Although the Middle East/SWANA region encompasses a diverse range of authoritarian regimes, protests are surprisingly common across much of it. Mass mobilizations such as the Arab uprisings and Iran’s Woman, Life, Freedom movement attract international attention, yet less is known about the thousands of smaller protests that precede and follow them. This talk will examine patterns of protest across the region and explore how repression is changing in the age of mass surveillance and artificial intelligence.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER

Jillian Schwedler is Distinguished Professor of Political Science at the City University of New York’s Hunter College and the Graduate Center and Nonresident Senior Fellow at the Crown Center for the Middle East at Brandeis University. She has served in elected leadership positions for the American Political Science Association and the Middle East Studies Association. She has been a member of the Editorial Committee of the International Journal of Middle East Studies and is currently Chair of the Editorial Committee for the Middle East Research and Information Project (MERIP), publishers of Middle East Report.

Prof. Schwedler’s books include the award-winning Faith in Moderation: Islamist Parties in Jordan and Yemen (2006), Policing and Prisons in the Middle East (with Laleh Khalili, 2010), and The Political Science of the Middle East (with Marc Lynch and Sean Yom, 2022).  Her articles have appeared in numerous journals, including World Politics, Comparative Politics, Contention, and Social Movement Studies.  Her most recent book, Protesting Jordan: Geographies of Power and Dissent (2022) was recipient of best book awards from the National Endowment for Democracy and the Middle East Institute.