Filtered by: Middle East & North Africa
Murrett Talks to Newsweek, the Wall Street Journal and 570 WSYR About US-Iran Tensions
“Defining our mission objectives will be key for any use of force again Iran, that is, one which can credibly lead to meeting a strategic end state,” says Vice Adm. Robert Murrett (Ret.), professor of practice of public administration and international affairs.
Murrett Speaks With CBS News About US-Iran Relations
“This was a level of killings and suppression which is different in scale from anything we've seen in the last few years of protest movements...and it hasn't really solved any of the underlying problems that exist in Iran, nor the anger that so many of their people have against the regime,” says Vice Adm. Robert Murrett (Ret.), professor of practice of public administration and international affairs.
See related: Conflict, Government, International Affairs, Middle East & North Africa, United States
Khalil Discusses Phase Two of the Gaza Peace Plan With CBS News
“We're still not very close to phase two coming into place. Hamas is unlikely to disarm willingly and Israel is not going to be able to disarm them,” says Osamah Khalil, chair of the International Relations Undergraduate Program.
Khalil Quoted in PolitiFact Article on President Trump’s Speech in Israel
Osamah Khalil, professor of history and expert on the modern Middle East, says it’s untrue that Obama or Biden “held a personal animus toward Israel, especially Biden. Indeed, both administrations oversaw expansions in U.S. military assistance and coordination with Israel.”
Belief, Behavior, and Health: Religion as a Social Determinant of Health
Sandra D. Lane, professor emerita of public health, has written Belief, Behavior, and Health: Religion as a Social Determinant of Health (Routledge, 2025). The book details how religious beliefs across cultures impact health outcomes. It draws from research from the United States as well as Africa and the Middle East.
Sidi Moumen Community Case Study
“Using a Community-Based Cultural Approach to Promote Life Skills and Leadership for Social Determinants of Health in Adolescents From Disadvantaged Communities in Casablanca, Morocco: A Sidi Moumen Community Case Study,” co-authored by Maxwell professors Robert Rubinstein and Sandra Lane, was published in BMC Public Health.
See related: Children, Adolescents, Income, Middle East & North Africa
Khalil Quoted in HuffPost Article on World Leaders Recognizing a Palestinian State
“Unless the decision is followed by a renewed and robust peace negotiations that bring an end to Israel’s war in Gaza as well as the settlement and annexation policies in the occupied West Bank, recognition will be too little and far too late,” says Osamah Khalil, chair of the International Relations Undergraduate Program.
How Commerce Became Legal: Merchants and Market Governance in Nineteenth-Century Egypt
Omar Cheta, assistant professor of history, has written How Commerce Became Legal: Merchants and Market Governance in Nineteenth-Century Egypt (Stanford University Press, 2025). The book explores Egypt’s adoption of a new infrastructure of commercial laws and institutions following the country’s opening to private capital in the 1840s.
See related: Economic Policy, Labor, Middle East & North Africa, Trade
Khalil Discusses Israel’s Plans for the Future of Gaza With CBS News
“This is not post-war planning. This is a continuation of Netanyahu's war,” says Osamah Khalil, chair of the International Relations Undergraduate Program. “This is what experts like I and many others have warned about for 22 months All of this was about expanding, annexing Gaza and the West Bank and expelling Palestinians.”
See related: Conflict, Government, International Affairs, Middle East & North Africa
Williams Quoted in Los Angeles Times Article on the Challenges Trumps Faces in Gaza and Ukraine
Michael Williams, associate professor of public administration and international affairs, says that Trump has advocated for a ceasefire in Ukraine “at the expense of other strategic priorities such as stability in Europe and punishment of Russia through increased aid to Ukraine.”
See related: Conflict, Federal, International Affairs, International Agreements, Middle East & North Africa, Russia, Ukraine
Haq Article on US Airstrikes on Iran’s Nuclear Sites Published on MSNBC
“The president is wagering that sending in the U.S. Air Force will once and for all end Iran’s nuclear threat,” says Nayyera Haq, assistant dean for Maxwell's Washington programs.
Khalil Discusses the Israel-Iran Conflict and US Airstrikes With KTVU and LocalSYR
The situation is escalating in ways we have not seen before, says Professor of History Osamah Khalil. With Israeli airstrikes, rising tensions in Gaza, and now a strong U.S. military response, the risks are higher than ever. He warns Iran may try to disrupt global oil supply chains, which could have a domino effect. “If that’s the case, we could very rapidly see the global economy collapse.”
Murrett Speaks With CBS News, 570 WSYR About the Israel-Iran Conflict and the US
Haq Article on the Humanitarian Crisis in Sudan Published on MSNBC
“It’s the humanitarian crisis that almost no one wants to talk about despite several global powers exacerbating the civil war and trying to use Sudan for their own advantages,” says Nayyera Haq, assistant dean for Maxwell's Washington programs.
Koch Talks to franceinfo About Gulf Sports
“Apart from during the 2022 World Cup, you haven't seen massive ‘Visit Qatar’ campaigns. The country doesn't need to attract tourists, its 200,000 citizens are wealthy and all the infrastructure already exists,” says Natalie Koch, professor of geography and the environment. “It's very different from Saudi Arabia where a large part of the population suffers from poverty.”
See related: Government, International Affairs, Middle East & North Africa
Khalil Speaks With CBS News About the New Gaza Humanitarian Aid System
“The director [of the new aid group] has already resigned and there's an interim director in place. And the director who resigned said it was because the attempts to deliver aid could not be done so with a humanitarian purpose, and that shouldn't be surprising. The United Nations is the only major organization on the ground, as well as several other NGOs, that can provide the necessary aid,” says Osamah Khalil, chair of the International Relations Undergraduate Program.
Timur Hammond’s ‘Placing Islam’ Receives Journal’s Honorable Mention
The 2025 International Journal of Islamic Architecture lauded the book for its “evocative storytelling.”
See related: Awards & Honors, Middle East & North Africa, Religion
Khalil Speaks With Clarín About Trump’s Meeting With the President of Syria
The meeting between Trump and al-Sharaa “represents a remarkable shift in U.S. policy toward al-Qaeda and its affiliates. More than 23 years after the 9/11 attacks and the declaration of the Global War on Terror, the United States is developing relations with a former leader of the organization who now declares himself a moderate,” says Osamah Khalil, professor of history.
Khalil Speaks With CBS News About US Strikes on Yemen, Nuclear Talks Between the US and Iran
“Now the Trump administration is claiming this is an attempt to pressure Iran but it's unclear to me, quite frankly, by bombing a port, killing paramedics and port workers, is somehow going to pressure Iran in negotiations,” says Osamah Khalil, professor of history. “If the United States wants to neotiate with Iran, it should negotiate with Iran. There's no reason to be bombing Yemen to do that.”
Khalil Discusses the Gaza Ceasefire With Clarín, The Hill and Reuters
“The same terms that were agreed to by Hamas and Israel were available at least eight months ago and likely a similar deal could have been achieved late last year...Instead, the Biden administration’s vociferous support for Israel’s 15-month military campaign has had a profound impact on America’s standing in the world,” says Osamah Khalil, professor of history.