Barak Mendelsohn
Associate Professor of Political Science
Biography
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.
Teaching Experience:
Assistant Professor – Haverford College (Courses: International Politics, War on Terrorism, The Evolution of the Jihadi Movement, Politics in the State System, International Relations Theory: Conflict and the Middle East, Introduction to Terrorism Studies, international security).
Instructor - The Hebrew University, Jerusalem (Course taught: Strategy in the Middle East).
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: Five years of military service, mostly as an analyst of international affairs and strategy. Last position - head of a branch. In addition, a stint as an instructor in the cadet course for prospective intelligence analysts. In my last position I served as a head of a branch. Left the military with the rank of a captain.
Education
B.A. in Middle East Studies, The Hebrew University, Jerusalem
M.A. in Security Studies, Tel Aviv University
M.A. and Ph.D. in Government, Cornell University
Research
Research Interests:
Terrorism and counter-terrorism; Radical Islamic movements; 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, 2009).
Articles:
- “Al Qaeda and Global Governance: The Constraining Impact of Rigid Ideology," Terrorism and Political Violence (Forthcoming).
- "God vs. Westphalia: Radical Islamist Movements and the Battle for Organizing the World," Review of International Studies 38 (2012), 589-613.
- "Al Qaeda's Franchising Strategy," Survival 53:3 (May-June, 2011), 29-50.
- "Foreign Fighters: Recent Trends," Orbis 55:2 (Spring 2011), 189-202.
- "Bolstering the State: A Different Perspective on the War on the Jihadi Movement," International Studies Review 11:4 (December 2009), 663-686.
- "Al Qaeda's Palestinian Dilemma," Survival 51:4 (August-September 2009), 71-86.
- "English School American-Style: Testing the Preservation-Seeking Quality of the International Society," European Journal of International Relations 15:2 (June 2009), 291-318.
- “Sovereignty Under Attack: The International Society Meets the al Qaeda Network,” Review of International Studies 31:1 (January 2005), 45-68.
Reprinted in Jeffrey Haynes, ed., Religion and Politics: Critical Concepts in Religious Studies, Vol. 4 (Oxford: Routledge, 2009).
- “Israeli Self-Defeating Deterrence in the 1991 Gulf War.” Journal of Strategic Studies 26:4 (December 2003), 83-107.
Under Review:
-"U.S. Middle East Policy after the Arab Awakening: The Age of ‘State Responsibility.’"
“Threat identification and the UN’s 1267 Sanctions Committee”
Work in Progress:
- Expansion and Decline: What Guides al Qaeda’s Expansion?” (Book manuscript)
- “Riding the Back of the Tiger” (Book manuscript)
Dissertation:
- “Jihadism, International Society, and Interstate Cooperation”
Dissertation committee: Peter Katzenstein (chair), Jonathan Kirshner, Allen Carlson, and Shawkat Toorawa.
Conference Papers:
- “Corporate Decisions: Explaining Variation in Al Qaeda’s Organizational Expansion,” The 53st annual meeting of the International Studies Association, San Diego, 1-4 April 2012.
- “Ideological Entrepreneurs and Challenged State Authority: The Israeli State and Violent Jewish Non-State Actors,” The 54th annual meeting of the Middle East Studies Association, Washington, DC, 1-4 December 2011.
- "Al Qaeda and Global Governance," The 52st annual meeting of the International Studies Association, Montreal, 16-19 March 2011.
- "Morphed Threat, waning Cooperation," The 52st annual meeting of the International Studies Association, Montreal, 16-19 March 2011.
- "Riding the Back of the Tiger: Leadership Between Domestic Threats and International Conflict." The 106th annual meeting of the American Political Science Association. Washngton DC, 2-5 September 2010.
- "Hegemony and International Society: Must There Be a Conflict?" The 51st annual meeting of the International Studies Association, New Orleans, 17-20 February 2010.
- "Hegemony and International Society: Must There Be a Conflict?" The 105rd annual meeting of the American Political Science Association, Toronto, Canada, September, 3-6, 2009.
- "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 Top Link: al Qaeda Statements Index
My Links
- Global Terrorism Resource Database
- Hamas and Its Discontents
Online piece published on the Foreign Affairs' website - Al Qaeda's Palestinian Problem
Article published in the jounral Survival - Combating Jihadism
Exerpts from my book - From the news - Bomb plot suspect's odyssey revealing
- From the news - Taking the Pulse of Obama's Mideast Policies
- From the news - Israeli Attack on Iran Feasible
- Teaching about jihadism and the war on terror
E-footnote published on the FPRI's website - The Question of International Cooperation in the War on Terrorism
E-note published on the FPRI's website - From the news - Rapproachement Carries Little Risk
op-ed for the Jewish Exponent - From the news - The War on Terror After Osama bin Laden
New York Times online forum - Room for debate - After bin Laden
E-note published on the FPRI's website - What Is the Terrorism Threat Now?
New York Times online forum - Room for debate - Behind the New U.S. Terror Cases
New York Times online forum - Room for debate - Foreign Fighters - Recent Trends
Article published in the jounral Orbis - How Dangerous Is Anwar al-Awlaki?
New York Times online forum - Room for debate - From the news - Should the US negotiate with the Taliban
Courses: Fall 2013, Haverford
Middle East and Islamic Studies
|
Political Science
|
Courses: Spring 2014, Haverford
Middle East and Islamic Studies |
Political Science |