authoritarianism reasserted itself.

Reviewing Martin Rudner's study of the Persian carpet as a national symbol, and the modernization-theory framing he brings to it.

How leaders shaped by Vietnam, from Schwarzkopf to Powell, reformed the US military and drove its decisive victory in the Gulf War.

Georg Iggers on twentieth-century historiography, from Ranke's scientific method to social history and the postmodern challenge.

Samuli Schielke on non-belief and doubt in contemporary Egypt, and the ground for non-religious life in a deeply religious society.

On the long, complex relationship between science and Islam, where periods of antagonism have often been balanced by collaboration.

The shifting balance between the ulama and rulers in Islamic society, and the debate over the Classical Model of religion and state.