Leaders in the Middle East and North Africa

Organised by

• Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies
• GGP: Global Governance Programme

The study of politics in the MENA region has traditionally been dominated by historical and case study approaches. This lecture will instead adopt a social science-based methodology to reconsider the dynamics of power and leadership in Africa and the Middle East. By analysing the psychological profiles of fourteen leaders across eight countries and three non-state organisations, Özgür Özdamar will develop a nuanced portrait of modern leadership. In their new book using this approach, the authors, Özgür Özdamar and Sercan Canbolat, draw connections between apparently disparate political ideologies, from Sunni Islamism to Shia revolutionism, from secular nationalism and armed non-state groups. Demonstrating the previously unacknowledged commonalities and divergences in these leaders' approaches, the lectures aims to illuminate their tactics and strategies and offer novel insights into how best to negotiate with them.