Credentials / Resume

Director
Global Research Institute 2015 – to date

Senior Scholar
Josef Korbel School of International Studies, University of Denver 2010 – 2015

Executive Director
Institute for the Study of Israel in the Middle East (ISIME) Josef Korbel School of International Studies, University of Denver 2001 – 2010

Professor
Josef Korbel School of International Studies, University of Denver 2001-2015

Education
Post Doctorate, University of Columbia, 1997
Ph.D. Sociology, Columbia University, 1995
M.A. Philosophy, Columbia University, 1994
M.A. Sociology and Anthropology, Tel-Aviv University, 1990
B.A. Political Science and Economics, Bar-Ilan University, 1986

Visiting Professor
University of Illinois at Chicago, 1997

Visiting Scholar
Graduate School of Business, University of Chicago, 1993
Department of Sociology, University of Chicago, 1993

Executive Administration
Executive Director: Institute for the Study of Israel in the Middle East
Josef Korbel School of International Studies, University of Denver 2001-to date

Media Analyst
World Affairs Expert: Fox31, Colorado
World Affairs Expert: CBS4, Colorado
Middle East Expert: News4, Colorado

Professional Experience

Professor, Korbel School of International Studies, University of Denver, 2001 – 2015

Director:
Global Research Institute, 2015 to date

Institute for the Study of Israel in the Middle East, Josef Korbel School of International Studies, University of Denver, 2001 – 2010

Senior Scholar, University of Denver, 2010 – 2015
Middle East Affairs Expert: 9News NBC Denver Affiliate, 2008 – 2013
World Affairs Expert: Fox31, Colorado, 2006
World Affairs Expert: CBS4 Colorado, 2002-2004

Taught following courses at:

  • Josef Korbel School of International Studies, Denver University,
  • Columbia University, University of Illinois, Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, Tel Aviv University, Tel-Aviv College, Tadmor College, Metropolitan State College, Metro State University:
  • Middle East Politics
  • Democratization in the Middle East and the Muslim World
  • Middle East, Terrorism, and Homeland Security
  • Social Networks in Iraq
  • The Arab/Israeli Conflict
  • Politics among the Nations
  • The Role of NGO’s in Conflict Resolution
  • Social Capital and Social Networks
  • News of the World
  • Beyond the Sound bites
  • Organizational Structures and Processes
  • Organizational Intervention
  • Research Methods
  • Introduction to Sociology
  • The Strategy of Peace Making – Contemporary Trends in Israeli-Palestinian Peace Process
  • Evaluation of Evidence
  • Research Methods
  • Institutional and Social structure of Israel

Presentations at Peer-Reviewed Scientific Conferences:

“A Social Network Approach for Explaining Challenges of Implementing Democracy in the Muslim World: The Case of Mauritania”, 6th International Conference on Social Science & Humanities.

“Political and Terror Networks in Somalia – a Forensic Social Network Approach for Explaining consistent Unrest”.
International Conference on Forensic Research And Technology.

“Iran and the West: Building Trust Through Social Engineering”.
6th International Virtual Conference, Qazvin, Iran.

“Bullets and Ballots – Terrorist Networks and the Challenge of Democratization – A Comparative Study of the Middle East and Africa.
Hawaii Conference on Social Science.

“Honor Killing in the Middle East and in the Muslim-World and Forensic Sociology: Family Narratives from Malaysia, Morocco, Jordan, Iran Egypt, Turkey, and Pakistan”.
International Conference on Forensic Research and Technology, San Antonio, Texas.

“State Borders vs. Cultural Historical and Religious Social Networks: The Case of the Turkish Kurds”.
Western Social Science Conference, New Mexico.

“Honor Killing in the Muslim World – from Social Capital to Social Liability.
Hawaii Conference on Social Science.

“Muslims in Predominantly Christian Societies: A Comparative Study of Germany, The Netherlands, and Russia”.
American Association of Behavioral and Social Sciences, Las Vegas.

“The Arab Spring” in Egypt, Tunisia and Yemen and the Potential Muslim Spring.”
“A Social Networks analysis of the Middle East and its effect on the Muslim world – countries such as Iran Pakistan and Afghanistan”.
Hawaii Conference on Social Science.

“Religiously Motivated Violence in North and West Africa (e.g., Egypt and Nigeria): A Forensic Sociology Perspective.”
International Conference on Forensic Research and Technology, Las Vegas.

“What does the Past Tell us About the Future of Syria and Egypt: A social Structural Approach”.
Hawaii Conference on Social Science.

“The Changing Social Structure in Bangladesh – Minorities within Minorities”.
Hawaii Conference on Social Science.

“Current Social Changes and the Effect of the Islamist Government in Contemporary Egypt, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates – Law or Social Networks?”.
Hawaii Conference on Social Science.

“Socio-Political Forces for the Understating of Current Changes in Afghanistan and their Effect on Internal Islamic Conservatism”.
Hawaii Conference on Social Science.

“Contemporary Pakistan: Social challenges and the Rise of Talibanism”.
Western Social Science Annual Conference.

“Gays from the Muslim World and Immigration to the United States.”
Hawaii Conference on Social Science.

“Networks of Terror: Lebanon”
Western Social Science Association Annual Conference.

“Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and immigration to the United States”.
Western Social Science Association Annual Conference.

“Are Strong Ties Indeed Strong: The case of Family Norms in Afghanistan and Pakistan”.
Midwest Political Science Association Annual Meeting.

“Christians in Predominantly Muslim Societies: A Comparative Study of Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Sri Lanka and Egypt”.
Hawaii Conference on Social Science.

“Muslim Norms and U.S. Asylum:  The Case of Immigrants from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Iran”.
Hawaii Conference on Social Science.

“Honor Killing in Muslim Societies and their Effect on Immigration to the U.S.”.
“A Network Approach using the Cases of Egypt, Tunisia, Yemen and Gulf States”.
Hawaii Conference on Social Science.

“Saudi Arabia Between Islamism and Arabism”.
AIS Annual Conference.

“The Israeli/Palestinian Conflict and the Path to Peace: The Role of Religious Leadership”.
Iliff Religious Leadership Conference, Denver.

“The Paradigmatic Clash: Rationality and Ideology in the Israeli – Palestinian Conflict”.
Association for Israel Studies Annual Meeting, Tucson, Arizona.

“Rationality and Ideology: A paradigmatic analysis of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict”.
Hawaii Conference on Social Science.

“The War in Iraq and the Internal Social Ramifications for the Middle East”.
International Symposium on the Middle East, China.

“Social Capital and Conflict Resolution – the case of the Middle East”.
International Conference on Middle East Issues, Havana, Cuba.

“Social Capital in the Middle East Conflict.”
Association for Israel Studies Annual Conference, Vail, Colorado.

“Networks of Terrorism”.
Canadian Centre for Foreign Policy Development
Roundtables on New Directions in U.S. foreign policy, Denver, Colorado.

Professional Associations

  • American Political Science Association (APSA)
  • Middle East Studies Association (MESA)
  • International Political Science Association (IPSA)
  • American Sociological Association (ASA)
  • Association for Israel Studies (AIS)
  • International Network for Social Network Analysis (INSNA)