Eric Lob
Biographic Data
| ID | 2373755 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Eric Lob |
| GIVEN NAMES | Eric |
| FAMILY NAME | Lob |
| SIGNATURE | LOB E |
| AFFILIATIONS | Florida International University |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-4823-0617 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 18 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 21 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 18 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2016 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 3 |
Iran
Analyzing Iran's Border Provinces Through the Framework of the Security‐Development Nexus and the Woman, Life, Freedom Protests
Building on previous scholarship (Elling 2013, Dudoignon, 2017, Lob & Habibi, 2019), this paper argues that the state's historical marginalization and securitization of the ethnic‐minority border provinces, coupled with their economic underdevelopment and sociopolitical discrimination, have correlated with political violence and popular protest—which, in turn, have led to greater state repression. Methodologically, this paper is based on a datase…
Explaining Saudi Arabia's Inaction During the Gaza War
Why did Saudi Arabia not take direct action against US support for Israel in the Gaza war, given the enormous destruction and loss of life? In 1973, when Washington similarly backed the Israeli effort against Arab states, the kingdom and other regional countries raised the price of petroleum through an embargo and production cuts, sparking an oil crisis in the West. But the recent period has featured no analogous attempts to influence Washington.…
Khomeini Meets Bolivar
The Security-Development Nexus and the Jina Mahsa Amini Protests in Iran's Border Provinces
Even before the 1979 Iranian Revolution, Iran's border provinces, which contain Arabs, Azeri Turks, Baluch, Kurds, and Turkmen, were marginalized and securitized by the state. These processes and outcomes have created a vicious cycle and self-fulfilling prophecy within the context of the so-called security-development nexus. Iran's peripheral provinces border Iraq and Turkey in the west and Afghanistan and Pakistan in the east. They are located f…
A political economy analysis of changes and continuities in Iran–Africa trade relations
This paper provides a political economy analysis of the bilateral trade relations and patterns of exchange that existed between Iran and Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) from 1962 to 2021. The paper contributes to the growing literature on Iran–Africa relations by empirically delineating not just the changes, but also the continuities between Iran and its African trading partners before and after the Iranian Revolution. It also adds nuance to the broader…
Iran‐Africa Relations under Raisi
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi (2021-present) met with his counterpart from Mozambique, Filipe Nyusi.During the meeting, Raisi expressed his readiness to expand economic and trade cooperation with Mozambique and other African countries, as well as to provide them with greater technology transfer and technical knowledge.Raisi claimed that the Islamic Republic "always had good relations with African countries," and acknowledged their economic pote…
Rouhani's Africa Policy
The Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI)’s relations with Africa declined to a considerable extent during Hassan Rouhani's presidency. Rouhani pursued a foreign policy that showed little interest in the continent and did not consider it a strategic partner. Some scholars argue this policy exclusively resulted from the IRI's regional involvement in Syria and Yemen, as well as its economic difficulties due to US sanctions. Using Rosenau's pre‐theory mode…
Presidential Elections in Iran
Mobilizing and Framing Construction Jihād and Islamic Development in Revolutionary Iran
Based on extensive fieldwork and original research in Iran, this article examines the establishment and evolution of the Islamic Republic's rural reconstruction and development organization, Construction Jihād (CJ), during the Iranian Revolution and the Iran‐Iraq War. By invoking populist and pious concepts, newly ascendant religiopolitical elites facilitated CJ's mobilization and expansion to gain support from rural residents and to consolidate …
Iranian Reconstruction, Development, and Aid in Syria
This article examines the activities of the Iranian parastatal development organization Construction Jihad in the Syrian Civil War since 2015. Construction Jihad has implemented reconstruction and development projects and delivered social services and humanitarian aid in order to appease segments of the Syrian population and help pro-government forces consolidate territory. This case study sheds light on the complexities and tensions surrounding …
The Politics of Development and Security in Iran's Border Provinces
This article examines the politics of development and security in Iran's border provinces from the 1979 revolution to the present day. We argue that there has been a narrowing division of labor between the government bureaucracy and security services regarding development and counterinsurgency in the border provinces. Since 2013, this outcome has created both cooperation and competition between the president and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Co…
Iran and Hizbullah's Development Organization in Lebanon
An investigation into the history and activities of the Lebanese reconstruction and development organization Jihād al-Bināʾ (JB) sheds light on three aspects of Hizbullah and its relationship with the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI). First, the case of JB reveals that, rather than simply existing as a client of the IRI, Hizbullah sought autonomy from it. To this end, Hizbullah aspired to control JB's projects, localize its personnel, and diversify…
Regime Resilience, Social Welfare, and Economic Development in the Islamic Republic of Iran
Even before the mass protests of 2017–2018, the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) has confronted an array of political, economic, and social issues that compelled the state to consider reform in order to avoid the possibility of another revolution. During the last four decades, the IRI's social welfare policies have helped explain its resilience and vulnerability, the agency and dynamics of its state-society relations, its changes and continuities v…
Construction Jihad
Based on fieldwork in Iran and Lebanon, this article compares the Iranian reconstruction and development organisation Construction Jihad with its Hizbullah-affiliated subsidiary in Lebanon. Beyond shedding light on Iranian and Lebanese history and politics, this comparison offers insight into the transnational diffusion of a development organisation by a state actor to its non-state or quasi-state ‘client’ in the Muslim and developing world. Desp…
Development, Mobilization and War
Based on ethnographic and archival research in Iran, this article examines the intersection of war making, rural development and popular mobilization in the state formation of the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI). To this end, the article profiles three organizations that were instrumental to this process: The Construction Jehad, the Construction Mobilization and the Trench Builders Association. During the last three decades, these organizations ha…
Researching Hizbullah in Lebanon
As one of the Middle East's more open countries, Lebanon is fairly congenial to foreign researchers. Classified as “partly free” by Freedom House, it ranks ahead of all the region's countries, except Israel, Tunisia, and Turkey. However, when it comes to researching Hizbullah, this openness and congeniality subsides. While Hizbullah contains political and social branches, it is first and foremost a military and guerilla organization—the self-proc…
The Islamic Republic of Iran's Foreign Policy and Construction Jihad's Developmental Activities in Sub-Saharan Africa
This article adopts the theoretical framework of complex realism to trace the evolution of the Islamic Republic of Iran's foreign policy and developmental activities in Africa between the 1980s and the 2000s. Contrary to common assumptions, the deradicalization of the Islamic Republic's foreign policy in Africa began not under the moderates in the early 1990s, but under the conservatives in the mid-1980s. This period marked the first time that th…
The Islamic Republic of Iran's Foreign Policy and Construction Jihad's Developmental Activities in Sub-Saharan Africa
This article adopts the theoretical framework of complex realism to trace the evolution of the Islamic Republic of Iran's foreign policy and developmental activities in Africa between the 1980s and the 2000s. Contrary to common assumptions, the deradicalization of the Islamic Republic's foreign policy in Africa began not under the moderates in the early 1990s, but under the conservatives in the mid-1980s. This period marked the first time that th…
The Politics of Development and Security in Iran's Border Provinces
This article examines the politics of development and security in Iran's border provinces from the 1979 revolution to the present day. We argue that there has been a narrowing division of labor between the government bureaucracy and security services regarding development and counterinsurgency in the border provinces. Since 2013, this outcome has created both cooperation and competition between the president and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Co…
Construction Jihad
Based on fieldwork in Iran and Lebanon, this article compares the Iranian reconstruction and development organisation Construction Jihad with its Hizbullah-affiliated subsidiary in Lebanon. Beyond shedding light on Iranian and Lebanese history and politics, this comparison offers insight into the transnational diffusion of a development organisation by a state actor to its non-state or quasi-state ‘client’ in the Muslim and developing world. Desp…
Khomeini Meets Bolivar
Rouhani's Africa Policy
The Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI)’s relations with Africa declined to a considerable extent during Hassan Rouhani's presidency. Rouhani pursued a foreign policy that showed little interest in the continent and did not consider it a strategic partner. Some scholars argue this policy exclusively resulted from the IRI's regional involvement in Syria and Yemen, as well as its economic difficulties due to US sanctions. Using Rosenau's pre‐theory mode…
Iranian Reconstruction, Development, and Aid in Syria
This article examines the activities of the Iranian parastatal development organization Construction Jihad in the Syrian Civil War since 2015. Construction Jihad has implemented reconstruction and development projects and delivered social services and humanitarian aid in order to appease segments of the Syrian population and help pro-government forces consolidate territory. This case study sheds light on the complexities and tensions surrounding …
The Security-Development Nexus and the Jina Mahsa Amini Protests in Iran's Border Provinces
Even before the 1979 Iranian Revolution, Iran's border provinces, which contain Arabs, Azeri Turks, Baluch, Kurds, and Turkmen, were marginalized and securitized by the state. These processes and outcomes have created a vicious cycle and self-fulfilling prophecy within the context of the so-called security-development nexus. Iran's peripheral provinces border Iraq and Turkey in the west and Afghanistan and Pakistan in the east. They are located f…
A political economy analysis of changes and continuities in Iran–Africa trade relations
This paper provides a political economy analysis of the bilateral trade relations and patterns of exchange that existed between Iran and Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) from 1962 to 2021. The paper contributes to the growing literature on Iran–Africa relations by empirically delineating not just the changes, but also the continuities between Iran and its African trading partners before and after the Iranian Revolution. It also adds nuance to the broader…
Mobilizing and Framing Construction Jihād and Islamic Development in Revolutionary Iran
Based on extensive fieldwork and original research in Iran, this article examines the establishment and evolution of the Islamic Republic's rural reconstruction and development organization, Construction Jihād (CJ), during the Iranian Revolution and the Iran‐Iraq War. By invoking populist and pious concepts, newly ascendant religiopolitical elites facilitated CJ's mobilization and expansion to gain support from rural residents and to consolidate …
Development, Mobilization and War
Based on ethnographic and archival research in Iran, this article examines the intersection of war making, rural development and popular mobilization in the state formation of the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI). To this end, the article profiles three organizations that were instrumental to this process: The Construction Jehad, the Construction Mobilization and the Trench Builders Association. During the last three decades, these organizations ha…
The Islamic Republic of Iran's Foreign Policy and Construction Jihad's Developmental Activities in Sub-Saharan Africa
This article adopts the theoretical framework of complex realism to trace the evolution of the Islamic Republic of Iran's foreign policy and developmental activities in Africa between the 1980s and the 2000s. Contrary to common assumptions, the deradicalization of the Islamic Republic's foreign policy in Africa began not under the moderates in the early 1990s, but under the conservatives in the mid-1980s. This period marked the first time that th…
Development, Mobilization and War
Based on ethnographic and archival research in Iran, this article examines the intersection of war making, rural development and popular mobilization in the state formation of the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI). To this end, the article profiles three organizations that were instrumental to this process: The Construction Jehad, the Construction Mobilization and the Trench Builders Association. During the last three decades, these organizations ha…
Researching Hizbullah in Lebanon
As one of the Middle East's more open countries, Lebanon is fairly congenial to foreign researchers. Classified as “partly free” by Freedom House, it ranks ahead of all the region's countries, except Israel, Tunisia, and Turkey. However, when it comes to researching Hizbullah, this openness and congeniality subsides. While Hizbullah contains political and social branches, it is first and foremost a military and guerilla organization—the self-proc…
Regime Resilience, Social Welfare, and Economic Development in the Islamic Republic of Iran
Even before the mass protests of 2017–2018, the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) has confronted an array of political, economic, and social issues that compelled the state to consider reform in order to avoid the possibility of another revolution. During the last four decades, the IRI's social welfare policies have helped explain its resilience and vulnerability, the agency and dynamics of its state-society relations, its changes and continuities v…
Construction Jihad
Based on fieldwork in Iran and Lebanon, this article compares the Iranian reconstruction and development organisation Construction Jihad with its Hizbullah-affiliated subsidiary in Lebanon. Beyond shedding light on Iranian and Lebanese history and politics, this comparison offers insight into the transnational diffusion of a development organisation by a state actor to its non-state or quasi-state ‘client’ in the Muslim and developing world. Desp…
The Politics of Development and Security in Iran's Border Provinces
This article examines the politics of development and security in Iran's border provinces from the 1979 revolution to the present day. We argue that there has been a narrowing division of labor between the government bureaucracy and security services regarding development and counterinsurgency in the border provinces. Since 2013, this outcome has created both cooperation and competition between the president and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Co…
Iran and Hizbullah's Development Organization in Lebanon
An investigation into the history and activities of the Lebanese reconstruction and development organization Jihād al-Bināʾ (JB) sheds light on three aspects of Hizbullah and its relationship with the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI). First, the case of JB reveals that, rather than simply existing as a client of the IRI, Hizbullah sought autonomy from it. To this end, Hizbullah aspired to control JB's projects, localize its personnel, and diversify…
Iranian Reconstruction, Development, and Aid in Syria
This article examines the activities of the Iranian parastatal development organization Construction Jihad in the Syrian Civil War since 2015. Construction Jihad has implemented reconstruction and development projects and delivered social services and humanitarian aid in order to appease segments of the Syrian population and help pro-government forces consolidate territory. This case study sheds light on the complexities and tensions surrounding …
Rouhani's Africa Policy
The Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI)’s relations with Africa declined to a considerable extent during Hassan Rouhani's presidency. Rouhani pursued a foreign policy that showed little interest in the continent and did not consider it a strategic partner. Some scholars argue this policy exclusively resulted from the IRI's regional involvement in Syria and Yemen, as well as its economic difficulties due to US sanctions. Using Rosenau's pre‐theory mode…
Presidential Elections in Iran
Mobilizing and Framing Construction Jihād and Islamic Development in Revolutionary Iran
Based on extensive fieldwork and original research in Iran, this article examines the establishment and evolution of the Islamic Republic's rural reconstruction and development organization, Construction Jihād (CJ), during the Iranian Revolution and the Iran‐Iraq War. By invoking populist and pious concepts, newly ascendant religiopolitical elites facilitated CJ's mobilization and expansion to gain support from rural residents and to consolidate …
Iran‐Africa Relations under Raisi
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi (2021-present) met with his counterpart from Mozambique, Filipe Nyusi.During the meeting, Raisi expressed his readiness to expand economic and trade cooperation with Mozambique and other African countries, as well as to provide them with greater technology transfer and technical knowledge.Raisi claimed that the Islamic Republic "always had good relations with African countries," and acknowledged their economic pote…
The Security-Development Nexus and the Jina Mahsa Amini Protests in Iran's Border Provinces
Even before the 1979 Iranian Revolution, Iran's border provinces, which contain Arabs, Azeri Turks, Baluch, Kurds, and Turkmen, were marginalized and securitized by the state. These processes and outcomes have created a vicious cycle and self-fulfilling prophecy within the context of the so-called security-development nexus. Iran's peripheral provinces border Iraq and Turkey in the west and Afghanistan and Pakistan in the east. They are located f…
A political economy analysis of changes and continuities in Iran–Africa trade relations
This paper provides a political economy analysis of the bilateral trade relations and patterns of exchange that existed between Iran and Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) from 1962 to 2021. The paper contributes to the growing literature on Iran–Africa relations by empirically delineating not just the changes, but also the continuities between Iran and its African trading partners before and after the Iranian Revolution. It also adds nuance to the broader…
Khomeini Meets Bolivar
Iran
Analyzing Iran's Border Provinces Through the Framework of the Security‐Development Nexus and the Woman, Life, Freedom Protests
Building on previous scholarship (Elling 2013, Dudoignon, 2017, Lob & Habibi, 2019), this paper argues that the state's historical marginalization and securitization of the ethnic‐minority border provinces, coupled with their economic underdevelopment and sociopolitical discrimination, have correlated with political violence and popular protest—which, in turn, have led to greater state repression. Methodologically, this paper is based on a datase…
Explaining Saudi Arabia's Inaction During the Gaza War
Why did Saudi Arabia not take direct action against US support for Israel in the Gaza war, given the enormous destruction and loss of life? In 1973, when Washington similarly backed the Israeli effort against Arab states, the kingdom and other regional countries raised the price of petroleum through an embargo and production cuts, sparking an oil crisis in the West. But the recent period has featured no analogous attempts to influence Washington.…
Political science (15 works) · Politics (15 works) · Law (13 works) · Law (11 works) · Sociology (11 works) · Political economy (10 works) · Islamic Studies and History (8 works) · Islam (7 works) · Middle East and Rwanda Conflicts (7 works) · Geography (6 works)