Dr. Najib Ghadbian

Najib Ghadbian is an Assistant Professor of Political Science and Middle East Studies. Ghadbian's book, Democratization and the Islamists Challenge in the Arab World, was published by Westview Press in 1997. A revised and updated Arabic edition was published in Amman and Beirut in 2002. Dr. Ghadbian has published articles in English and Arabic in several journals, including: Middle East Affairs Journal, New Political Science, Middle East Journal,ISIM Newsletter, Middle East Review of International Affairs, andal-Mustaqbal al-'Arabi.

He has contributed political commentaries to several media outlets including: Local ABC, NBC, Abu Dhabi Satellite TV, NBN (Lebanon), The Arabic Monte Carlo & BBC, and Sharjah TV Station. He's been a frequently called commentator for Al-Jazeera Satellite TV Channel since January 2000. Prior to his joining the University of Arkansas, he worked as a research analyst at the Emirates Center for Strategic Studies and Research, where he headed the media unit and served on the administrative board. Ghadbian's research interests include political currents and media in the Arab world, Islamic movements, Syrian politics, and domestic and international politics in the Arabian/Persian Gulf.

Publications

"Al-Jazeera: Expanding the Fourth Estate," in History in Dispute: The Middle East Since 1945, edited by David W. Lesch, Volume 14, First Series (Columbia, SC: Manly, 2003/Farmington Hills, MI: St. James Press, 2003)

"The Syrian-Israeli Negotiations: Progress & Missed Opportunities," in History in Dispute: The Middle East Since 1945, edited by David W. Lesch, Volume 14, Second Series (Columbia, SC: Manly, 2003/Farmington Hills, MI: St. James Press, 2003)

Review Essay. "Democracy of Self-Interest?" Harvard International Review, Vol. XXIV, No. 6, Summer 2003.

Op-Ed Essay. "Analyzing the American Vision of the Post-Saddam’s Era," Al-Jazeera.net, February 21, 2003 (Arabic)

Democratization and the Islamist Challenge in the Arab World: 1980-2000. Amman & Beirut: Dar al-Manar, 2002 (Arabic)

"Political Islam: Inclusion or Violence?" in K. Worcestre, S. Bermazhon, & M Ungar, eds. Violence and Politics: Globalization’s Paradox. (New York: Routledge, 2002)

"The New Asad: Dynamics of Continuity & Change in Syria," Middle East Journal, Vol. 55, No. 4, Autumn 2001

"Contesting the State Monopoly: Syria on Al-Jazeera," Middle East Review of International Affairs, Vol. 5, No. 2, June 2001

Democratization and the Islamist Challenge in the Arab World. Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press, 1997

ADDRESS AND CONTACTS

University of Arkansas

Assistant Professor

Department of Political Science

J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences

ghadbian@uark.edu

Tel: 4795754755