Barak Mendelsohn

Biography

Education:
Ph.D. - Government, August 2006 - Cornell University.
M.A. - Government, 2004 - Cornell University
M.A. - Security Studies, 1999 - Tel-Aviv University.
B.A. - Middle East Studies, 1992 - The Hebrew University, Jerusalem.

Honors and Awards:
2006-2007 Post-Doctoral Fellowship, Department of Political Science, Tel Aviv University.
2000 Tzechick award for the best study on Israeli Security. Awarded by the JCSS (Jaffa Center for Strategic Studies) for the MA thesis, Israeli Deterrence in the Gulf War, Tel Aviv University, Israel.
1997 Excellence scholarship, the Security Studies Program, Tel Aviv University, Israel.
1991 Dean’s List, The Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel.

Teaching Experience:
Assistant Professor – Haverford College (Courses: International Politics, War on Terrorism, The Evolution of the Jihadi Movement, Politics in the State System, IR theory: conflict and the Middle East).
Instructor - The Hebrew University, Jerusalem (Course taught: Strategy in the Middle East).
Tutor – Cornell in Washington (Politics and Policy).
Teaching Assistant - Introduction to IR; American Foreign Policy; International Law; History of the Modern Middle East; New Forces in International Relations; Strategy in the Modern Age; Policy and Statesmanship; History of American Foreign Policy.

Summer Institute Attendance:
- Summer Workshop on Analysis of Military Operations and Strategy (SWAMOS), July 2003.
- Summer Institute in Political Psychology (SIPP), July-August 2002.

Languages:
Hebrew – native
English – fluent
Arabic – advanced reading

Military Service:
I left the army after five years of service, with the rank of captain. During most of my military service I served as an analyst of international affairs and strategy. In my last position I served as a head of a branch. I also served as an instructor in advanced courses on political analysis.

Research

Research Interests:
Terrorism and counter-terrorism
Radical Islamic movement
Hegemony and interstate cooperation
Politics of the Middle East
Proliferation of WMDs
Religion and international relations
Psychological theories of decision making
Foreign policy
The causes of interstate and intrastate conflict

Books:
- Combating Jihadism: American Hegemony and International Cooperation in the War on Terrorism (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, Forthcoming).

Articles:
- "English School American-Style: Testing the Preservation-Seeking Quality of the International Society," European Journal of International Relations (forthcoming).
- “Sovereignty Under Attack: The International Society Meets the al Qaeda Network.” Review of International Studies 31:1 (January 2005), 45-68.
- “Israeli Self-Defeating Deterrence in the 1991 Gulf War.” Journal of Strategic Studies 26:4 (December 2003), 83-107.

Under Review:
- "God vs. Westphalia: Radical Islamic Movements and the Battle for Organizing the World"
- "Hegemony and International Society: Must There Be a Conflict?"
- "Border Security and the War on Terrorism"
- "Bolstering the State: A Different Perspective on the War on Terrorism"

Work in Progress:
- "Islamist Infighting: Understanding Al Qaeda's Critique of Hamas"

Dissertation:
- “Jihadism, International Society, and Interstate Cooperation”
Dissertation committee: Peter Katzenstein (chair), Jonathan Kirshner, Allen Carlson, and Shawkat Toorawa.

Conference Papers:
- "Islamist Infighting: Understanding Al Qaeda's Critique of Hamas." The 50th Annual Meeting of the International Studies Association, New York, NY, 15-18 February, 2009.
- "Border Security and The War on Terrorism: An English School Account." The 104rd annual meeting of the American Political Science Association, Boston, MA, August 28 – 31, 2008.
- "Bolstering the State: A Different Perspective on the War on the Jihadi Movement." The 104rd annual meeting of the American Political Science Association, Boston, MA, August 28 – 31, 2008.
- “God vs. Westphalia: The Longer World War.” The 103rd annual meeting of the American Political Science Association, Chicago, IL, August 30 – September 2, 2007.
- “God vs. Westphalia: The Longer World War.” The 48th Annual Meeting of the International Studies Association, Chicago, IL, 28 February - 3 March, 2007.
- "American Hegemony in the Age of Terror: An Institution in the Service of the War on Terrorism." The 47th Annual Meeting of the International Studies Association, San Diego, California, 22-25 March 2006.
- "The War on Terrorism and Systemic Failure: A Pathway to Systemic Change." The 101st Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association, Washington, DC 1-4 September 2005.
- "Bringing the English School to America: Testing the Preservation-Seeking Quality of the International Society." The 46th Annual Meeting of the International Studies Association, Honolulu, Hawaii, 1-5 March 2005.
- "Spreading Jihad: From Local Jihads to a Global Jihad." The American Academy of Religion, Eastern International Region, Ithaca, New York, 30 April – 1 May 2004.
- "Sovereignty Under Attack: The State System Meets the al Qaeda Network." The Annual Meeting of The Middle East Studies Association, Anchorage, Alaska, 6-9 November 2003.
- "Sovereignty Under Attack: The State System Meets the al Qaeda Network." The Middle East & Central Asia Politics, Economics, and Society Conference, Salt Lake City, Utah, 16-18 October 2003.
- "Israeli Self-Defeating Deterrence in the Gulf War." The 33rd Annual Meeting of the North-Eastern Political Science Association, Philadelphia, November, 2001.

Conference Presentations:
- A round table on the "new terrorism." Held in 18th winter course of ISODARCO (International School on Disarmament and Research on Conflicts): "Constructing Security in Europe after Madrid". January 2005.
- A round table on responses in the Muslim world to American foreign policy. The Peace Studies Program at Cornell University sponsored the event. October 2003.
- Guest lecturer in various courses at Cornell, Georgetown, the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv University, on deterrence theory, Islamic fundamentalism and the al Qaeda network. 1998 to present.

My Links

• Global Terrorism Resource Database

Courses: Fall 2008, Haverford

Courses: Spring 2009, Haverford