Australia’s best and brightest political studies scholars will descend on Melbourne from September 25 – 27 for the 2017 Australian Political Studies Association (APSA) conference, hosted by Monash University. With more than 200 papers on a program spanning politics, political theory, international relations and area studies, it’s difficult to know where to start!
The MESF team has put together the below guide of panels and papers related to Middle East politics. We are looking forward to seeing many colleagues and meeting new scholars over the course of the week!
Please check the official APSA program to for all final rooms and any changes.
Day 1 – Monday 25 September
Parallel session 2: 13.30 – 15.00
Panel 6: Democratic Theory
Contemporary Shia theories of justice and Western liberal democracy: a comparative political theory approach
Nicholas Pirsoul
Parallel session 3: 15.30 – 17.00
Panel 20: Democratic Transitions 1
Engaging and winning over an international audience: new Kurdish narratives in a troubled
Middle East
William Gourlay
Panel 21: The methods of self-determination movements
Action in Deferral: Making sovereign futures for Western Sahara’s state-in-exile
Randi Irwin
Day 2 – Tuesday 26 September
Parallel session 4: 11.30 – 13.00
Panel 34 – Gender, Peace & Security
A ‘Window of opportunity’? Women’s political participation in post-conflict Iraq
Yasmin Chilmeran
Panel 36 – Political Islam & Political Violence
Hamas, Jihad and Islamic Resistance in Palestine
Tristan Dunning
The Women of Boko Haram: Implementation and Operationalization
James Paterson
Untangling Islamism and Terrorism
Tarek Chamkhi
Panel 39 – Critical Perspectives on Terrorism and Counterterrorism
Violent extremism an effort to achieve legitimacy
Farah Naz
The Tortured Torturers: The Dangers of Using Torture in International Society
Jamal Barnes
“The War on Terror”: Why It is All Your Fault
David Colin Sadler
Panel 40 – Authoritarianism & Transparency
Rule of Law or Law of the Ruler? How 2017 Turkish Constitutional Referendum Challenges the Notion of Public Accountability in Turkey
Fatima Yer
Parallel session 5: 14.00 – 15.30
Panel 44 – New Patterns of Politics & Political Contestation in the Middle East (MESF panel)
The Islamic State attacks on Shia Holy Sites and the “Shrine Protection Narrative”: Heritage as a Mobilization Frame
Benjamin Isakhan
Contestations between Orthodoxies: Governmental Vs. Traditional Shi’ism
Naser Ghobadzadeh
Polling in authoritarian climates: An examination of voter polling in the lead-up to the 2017 Iranian presidential election
Dara Conduit
Erdoğan, the latest chapter in Turkey’s strongmen leaders
Tezcan Gumus
Panel 47 – Identity & Environmental Sources of Conflict
Climate Security and Complex Crises in the Middle East and North Africa
Kumuda Simpson
Parallel session 6: 16.00 – 17.30
Panel 64 – Political Violence, Extremism & Foreign Fighters
Pashtun radicals, identity issues and extremism
Farah Naz
Examining the roles of non-combatant foreign fighters
Samantha Kruber
Day 3 – Wednesday 27 September
Parallel session 7: 9.30 – 11.00
Panel 76 – Comparative Perspectives on Migration and Resettlement
Economic Sanctions and Afghans’ resettlement from Iran
Athar Shafaei
Parallel session 8: 11.30 – 13.00
Panel 81 – Democratic Transitions 2
Somali myths: The democratic experiment in Somalia 2000-2017
Stephanie Carver
Parallel session 9: Time 14:00-15:30
Panel 94 – Climate & Energy Politics 2
Climate Change and Armed Conflict: the Cases of Darfur and Syria
Christopher Odeyemi