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Professor of Political Science, University of Guelph

My work focuses on decentralization and local politics, Islamist movements, women and politics, and most, recently, LGBTQ+ activism in the Middle East and North Africa. My research on LGBTQ+ activism is SSHRC-funded. I have conducted extensive field research in Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt and Yemen. I am the author of two single-authored books: Local Politics in Jordan and Morocco: Strategies of Centralization and Decentralization (Columbia University Press, 2018); and Islam, Charity and Activism: Middle-Class Networks and Social Welfare in Egypt, Jordan and Yemen (Indiana University Press, 2004). I am the co-editor of two books: Political Science Research in the Middle East and North Africa: Methodological and Ethical Challenges (Oxford University Press, 2018); and Economic Liberalization, Democratization, and Civil Society in the Developing World (Macmillan Press/ St Martin's Press 2000). I have numerous articles published in Comparative Politics, Comparative Political Studies, PS: Political Science and Politics; International Journal of Middle East Politics, Mediterranean Politics and other journals.

Experience

  • –present
    Professor of Political Science, University of Guelph

Education

  • 1994 
    University of Toronto, PhD In Political Science