Fawaz Gerges Keynote Speaker

Fawaz A. Gerges is Professor of International Relations at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), and holder of the Emirates Professorship in Contemporary Middle East Studies. He was also the inaugural Director of the LSE Middle East Centre from 2010 until 2013.

Professor Gerges’ special interests include Islam and the political process – covering mainstream Islamist movements and jihadist groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood, Al Qaeda, and ISIS. His expertise spans to Arab politics and Muslim politics in the 20th century, the international relations of the Middle East, the political economy of the Middle East, risk analysis, state and society in the region, the Arab-Israeli conflict, American foreign policy towards the Muslim world, the modern history of the Middle East, history of conflict, diplomacy and foreign policy, and historical sociology. Right now, he’s especially interested in the volatility of the petroleum industry in the Middle East and how political instability impacts the oil and gas industry in the region.

He is author of several acclaimed books, including – ISIS: A History; The New Middle East: Social Protest and Revolution in the Arab World and Contentious Politics in the Middle East: Popular Resistance and Marginalised Activism beyond the Arab Uprisings. His other books include: Obama and the Middle East ; The Rise and Fall of Al Qaeda; The Far Enemy: Why Jihad Went Global ; America and Political Islam: Clash of Cultures or Clash of Interests?; The Superpowers and the Middle East: Regional and International Politics and Making the Arab World: Nasser, Qutb, and the Clash That Shaped the Middle East. 

His most recent book is – What Really Went Wrong: The West and the Failure of Democracy in the Middle East (May 2024)

No armchair historian, Fawaz spent several years doing field research in the Middle East, interviewing hundreds of civil society leaders, activists, and mainstream and radical Islamists in the Muslim world and within Muslim communities in Europe. In 2011, Fawaz received the Saïd Foundation’s Lifetime Achievement Award. He has been the recipient of a MacArthur, Fulbright and Carnegie Fellowships and his books have been translated into a number of foreign languages.

Fawaz also features regularly in various media outlets throughout the world, including ABC, CNN, BBC, NBC, Al Jazeera, The New York Times, The Washington Post, International Herald Tribune, and many others.