Mohamad Al-Ississ, Kuwait Foundation Visiting Scholar, Middle East Initiative, Harvard Kennedy School, will discuss public opinion in the Arab World three years after the Spring. This event will be moderated by Ishac Diwan, Lecturer, Harvard Kennedy School.
Using recent survey data from the Arab World, we analyze the determinants for people's democracy preferences. We further investigate how these preferences evolved after the Spring when security collapsed and uncertainty increased. Was the Arab Spring driven by people's grievances and/or modernity? Which of these factors were more resilient in its aftermath?
About Mohamad Al-Ississ:
Dr. Mohamad Al-Ississ is in residence at Harvard Kennedy School for the Spring 2014 semester as the Kuwait Foundation Visiting Scholar. He is researching polarization in Arab societies and preferences for democratic systems of governance in the region. He will also participate in other Middle East Initiative activities and work closely with Harvard students, faculty and fellows. Dr. Al-Ississ joins the Middle East Initiative from the American University of Cairo.
Dr. Al-Ississ is an Assistant Professor at the American University in Cairo in the School of Business and the School of Global Affairs and Public Policy. He is also an economics lecturer in the Mid-Career Summer Program at Harvard Kennedy School. Dr. Al-Ississ received his doctorate in Public Policy—Economic Development from Harvard Kennedy School. Al-Ississ has a BA with honors in Economics from Harvard College, an MA in Middle Eastern Studies from Harvard University, and a Masters in Public Administration in International Development from Harvard University. His professional experiences include working as a management consultant with the Boston Consulting Group, serving as a senior advisor to Jordanian ministers of Industry and Trade and managing a portfolio of USAID projects in Jordan.
