- Middle East Studies, Islamic Studies, Middle Eastern Studies, Israel/Palestine, Palestine, Iraq War, and 18 morePolitical Violence and Terrorism, Terrorism, Iraqi History, Syria, Hamas, Islamism, Jihad, Islam, Political Islam, Islamic Political Thought, Critical Theory, Critical Terrorism Studies, Radicalisation, Syrian Civil War, Syrian Conflict, Jihadism, Gaza Strip, and Postcolonial Studiesedit
- Dr Tristan Dunning was a PhD in Political Science awarded by University of Queensland in 2013. Tristan is the author... moreDr Tristan Dunning was a PhD in Political Science awarded by University of Queensland in 2013. Tristan is the author of "Hamas, Jihad and Popular Legitimacy: Reinterpreting Resistance in Palestine" (2016) and the editor of "Palestine: Past and Present" (2019). He can be followed @trisdunning and/or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/drtristandunning/edit
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Research Interests: Middle East and Arms Race
See ResearchGate if this doesn't upload here. The volume traces the evolution of Palestine-Israel conflict through several historically-informed and roughly chronological, yet overlapping, investigations examining, inter alia: the... more
See ResearchGate if this doesn't upload here.
The volume traces the evolution of Palestine-Israel conflict through several historically-informed and roughly chronological, yet overlapping, investigations examining, inter alia: the effects of the First World War and the efforts of the Zionist movement culminating in the establishment of the State of Israel and the expulsion of over 700,000 Palestinians from the territories therein in 1947-48; missed opportunities for peace from 1967 to 1990 by reference to official policy documents; the revitalisation of Palestinian nationalism through the PLO after the 1967 war and the establishment of the Palestinian Authority in 1994; the competing rise and evolution of Islamic nationalism in Palestine, predominantly embodied by the Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas; attempts at Palestinian institution-building contextualised by the profound influence of international donors and Israel; and the ongoing evolution of the relationship between Hamas and Israel.
The final chapter canvases some of the rapidly evolving issues that have arisen over the last few years, including upheavals caused by the election of the Trump administration in the United States, and the periodic and ongoing conflicts between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. The volume will be of interest to both scholars and the general public wishing to understand the historical and present drivers of the conflict in the Holy Land.
The volume traces the evolution of Palestine-Israel conflict through several historically-informed and roughly chronological, yet overlapping, investigations examining, inter alia: the effects of the First World War and the efforts of the Zionist movement culminating in the establishment of the State of Israel and the expulsion of over 700,000 Palestinians from the territories therein in 1947-48; missed opportunities for peace from 1967 to 1990 by reference to official policy documents; the revitalisation of Palestinian nationalism through the PLO after the 1967 war and the establishment of the Palestinian Authority in 1994; the competing rise and evolution of Islamic nationalism in Palestine, predominantly embodied by the Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas; attempts at Palestinian institution-building contextualised by the profound influence of international donors and Israel; and the ongoing evolution of the relationship between Hamas and Israel.
The final chapter canvases some of the rapidly evolving issues that have arisen over the last few years, including upheavals caused by the election of the Trump administration in the United States, and the periodic and ongoing conflicts between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. The volume will be of interest to both scholars and the general public wishing to understand the historical and present drivers of the conflict in the Holy Land.
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This book investigates the many faces of Hamas and examines its ongoing evolution as a resistance organisation in the context of the Israel/Palestine conflict. Specifically, the work interrogates Hamas’ interpretation, reinterpretation... more
This book investigates the many faces of Hamas and examines its ongoing evolution as a resistance organisation in the context of the Israel/Palestine conflict.
Specifically, the work interrogates Hamas’ interpretation, reinterpretation and application of the twin concepts of muqawama (resistance) and jihad (striving in the name of God). The text frames the movement’s capacity to accrue popular legitimacy through its evolving resistance discourses, centred on the notion of jihad, and the practical applications thereof. Moving beyond the dominant security-orientated approaches to Hamas, the book investigates the malleable nature of both resistance and jihad including their social, symbolic, political and ideational applications. The diverse interpretations of these concepts allow Hamas to function as a comprehensive social movement. Where possible, this volume attempts to privilege first-order or experiential knowledge emanating from the movement itself, its political representatives, and the Palestinian population in general. Many of these accounts were collected by the author during fieldwork in the Middle East. Not only does this work present new primary data, but it also investigates a variety of contemporary empirical events related to Palestine and the Middle East. This book offers an alternative way of viewing the movement’s popular legitimacy grounded in theoretical, empirical and ethnographic terms.
This book will be of much interest to students of Hamas, political violence, critical terrorism studies, Middle Eastern politics, security studies and IR in general.
Specifically, the work interrogates Hamas’ interpretation, reinterpretation and application of the twin concepts of muqawama (resistance) and jihad (striving in the name of God). The text frames the movement’s capacity to accrue popular legitimacy through its evolving resistance discourses, centred on the notion of jihad, and the practical applications thereof. Moving beyond the dominant security-orientated approaches to Hamas, the book investigates the malleable nature of both resistance and jihad including their social, symbolic, political and ideational applications. The diverse interpretations of these concepts allow Hamas to function as a comprehensive social movement. Where possible, this volume attempts to privilege first-order or experiential knowledge emanating from the movement itself, its political representatives, and the Palestinian population in general. Many of these accounts were collected by the author during fieldwork in the Middle East. Not only does this work present new primary data, but it also investigates a variety of contemporary empirical events related to Palestine and the Middle East. This book offers an alternative way of viewing the movement’s popular legitimacy grounded in theoretical, empirical and ethnographic terms.
This book will be of much interest to students of Hamas, political violence, critical terrorism studies, Middle Eastern politics, security studies and IR in general.
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The conflict in Yemen has been labelled the 'worst humanitarian crisis in the world' by the EU and characterised by the UN as 'entirely man-made'. The UN has warned that Yemen, already one of the poorest countries in the Arab world prior... more
The conflict in Yemen has been labelled the 'worst humanitarian crisis in the world' by the EU and characterised by the UN as 'entirely man-made'. The UN has warned that Yemen, already one of the poorest countries in the Arab world prior to the conflict, is now on the brink of widespread famine, which could lead to further massive loss of life. Yemen is also suffering from one of the largest cholera outbreaks in recorded history, with over one million suspected cases. The conflict has been variously portrayed as a civil war, a proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran, and a supposedly ancient schism between Sunni and Shi’a Muslims. The diversity and sheer number of actors involved in the conflict, however, demonstrates that these characterisations are far too simplistic and that the conflict defies neat categorisation. As such, the paper attempts to unpack and provide an up-to-date account of the conflict, both from a humanitarian and a political perspective. To this end, the paper explores some of the underlying causes of the conflict and the actions of the plethora of actors involved, notably the internationally-recognised Hadi government, the Houthi movement, the Saudi-led coalition, Iran, al-Qa’ida, and the West. The paper also examines Australia’s position vis-à-vis the conflict and some of the implications of the presence of foreign personnel serving as both fighters and high-ranking officers in the UAE armed forces.
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This study investigates child soldier recruitment strategies of the Islamic State group (Da’esh). It argues that while the dominant caretaker and free-ranger approaches to child soldier recruitment make useful contributions to... more
This study investigates child soldier recruitment strategies of the Islamic State group (Da’esh). It argues that while the dominant caretaker and free-ranger approaches to child soldier recruitment make useful contributions to understanding Da’esh’s strategy, a self-perception-based approach to examining children’s agency and association with Da’esh sheds new light on how the organization was able to systematically militarize and recruit children within occupied territory. Da’esh used social and/or political pressures to inform children’s self-perception of agency, while also aligning these self-perceptions with the group’s interests. Further examination of these pressures, children’s reactions to them, and how they inform children’s self-perceptions of agency is essential in understanding how and why children are recruited by Da’esh and how children justified violence within this context.
Research Interests: Terrorism, Middle East Studies, Iraqi History, Political Violence and Terrorism, Political Extremism/Radicalism/Populism, and 18 moreInsurgency/Counterinsurgency(COIN), Political Violence, Iraq, Syria, Middle East Politics, Islamism, Insurgency, Jihad, Radicalisation, Isis Cult, Iraq War, Child Soldiers, Jihadism, Islamic State, Jihadism and Radical Islamism, Syrian Conflict, Syrian Civil War, and Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
The rollback of Daesh’s territorial control during 2017 has (re-)established an area of limited statehood in large parts of Iraq that may endure for many years. The government of Iraq projects its authority into a large geographical and... more
The rollback of Daesh’s territorial control during 2017 has (re-)established an area of limited statehood in large parts of Iraq that may endure for many years. The government of Iraq projects its authority into a large geographical and political space that it shares with a multitude of other state, non-state and hybrid actors, competing and collaborating to achieve advantageous security and political outcomes. This paper examines the heterarchy of actors in post-Daesh Iraq to develop a typology and start a critical discussion about post-Westphalian alternatives for security governance in Iraq during the coming period of reconstruction and reconciliation.
Research Interests: Middle East Studies, Middle East History, Iraqi History, Sovereignty, Iranian Studies, and 9 moreKurdish Studies, State Formation and Sovereignty in Middle East, Modern Middle East History, Middle East Politics, Kurdistan, Iraq War, State sovereignty, Security Sector Reform/Security Governance, and Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
This article investigates the historical evolution, values and Islamic reference points of Hamas. A product of fieldwork in the Middle East in 2009–2010, it allows Palestinian Islamists and their supporters to explain their views on... more
This article investigates the historical evolution, values and Islamic reference points of Hamas. A product of fieldwork in the Middle East in 2009–2010, it allows Palestinian Islamists and their supporters to explain their views on Islam, whilst analysing the implications of these in regards to Hamas’ wider programme of resistance. Interviews and surveys, as well as Hamas’ ongoing use of Islamic terminology and the Islamisation of the Gaza Strip, reveal that religion remains intertwined with the movement’s political and social activities. Secular analyses clearly demarcating political and religious spheres in such cases are inadequate. The interpretation of Islamic values is not immutable, however, but rather part of a dynamic process subject to evolution and change.
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The chapter provides a contextual analysis of the evolution of the militarisation of the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank and Palestinian factions in the Gaza Strip between 1994 and 2021. The chapter examines the foundation,... more
The chapter provides a contextual analysis of the evolution of the militarisation of the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank and Palestinian factions in the Gaza Strip between 1994 and 2021. The chapter examines the foundation, evolution, and institutionalisation of Palestinian armed forces within the West Bank and the Gaza Strip with a specific focus on the Palestinian Authority and the Hamas-aligned Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades. The evolution and institutionalisation of Palestinian armed forces is divided into three distinct phases: the Oslo era, the Second Intifada, and the ongoing divide between Hamas in the Gaza Strip and the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank following the 2006 elections and subsequent armed schism in 2007. Through an examination of both primary and secondary sources, the chapter interrogates the roles of intra-regional dynamics, economic sources, political developments, and foreign influence vis-à-vis the ongoing militarisation, evolution, and institutionalisation of Palestinian armed actors.
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This book investigates the many faces of Hamas and examines its ongoing evolution as a resistance organisation in the context of the Israel/Palestine conflict. Specifically, the work interrogates Hamas’ interpretation, reinterpretation... more
This book investigates the many faces of Hamas and examines its ongoing evolution as a resistance organisation in the context of the Israel/Palestine conflict. Specifically, the work interrogates Hamas’ interpretation, reinterpretation and application of the twin concepts of muqawama (resistance) and jihad (striving in the name of God). The text frames the movement’s capacity to accrue popular legitimacy through its evolving resistance discourses, centred on the notion of jihad, and the practical applications thereof. Moving beyond the dominant security-orientated approaches to Hamas, the book investigates the malleable nature of both resistance and jihad including their social, symbolic, political and ideational applications. The diverse interpretations of these concepts allow Hamas to function as a comprehensive social movement. Where possible, this volume attempts to privilege first-order or experiential knowledge emanating from the movement itself, its political representatives, and the Palestinian population in general. Many of these accounts were collected by the author during fieldwork in the Middle East. Not only does this work present new primary data, but it also investigates a variety of contemporary empirical events related to Palestine and the Middle East. This book offers an alternative way of viewing the movement’s popular legitimacy grounded in theoretical, empirical and ethnographic terms.
Research Interests: Terrorism, Middle East Studies, Political Violence and Terrorism, Israel/Palestine, Colonialism, and 13 morePalestine, Political Violence, Middle East Politics, Islamism, Israel, Arab-Israeli conflict, History of Palestine and Israel, Palestinian-Israeli conflict, Hamas, Gaza Strip, Islamist movements, Islamist Political Parties, and History of Israel Palestine Conflict
Palestine has had a long and tumultuous history. Recent years have seen a number of anniversaries marking inauspicious events that would have profound impacts on the future of the land long-known as Palestine. Central among these included... more
Palestine has had a long and tumultuous history. Recent years have seen a number of anniversaries marking inauspicious events that would have profound impacts on the future of the land long-known as Palestine. Central among these included the centenary of the First World War, which raged from 1914-1918. While most accounts of the Great War tend to focus on Europe, the war had profoundly devasting effects in the Middle East and set in chain a number of processes that continue to shape the region until the present day – and, perhaps, none more so than in the case of Palestine. Throughout the course of the war, a number of momentous events transpired which laid the genesis for the ongoing conflict in Palestine, including, but not limited to, the 1915-16 McMahon-Husayn Correspondence, the 1916 Sykes-Picot Agreement, the 1917 Balfour Declaration, and the November 1917 capture of Jerusalem by British forces followed by the subsequent conquest of the rest of Palestine. After the war, the newly-formed League of Nations bequeathed Britain the Mandate of Palestine – a thinly-veiled façade for European colonialism in the Middle East – which endured until 1947-48. During most of the inter-war period, Zionist immigration exponentially increased under British patronage allowing the Zionist movement a firm foothold in the Holy Land. 15 May 2018 marked the 70th anniversary of al-Nakba (The Catastrophe), the Palestinian day of mourning commemorating the ethnic cleansing of over 700,000 Palestinians from their traditional homeland, a product of the creation of the State of Israel in 1948. Israelis celebrate the same events as Independence Day, the culmination of the unlikely success of the Zionist movement - a settler colonial movement aimed at creating an independent state for Jews in the lands of British Mandate Palestine in the face of widespread anti-Semitism in Europe. The diametrically opposed interpretations of 1947-48 lay at the heart of the ongoing conflict between Palestinians and Israelis. The introduction examines the history of the Palestine-Israel conflict until 1967 in order to contextualises the chapters that follows.
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The final chapter draws together some overarching themes that emerge throughout the volume, while investigating a series of contemporary events vis-à-vis the Palestine-Israel conflict and their implications. At the time of writing in June... more
The final chapter draws together some overarching themes that emerge throughout the volume, while investigating a series of contemporary events vis-à-vis the Palestine-Israel conflict and their implications. At the time of writing in June 2019: it has been over a year since The Great March of Return and weekly ongoing Return Marches; the 2019 Israeli elections, during which Netanyahu explicitly committed to the annexation of parts of the West Bank, and which seemed to point to his return to office, turned out be to inconclusive given his inability to form a majority coalition government, meaning a new election has been scheduled for September 2019; and the Trump administration has upended decades of established protocol vis-à-vis the conflict by displaying a marked contempt for Palestinians, moving the US Embassy to Jerusalem, recognising Israel’s annexation of Golan Heights, as well as attempting to depoliticise the conflict through its “Deal of the Century” touting extensive investment in Palestinian areas. Meanwhile, Hamas and Israel have been engaged in intermittent but regular bouts of conflict amid an environmental crisis casting doubt on Gaza’s ability to support human habitation, while the West Bank PA faces ongoing crises, inter alia, regarding finance, legitimacy, and its ability to exercise authority. In brief, the Palestinian national movement, at present, is at a very precarious point in its history.
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The Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, has long been portrayed in an immutable Orientalist terms incapable of compromise due to its founding ideology and its refusal to recognise the State of Israel. Throughout its over 30-year history,... more
The Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, has long been portrayed in an immutable Orientalist terms incapable of compromise due to its founding ideology and its refusal to recognise the State of Israel. Throughout its over 30-year history, however, the movement’s statements, the work embodied by its social institutions, and its evolving political programmes have often diverged from the founding ideology embodied by its 1988 charter. To this end, it is important to disentangle notions of ideology, politics and practice. As such, this chapter explores Hamas’ evolving stance towards peaceful coexistence with Israel. First, the chapter examines Hamas’ original founding charter of 1988. Second, the chapter details the statements of the its leadership and the movement’s practical actions that have diverged from its founding ideology, especially its willingness to engage in a long-term truce, or hudna, with Israel. Third, the chapter investigates Hamas’ new charter released in 2017 accepting a two-state solution (with caveats). Finally, the chapter interrogates Israel’s commitment to a two-state solution and poses the question whether there is a partner for peace in Israel.
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See ResearchGate if this doesn't load here. PDF Password = 369297 Many mainstream discourses currently have a tendency to portray the ongoing civil conflict(s) in Iraq as a throwback to disagreements regarding the legitimate successor... more
See ResearchGate if this doesn't load here. PDF Password = 369297
Many mainstream discourses currently have a tendency to portray the ongoing civil conflict(s) in Iraq as a throwback to disagreements regarding the legitimate successor to the Prophet Muhammed in the 7th Century. These disagreements resulted in a split within the umma (‘community of believers’) that led to the formation of two distinct brands of Islam: Sunni, or orthodox Islam, and Shi’ism. In the eyes of Orientalists, and, indeed, salafi jihadist ideologues, the ongoing conflicts in Iraq and Syria are merely a manifestation of this nearly 1400 year old schism. Ironically enough, Orientalists, who tend to define modernity, rationality and civilisation in exclusively Western terms, and salafi ideologues, who hark back to a putative “Golden Age” of Islam, subscribe to remarkably similar views when explaining these conflicts. In essence, both have a tendency to anchor contemporary socio-political phenomena in antiquity.
In contrast, this chapter focuses on recent history and contemporary political contestation to explain the ongoing conflicts in Iraq. In doing so, it seeks to problematise the binary Sunni-Shi’a divide. Ascribing Sunni or Shi’a labels, in itself, is problematic as group identities are not homogenous. This is despite persistent reductionism among mainstream analyses, and especially the international media. As such, we investigate both inter-group and intra-group conflict in Iraq framed by historical, political, and social context, and supported by empirical facts. While we do briefly interrogate pre-2003 dynamics, the chapter predominantly focuses on post-2003 Iraq, including the impact of external interventions, de-Ba’athification, and the imposition of a sectarian quota system, as well as the corruption, sectarianism, and incompetence of post-2003 Iraqi regimes which gave rise to the group that calls itself the Islamic State.
We are neither suggesting that Sunni-Shi’a antagonism does not exist in Iraq, nor that it is unimportant, but, rather, we examine a variety of alternative explanations that have contributed to the ongoing pandemonium engulfing the Iraqi state. The chapter argues that relying on sectarian conflict as an explanatory framework distorts understanding and shifts analytical attention away from more concrete issues and the urgent responses that they demand.
Many mainstream discourses currently have a tendency to portray the ongoing civil conflict(s) in Iraq as a throwback to disagreements regarding the legitimate successor to the Prophet Muhammed in the 7th Century. These disagreements resulted in a split within the umma (‘community of believers’) that led to the formation of two distinct brands of Islam: Sunni, or orthodox Islam, and Shi’ism. In the eyes of Orientalists, and, indeed, salafi jihadist ideologues, the ongoing conflicts in Iraq and Syria are merely a manifestation of this nearly 1400 year old schism. Ironically enough, Orientalists, who tend to define modernity, rationality and civilisation in exclusively Western terms, and salafi ideologues, who hark back to a putative “Golden Age” of Islam, subscribe to remarkably similar views when explaining these conflicts. In essence, both have a tendency to anchor contemporary socio-political phenomena in antiquity.
In contrast, this chapter focuses on recent history and contemporary political contestation to explain the ongoing conflicts in Iraq. In doing so, it seeks to problematise the binary Sunni-Shi’a divide. Ascribing Sunni or Shi’a labels, in itself, is problematic as group identities are not homogenous. This is despite persistent reductionism among mainstream analyses, and especially the international media. As such, we investigate both inter-group and intra-group conflict in Iraq framed by historical, political, and social context, and supported by empirical facts. While we do briefly interrogate pre-2003 dynamics, the chapter predominantly focuses on post-2003 Iraq, including the impact of external interventions, de-Ba’athification, and the imposition of a sectarian quota system, as well as the corruption, sectarianism, and incompetence of post-2003 Iraqi regimes which gave rise to the group that calls itself the Islamic State.
We are neither suggesting that Sunni-Shi’a antagonism does not exist in Iraq, nor that it is unimportant, but, rather, we examine a variety of alternative explanations that have contributed to the ongoing pandemonium engulfing the Iraqi state. The chapter argues that relying on sectarian conflict as an explanatory framework distorts understanding and shifts analytical attention away from more concrete issues and the urgent responses that they demand.
Research Interests: Middle East Studies, Iraqi History, Islamic Studies, Shi'ism, Islam, and 10 moreMiddle East Politics, Media/ News Print Analysis: War in Iraq reporting, Islamism, Sectarianism, Orientalism, Iraq War, 2003 Iraq War, Islamic State, Jihadism and Radical Islamism, and Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
This submission was written by a group of leading academic scholars on the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, Palestinian politics and the Israel-Palestine conflict more broadly, and co-signed by scholars writing on decolonisation,... more
This submission was written by a group of leading academic scholars on the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, Palestinian politics and the Israel-Palestine conflict more broadly, and co-signed by scholars writing on decolonisation, settler-colonialism or descended from colonially displaced Palestinians. It was written either side of the 7 October attacks 2023 and subsequent ongoing conflict in Israel and the Gaza Strip. It presents evidence of the effects of the international boycott, isolation and criminalisation of the entirety of Hamas and the likely damage to the UK's long-term interests in the Middle East and North Africa. It argues that the international community's dismissal of the political overtures of Hamas's political leadership since 2006, coupled to the lack of commitment to ending Gaza's siege and pushing for a political solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict, has helped to create the conditions for the horrific attacks of 7 October 2023. The designation of all of Hamas as terrorist by the UK and other Western governments has furthermore helped to create a permissive environment for Israel to target any building or person in Gaza, as many are connected to Hamas in one way or another as the de facto government, a major social welfare provider, and a social movement with grassroots support. This, coupled with the UK's continued support for the Israeli government, including the licensing of arms components used in the current bombardment, could make the UK complicit in war crimes committed during Israel's punitive war on Gaza, including potentially the charge of genocide.
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This is a submission to the Australian Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security reviewing the proposed proscription of the entirety of Hamas by the Australian Federal Government co-authored by Associate Professor Tristan... more
This is a submission to the Australian Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security reviewing the proposed proscription of the entirety of Hamas by the Australian Federal Government co-authored by Associate Professor Tristan Dunning, Professor Jeroen Gunning, Dr Anas Iqtait, Dr Tareq Baconi, Dr Martin Kear, and Dr Imad alSoos. The submission argues the proposed legislation under consideration by the government is misplaced, detrimental, inconsistent with the political reality in Israel-Palestine, and may lead to unintended and harmful policy implications, both domestically and with regards to Australia's foreign policy. The submission, inter alia, addresses the following seven points: 1) Bias of previous evidence and process; 2) Bias of terrorist designation; 3) Lack of utility and potential cost to Australia; 4) Potential impact on Palestinian Diaspora in Australia; 5) Potential impact on Gazan population; 6) Potential impact on international humanitarian aid organisations; 7) Potential impact on political solution.
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Book review of 'The Many Faces of Political Islam: Religion and Politics in Muslim Socities', second edition, by Mohammed Ayoob and Danielle Lussier, for the Australian Institute for International Affairs
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Review of Hamas Contained: The Rise and Pacification of Palestinian Resistance by Tareq Baconi
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Review of "State and Society in Iraq: Citizenship Under Occupation, Dictatorship and Democratisation" edited by Benjamin Isakhan, Shamiran Mako and Fadi Dawood - "a timely volume reminding us of the dynamism and long-standing activism of... more
Review of "State and Society in Iraq: Citizenship Under Occupation, Dictatorship and Democratisation" edited by Benjamin Isakhan, Shamiran Mako and Fadi Dawood - "a timely volume reminding us of the dynamism and long-standing activism of Iraq’s diverse constituencies and their historical and ongoing resistance to state dictates."
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Review of "The Legacy of Iraq: from the 2003 war to 'Islamic State'" for the Australian Institute of International Affairs
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My contribution to the review symposium on Tim Aistrope's book Conspiracy Theory and American Foreign Policy
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Students and Resistance in Palestine: books, guns and politics is a thoroughly researched and informative volume documenting the contributions of Palestinian university students to the Palestinian quest for self-determination and the... more
Students and Resistance in Palestine: books, guns and politics is a thoroughly researched and informative volume documenting the contributions of Palestinian university students to the Palestinian quest for self-determination and the establishment of an independent sovereign state. Written by Ido Zelkovitz, a research fellow based at the University of Haifa in Israel, the volume draws on an impressive array of sources in Arabic, Hebrew and English. These sources feature an extensive range of primary documents, including information obtained from Palestinian student magazines, political posters and pamphlets, Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO) documents, memoires, and archival documents. Focused on the period between 1952 and 2000, Zelkovitz documents the central role played by Palestinian student movements in revitalising Palestinian national identity and publicising the Palestinian cause on the world stage.
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Based on five brief periods of fieldwork conducted in Fars province in and around Shiraz, de Waal attempts to break down the exotic/threating duality which often characterises mainstream depictions of Iran in the international press and... more
Based on five brief periods of fieldwork conducted in Fars province in and around Shiraz, de Waal attempts to break down the exotic/threating duality which often characterises mainstream depictions of Iran in the international press and academia. Specifically, de Waal wants to “shift the focus away from the supposed nuclear threat and the foreign media’s sometimes voyeuristic preoccupation with black-chadored women and turbaned mullahs… to focus instead on the everyday lives of ordinary Iranians” (p.2), as well as document the impact that theocratic rule has on ordinary Iranians. In this endeavour, de Waal largely succeeds in providing a fascinating account of the sometimes incongruous inconsistencies between the strict piety supposedly dictated by the government, and the often lax nature of how and when this is actually enforced.
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Israeli-Palestinian Activism: Shifting Paradigms is a brave, ambitious and insightful ethnographic investigation focused on the various types of contemporary activism occurring throughout the Negev/Naqab desert. Written by Alexander... more
Israeli-Palestinian Activism: Shifting Paradigms is a brave, ambitious and insightful ethnographic investigation focused on the various types of contemporary activism occurring throughout the Negev/Naqab desert. Written by Alexander Koensler, a faculty member at Queen's University Belfast, the book predominantly focuses on the plight of the Negev Bedouin and their ongoing struggles for civic equality, land rights, and the provision of basic services to unauthorised Bedouin villages. Describing the Negev as a periphery or borderland area, Koensler investigates the blurred boundaries within the region. As such, the author urges us to problematize binary oppositions, such as Palestinian/Israeli, Oriental/Occidental, and other " common-sense " categories, that promote monolithic conceptions of identity. To this end, Koensler delves deep into the interstitial areas between such dichotomies, not only to interrogate the divide between putative collective identities, but also the divisions within such entities. It is within these " zones of friction " (p.30) that experimental forms of activisms emerge, eluding categorisation and eschewing zero-sum games, but rather focusing on building cross-cutting relationships and promoting new ways of thinking. It is these forms of activism which constitute Koensler's shifting paradigms.
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The Australian government recently announced its intention to designate the entirety of Hamas as a terrorist organisation. Doing so all but precludes the possibility of constructive engagement to alleviate the ongoing humanitarian crises... more
The Australian government recently announced its intention to designate the entirety of Hamas as a terrorist organisation. Doing so all but precludes the possibility of constructive engagement to alleviate the ongoing humanitarian crises in Gaza and reaching a meaningful political solution to the Palestine-Israel conflict. This follows similar blanket designations by the United States and the United Kingdom. From 2003 until now, Australia has only designated the movement's armed wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, as a terrorist organisation, marking a clear separation between the movement's armed and socio-political aspects.
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Backgrounder for the 2021 violence between Israel and Palestinians in Palestine, Jerusalem, Gaza and Israel for The Conversation
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Analysis with Anas Iqtait regarding Israel's proposed annexation of the West Bank, following the Trump administration stating that it did not consider settlements illegal - published in The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age (Melbourne),... more
Analysis with Anas Iqtait regarding Israel's proposed annexation of the West Bank, following the Trump administration stating that it did not consider settlements illegal - published in The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age (Melbourne), Brisbane Times, and WA Today
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The article examines the state of the Palestinian cause on the 72nd anniversary of the Nakba (Catastrophe). It is a day of mourning, commemorating the loss of their homeland after Zionist and Israeli armed forces expelled over 700,000... more
The article examines the state of the Palestinian cause on the 72nd anniversary of the Nakba (Catastrophe). It is a day of mourning, commemorating the loss of their homeland after Zionist and Israeli armed forces expelled over 700,000 Palestinians to establish the contours of the self-defined Jewish state in 1948, seizing 78 percent of the land known since antiquity as Palestine. For Palestinians, the Nakba is a historical starting point for still ongoing experiences of occupation and exile.
Research Interests: Middle East Studies, Israel Studies, Israel/Palestine, Palestine, Middle Eastern Politics, and 9 moreMiddle Eastern Studies, Middle East Politics, Israeli-Arab Relations, Middle East, Arab-Israeli conflict, History of Palestine and Israel, Palestinian Studies, Palestinian-Israeli conflict, and Palestinian refugees
Analysis regarding the Turkish assault on Syrian Kurds in northern Syria in October 2019
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As 15 May marks the 71st anniversary of al-Nakba, it is worth reflecting on the latest violence in the Gaza Strip. Sadly, for the people who live there, it is just the most recent instalment in a perpetual cycle of suffering
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Fifteen years ago today, a United States-led ‘Coalition of the Willing’ invaded Iraq on spurious pretexts, toppled the Ba’athist regime of Saddam Hussein, and unleashed violent forces that have ravaged the country ever since. Available... more
Fifteen years ago today, a United States-led ‘Coalition of the Willing’ invaded Iraq on spurious pretexts, toppled the Ba’athist regime of Saddam Hussein, and unleashed violent forces that have ravaged the country ever since.
Available Online at: http://www.internationalaffairs.org.au/australianoutlook/tragic-anniversary-costs-iraq-invasion/
Available Online at: http://www.internationalaffairs.org.au/australianoutlook/tragic-anniversary-costs-iraq-invasion/
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On Donald Trump's decision to move the US embassy in Israel to Jerusalem and the potential unintended and somewhat ironic consequences
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As the Islamic State group's territorial project slowly but inexorably comes to an end in Iraq and Syria, the White House is once again trotting out the twin rationales of foreign fighters and the impending apocalypse to absolve itself of... more
As the Islamic State group's territorial project slowly but inexorably comes to an end in Iraq and Syria, the White House is once again trotting out the twin rationales of foreign fighters and the impending apocalypse to absolve itself of any responsibility for the rise and spread of extremist militant Islam. Last week, US Special Presidential Envoy Brett McGurk revealed that the US-led coalition was compiling a database of foreign jihadists fighting for IS, thereby signalling that the White House may be preparing to shift the focus of its operations from the ongoing recruitment bazaars of Iraq and Syria, to the putative eschatological battle against extremist militant Islam on a global level.
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While Hamas' new charter does not amount to recognition of Israel, it formally softens its stance in a few key areas. How might this change things?
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Whoever 'wins' in Raqqa, everybody in Syria is likely to lose.
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The tragedy of Mosul is that while Islamic State's territorial project in Iraq is coming to an end, it is creating new problems that exacerbate the country's existing challenges.
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While Mosul’s liberation from the Islamic State terrorist group appears closer than ever, Iraq’s challenges are far from over. The Iraqi government must work to address the conditions that enabled the rise of Islamic State and manage the... more
While Mosul’s liberation from the Islamic State terrorist group appears closer than ever, Iraq’s challenges are far from over. The Iraqi government must work to address the conditions that enabled the rise of Islamic State and manage the political tensions that may escalate without a common enemy.
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Iraq's destitute population continues to suffer the depredations of war and terrorism, but is determined to rectify the damage of the 2003 invasion.
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While the West remains disconnected from the reality of life and death in Iraq, ordinary citizens continue their fight for an alternative future.
Research Interests: Social Movements and Iraq
Why France? France seems to have been especially hard hit among European countries.
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The interests and demands of the Syrian government, rebel groups, terrorists, regional actors, superpowers and not least the Syrian people diverge so greatly that there is little room for compromise in the Syrian civil war. Yet pragmatic... more
The interests and demands of the Syrian government, rebel groups, terrorists, regional actors, superpowers and not least the Syrian people diverge so greatly that there is little room for compromise in the Syrian civil war. Yet pragmatic compromise is precisely what Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull suggested recently.
Turnbull called for a power-sharing government modelled on nearby Lebanon’s post-civil war political settlement. What exactly is the Lebanese model? Does it work and is it feasible in Syria?
Turnbull called for a power-sharing government modelled on nearby Lebanon’s post-civil war political settlement. What exactly is the Lebanese model? Does it work and is it feasible in Syria?
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Iraq’s political class has survived the Islamic State group, but can it survive the political renaissance of Muqtada al-Sadr?
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While global attention focuses on Islamic State (IS), recent mass protests throughout Iraq have prompted Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi to promise what many long believed impossible: tackling the systemic corruption endemic to the Iraqi... more
While global attention focuses on Islamic State (IS), recent mass protests throughout Iraq have prompted Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi to promise what many long believed impossible: tackling the systemic corruption endemic to the Iraqi political system.
But why are these protests occurring and why now? What is al-Abadi trying to achieve by such reforms? Are these measures genuine or merely designed to placate the masses? If genuine, is serious reform even possible given inevitable opposition from those with a vested interest in the status quo?
But why are these protests occurring and why now? What is al-Abadi trying to achieve by such reforms? Are these measures genuine or merely designed to placate the masses? If genuine, is serious reform even possible given inevitable opposition from those with a vested interest in the status quo?
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Israel claims to be the only democracy in the region, but its institutional racism demonstrates the state's tangential grasp on reality, writes Tristan Dunning.
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There were past and present indicators that Sharm el-Sheikh was a target, and the failure of the security services to stop the attack appears to be unambiguously stark.
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Australians' encounter with Turks on the shores of Gallipoli has elicited no resentment between the two nations. On the contrary, it paved the way for an exceptional friendship as Australians have been welcomed each time they visit Turkey... more
Australians' encounter with Turks on the shores of Gallipoli has elicited no resentment between the two nations. On the contrary, it paved the way for an exceptional friendship as Australians have been welcomed each time they visit Turkey on the centenary of the Gallipoli landings.
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Many treaties were made after World War I to end the conflicts in several regions including the Middle East. But the conflicts within these regions have continued and created even deeper problems that the world still suffers from today.
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The Charlie Hebdo attack sparked protests worldwide. However, the majority of discussions on this issue focused on radicalism and Islamic identity, while ignoring both the past misdeeds of the West and the greater tragedies happening in... more
The Charlie Hebdo attack sparked protests worldwide. However, the majority of discussions on this issue focused on radicalism and Islamic identity, while ignoring both the past misdeeds of the West and the greater tragedies happening in the rest of the world.