Hicham Bou Nassif
Biographic Data
| ID | 2036093 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Hicham Bou Nassif |
| GIVEN NAMES | Hicham Bou |
| FAMILY NAME | Nassif |
| SIGNATURE | NASSIF H B |
| AFFILIATIONS | Claremont McKenna College |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-1061-1329 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 13 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 90 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 13 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2013 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 5 |
Worse than Camp David? Revisiting the May 17, 1983, Lebanon-Israel Agreement
In light of the declassification of archival sources, this article reassesses the negotiations of the Lebanon-Israel agreement of May 17, 1983, which revolved around three major themes: security arrangements in Southern Lebanon, the fate of Israel’s ally Major Sa‘d Haddad and his militia, and normalization. Many have claimed that Lebanese negotiators capitulated to a US-Israeli diktat, yet, on all three issues, Israel conceded more than it had in…
The Lubrani Connection: Revisiting Israeli-Druze Relations in Lebanon’s 1983 War of the Mountain
This article ponders Israeli-Druze relations during Lebanon's 1983 War of the Mountain in light of derestricted sources pertaining to the Robert C. McFarlane mission in Lebanon. After the assassination of the Lebanese President-elect Bashir Gemayel in September 1982 and the rise to the presidency of his brother Amine, Israel's relations with Lebanon's Christians soured. By contrast, Israel's connections with the Lebanese Druze intensified, and th…
The Summer of Living Dangerously: Robert C. McFarlane and the Breakdown of Reagan’s Lebanon Policy
This article reconsiders the US Lebanon policy in the wake of the Lebanese-Israeli Agreement of May 17, 1983. After failing to convince Syrian President Hafiz al-Assad to accept the Lebanon-Israel May 17 Agreement and withdraw from Lebanon, US policymakers adopted a confrontational approach with Damascus. The American-Syrian duel over Lebanon escalated in the summer of 1983 and ended with Assad’s victory. The United States disengaged from Beirut,…
Why the Military Abandoned Democracy
The ongoing crisis in Tunisia has shaken the basis of its young democracy. President Kais Saied's 25 July 2021 power grab has upended the political order in Tunis and opened the door to a creeping autocratic restoration. This is tragic not only for Tunisia but also for the Arab world more broadly––Tunisia's was the only democratic transformation that followed the 2011 uprisings and the country gave hope to democrats in the region. Long hailed for…
Rethinking Pathways of Transnational Jihad: Evidence from Lebanese Isis Recruits
Why do some individuals leave everything behind to join extremist organizations abroad? The literature on foreign fighters has grown impressively and yielded important insights in recent years. Three problems persist, however: (1) scholarship grounded in empirical fieldwork remains uncommon. This deficit reflects the scarcity of micro-level data based on individual profiles of jihadi recruits; (2) the studies available overwhelmingly center on We…
Endgames: Military Response to Protest in Arab Autocracies
The 2011 Arab Spring is the story of what happens when autocrats prepare their militaries to thwart coups but unexpectedly face massive popular uprisings instead. When demonstrators took to the streets in 2011, some militaries remained loyal to the autocratic regimes, some defected, whilst others splintered. The widespread consequences of this military agency ranged from facilitating transition to democracy, to reconfiguring authoritarianism, or …
Turbulent from the Start: Revisiting Military Politics in Pre-Baʿth Syria
This article reconsiders military politics in Syria prior to the 1963 Baʿthi power grab in light of new sources. I undermine the presumptions that Baʿthi tactics of sectarian favoritism in the armed forces were unprecedented in post-independence Syria. I make the following arguments: first, attempts by the Sunni power elite to tame Syrian minorities were part of a broad sequence of events that spanned several regimes and informed politics in the …
Coups and nascent democracies: The military and Egypt's failed consolidation
Why do coups happen in some nascent democracies but not in others? To answer this question, I probe four interconnected variables in democratizing regimes: the military's ethos; the military's corporate interests; the military's perception of the new civilian ruling elite; and the correlation of force between the military and the founding democratic government. My argument is twofold: first, I maintain that ideational variables are central to sha…
Second-Class’: The Grievances of Sunni Officers in the Syrian Armed Forces
The defection of a significant number of Sunni officers amidst the ongoing turmoil in Syria created a unique opportunity to get access to original data on the Syrian armed forces. This study draws on extensive fieldwork to probe the sectarian question in the Syrian officer corps. On the basis of a series of interviews conducted throughout the summer of 2014, I investigate the politics and consequences of sectarian stacking in the Syrian military …
Inside Syria: The Backstory of Their Civil War and What the World Can Expect
Journal Article Inside Syria: The Backstory of Their Civil War and What the World Can Expect Get access Inside Syria: The Backstory of Their Civil War and What the World Can Expect by Reese Erlich. Amherst, NY, Prometheus Books, 2014. 313 pp. $25.00. Hicham Bou Nassif Hicham Bou Nassif Carleton College Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Political Science Quarterly, Volume 130, Issue 4, Winter 2015, Pages 771–…
A Military Besieged: The Armed Forces, the Police, and the Party in Bin ʿali’s Tunisia, 1987–2011
This article draws on extensive fieldwork and original data to trace the transformation of civil–military relations in Tunisia during the tenure of the former president Zayn al-ʿAbidin bin ʿAli (1987–2011). The republican ethos of the Tunisian Armed Forces (al-Quwwat al-Musallaha al-Tunusiyya) is often stressed to explain its traditional political quiescence. However, I maintain that it was the active hostility of the military's rivals within the…
Generals and Autocrats: How Coup-Proofing Predetermined the Military Elite's Behavior in the Arab Spring
Journal Article Generals and Autocrats: How Coup-Proofing Predetermined the Military Elite's Behavior in the Arab Spring Get access Hicham Bou Nassif Hicham Bou Nassif HICHAM BOU NASSIF is an assistant professor of political science at Carleton College, Minnesota. His work on Arab military politics has appeared in the International Journal of Middle East Studies and the Middle East Journal. Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academi…
Wedded to Mubarak: The Second Careers and Financial Rewards of Egypt's Military Elite, 1981–2011
This article discusses postretirement appointments and financial rewards the Egyptian military elite secured under former Egyptian president Husni Mubarak. It draws on two original databases: the first analyzes the professional background of the 156 Egyptian governors appointed by Mubarak, and studies the evolution of the military elite’s share of governorship positions throughout his years in power. The second database includes details on postre…
Coups and nascent democracies: The military and Egypt's failed consolidation
Why do coups happen in some nascent democracies but not in others? To answer this question, I probe four interconnected variables in democratizing regimes: the military's ethos; the military's corporate interests; the military's perception of the new civilian ruling elite; and the correlation of force between the military and the founding democratic government. My argument is twofold: first, I maintain that ideational variables are central to sha…
A Military Besieged: The Armed Forces, the Police, and the Party in Bin ʿali’s Tunisia, 1987–2011
This article draws on extensive fieldwork and original data to trace the transformation of civil–military relations in Tunisia during the tenure of the former president Zayn al-ʿAbidin bin ʿAli (1987–2011). The republican ethos of the Tunisian Armed Forces (al-Quwwat al-Musallaha al-Tunusiyya) is often stressed to explain its traditional political quiescence. However, I maintain that it was the active hostility of the military's rivals within the…
Generals and Autocrats: How Coup-Proofing Predetermined the Military Elite's Behavior in the Arab Spring
Journal Article Generals and Autocrats: How Coup-Proofing Predetermined the Military Elite's Behavior in the Arab Spring Get access Hicham Bou Nassif Hicham Bou Nassif HICHAM BOU NASSIF is an assistant professor of political science at Carleton College, Minnesota. His work on Arab military politics has appeared in the International Journal of Middle East Studies and the Middle East Journal. Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academi…
Wedded to Mubarak: The Second Careers and Financial Rewards of Egypt's Military Elite, 1981–2011
This article discusses postretirement appointments and financial rewards the Egyptian military elite secured under former Egyptian president Husni Mubarak. It draws on two original databases: the first analyzes the professional background of the 156 Egyptian governors appointed by Mubarak, and studies the evolution of the military elite’s share of governorship positions throughout his years in power. The second database includes details on postre…
Second-Class’: The Grievances of Sunni Officers in the Syrian Armed Forces
The defection of a significant number of Sunni officers amidst the ongoing turmoil in Syria created a unique opportunity to get access to original data on the Syrian armed forces. This study draws on extensive fieldwork to probe the sectarian question in the Syrian officer corps. On the basis of a series of interviews conducted throughout the summer of 2014, I investigate the politics and consequences of sectarian stacking in the Syrian military …
Why the Military Abandoned Democracy
The ongoing crisis in Tunisia has shaken the basis of its young democracy. President Kais Saied's 25 July 2021 power grab has upended the political order in Tunis and opened the door to a creeping autocratic restoration. This is tragic not only for Tunisia but also for the Arab world more broadly––Tunisia's was the only democratic transformation that followed the 2011 uprisings and the country gave hope to democrats in the region. Long hailed for…
Inside Syria: The Backstory of Their Civil War and What the World Can Expect
Journal Article Inside Syria: The Backstory of Their Civil War and What the World Can Expect Get access Inside Syria: The Backstory of Their Civil War and What the World Can Expect by Reese Erlich. Amherst, NY, Prometheus Books, 2014. 313 pp. $25.00. Hicham Bou Nassif Hicham Bou Nassif Carleton College Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Political Science Quarterly, Volume 130, Issue 4, Winter 2015, Pages 771–…
Turbulent from the Start: Revisiting Military Politics in Pre-Baʿth Syria
This article reconsiders military politics in Syria prior to the 1963 Baʿthi power grab in light of new sources. I undermine the presumptions that Baʿthi tactics of sectarian favoritism in the armed forces were unprecedented in post-independence Syria. I make the following arguments: first, attempts by the Sunni power elite to tame Syrian minorities were part of a broad sequence of events that spanned several regimes and informed politics in the …
Rethinking Pathways of Transnational Jihad: Evidence from Lebanese Isis Recruits
Why do some individuals leave everything behind to join extremist organizations abroad? The literature on foreign fighters has grown impressively and yielded important insights in recent years. Three problems persist, however: (1) scholarship grounded in empirical fieldwork remains uncommon. This deficit reflects the scarcity of micro-level data based on individual profiles of jihadi recruits; (2) the studies available overwhelmingly center on We…
Wedded to Mubarak: The Second Careers and Financial Rewards of Egypt's Military Elite, 1981–2011
This article discusses postretirement appointments and financial rewards the Egyptian military elite secured under former Egyptian president Husni Mubarak. It draws on two original databases: the first analyzes the professional background of the 156 Egyptian governors appointed by Mubarak, and studies the evolution of the military elite’s share of governorship positions throughout his years in power. The second database includes details on postre…
Second-Class’: The Grievances of Sunni Officers in the Syrian Armed Forces
The defection of a significant number of Sunni officers amidst the ongoing turmoil in Syria created a unique opportunity to get access to original data on the Syrian armed forces. This study draws on extensive fieldwork to probe the sectarian question in the Syrian officer corps. On the basis of a series of interviews conducted throughout the summer of 2014, I investigate the politics and consequences of sectarian stacking in the Syrian military …
Inside Syria: The Backstory of Their Civil War and What the World Can Expect
Journal Article Inside Syria: The Backstory of Their Civil War and What the World Can Expect Get access Inside Syria: The Backstory of Their Civil War and What the World Can Expect by Reese Erlich. Amherst, NY, Prometheus Books, 2014. 313 pp. $25.00. Hicham Bou Nassif Hicham Bou Nassif Carleton College Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Political Science Quarterly, Volume 130, Issue 4, Winter 2015, Pages 771–…
A Military Besieged: The Armed Forces, the Police, and the Party in Bin ʿali’s Tunisia, 1987–2011
This article draws on extensive fieldwork and original data to trace the transformation of civil–military relations in Tunisia during the tenure of the former president Zayn al-ʿAbidin bin ʿAli (1987–2011). The republican ethos of the Tunisian Armed Forces (al-Quwwat al-Musallaha al-Tunusiyya) is often stressed to explain its traditional political quiescence. However, I maintain that it was the active hostility of the military's rivals within the…
Generals and Autocrats: How Coup-Proofing Predetermined the Military Elite's Behavior in the Arab Spring
Journal Article Generals and Autocrats: How Coup-Proofing Predetermined the Military Elite's Behavior in the Arab Spring Get access Hicham Bou Nassif Hicham Bou Nassif HICHAM BOU NASSIF is an assistant professor of political science at Carleton College, Minnesota. His work on Arab military politics has appeared in the International Journal of Middle East Studies and the Middle East Journal. Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academi…
Coups and nascent democracies: The military and Egypt's failed consolidation
Why do coups happen in some nascent democracies but not in others? To answer this question, I probe four interconnected variables in democratizing regimes: the military's ethos; the military's corporate interests; the military's perception of the new civilian ruling elite; and the correlation of force between the military and the founding democratic government. My argument is twofold: first, I maintain that ideational variables are central to sha…
Endgames: Military Response to Protest in Arab Autocracies
The 2011 Arab Spring is the story of what happens when autocrats prepare their militaries to thwart coups but unexpectedly face massive popular uprisings instead. When demonstrators took to the streets in 2011, some militaries remained loyal to the autocratic regimes, some defected, whilst others splintered. The widespread consequences of this military agency ranged from facilitating transition to democracy, to reconfiguring authoritarianism, or …
Turbulent from the Start: Revisiting Military Politics in Pre-Baʿth Syria
This article reconsiders military politics in Syria prior to the 1963 Baʿthi power grab in light of new sources. I undermine the presumptions that Baʿthi tactics of sectarian favoritism in the armed forces were unprecedented in post-independence Syria. I make the following arguments: first, attempts by the Sunni power elite to tame Syrian minorities were part of a broad sequence of events that spanned several regimes and informed politics in the …
Rethinking Pathways of Transnational Jihad: Evidence from Lebanese Isis Recruits
Why do some individuals leave everything behind to join extremist organizations abroad? The literature on foreign fighters has grown impressively and yielded important insights in recent years. Three problems persist, however: (1) scholarship grounded in empirical fieldwork remains uncommon. This deficit reflects the scarcity of micro-level data based on individual profiles of jihadi recruits; (2) the studies available overwhelmingly center on We…
Why the Military Abandoned Democracy
The ongoing crisis in Tunisia has shaken the basis of its young democracy. President Kais Saied's 25 July 2021 power grab has upended the political order in Tunis and opened the door to a creeping autocratic restoration. This is tragic not only for Tunisia but also for the Arab world more broadly––Tunisia's was the only democratic transformation that followed the 2011 uprisings and the country gave hope to democrats in the region. Long hailed for…
The Summer of Living Dangerously: Robert C. McFarlane and the Breakdown of Reagan’s Lebanon Policy
This article reconsiders the US Lebanon policy in the wake of the Lebanese-Israeli Agreement of May 17, 1983. After failing to convince Syrian President Hafiz al-Assad to accept the Lebanon-Israel May 17 Agreement and withdraw from Lebanon, US policymakers adopted a confrontational approach with Damascus. The American-Syrian duel over Lebanon escalated in the summer of 1983 and ended with Assad’s victory. The United States disengaged from Beirut,…
The Lubrani Connection: Revisiting Israeli-Druze Relations in Lebanon’s 1983 War of the Mountain
This article ponders Israeli-Druze relations during Lebanon's 1983 War of the Mountain in light of derestricted sources pertaining to the Robert C. McFarlane mission in Lebanon. After the assassination of the Lebanese President-elect Bashir Gemayel in September 1982 and the rise to the presidency of his brother Amine, Israel's relations with Lebanon's Christians soured. By contrast, Israel's connections with the Lebanese Druze intensified, and th…
Worse than Camp David? Revisiting the May 17, 1983, Lebanon-Israel Agreement
In light of the declassification of archival sources, this article reassesses the negotiations of the Lebanon-Israel agreement of May 17, 1983, which revolved around three major themes: security arrangements in Southern Lebanon, the fate of Israel’s ally Major Sa‘d Haddad and his militia, and normalization. Many have claimed that Lebanese negotiators capitulated to a US-Israeli diktat, yet, on all three issues, Israel conceded more than it had in…
Political science (12 works) · Law (11 works) · Politics (10 works) · Sociology (10 works) · Law (9 works) · Middle East and Rwanda Conflicts (7 works) · Political economy (7 works) · Middle East Politics and Society (6 works) · History (5 works) · Political Conflict and Governance (5 works)