Fair's journalistic sources have been questioned for their credibility
and she has been accused of having a
conflict of interest
A conflict of interest (COI) is a situation in which a person or organization is involved in multiple interests, financial or otherwise, and serving one interest could involve working against another. Typically, this relates to situations i ...
due to her past work with U.S. government think tanks, as well as the
CIA
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian intelligence agency, foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gat ...
.
In 2011 and 2012, she received funding from the
U.S. embassy in Islamabad to conduct a survey on public opinion concerning militancy. However, Fair states most of the grants went to a survey firm and that it had no influence on her research.
Pakistani media
Mass media in Pakistan ( ur, ) provides information on television, radio, cinema, newspapers, and magazines in Pakistan. Pakistan has a vibrant media landscape; among the most dynamic in South Asia and world. Majority of media in Pakistan is pr ...
analysts have dismissed Fair's views as hawkish rhetoric, riddled with factual inaccuracies, lack of objectivity, and being selectively biased.
She has also been rebuked for comments on social media perceived as provocative, such as suggesting burning down Pakistan's embassy in Afghanistan or asking India to "squash Pakistan militarily, diplomatically, politically and economically." She has been accused of double standards, partisanship towards
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
, and has been criticized for her contacts with dissident leaders from
Balochistan
Balochistan ( ; bal, بلۏچستان; also romanised as Baluchistan and Baluchestan) is a historical region in Western and South Asia, located in the Iranian plateau's far southeast and bordering the Indian Plate and the Arabian Sea coastline. ...
, a link which they claim "raises serious questions if her interest in Pakistan is merely academic."
Personal controversies
In January 2017, Fair was involved in a
Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
dispute with
Asra Q. Nomani. In response to Nomani's tweet that as a
Muslim
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
, she voted for
President Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
, Fair tweeted that she had "written
omani
Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of t ...
off as a human being" and that Nomani had "pimped herself out to all media outlets." Nomani responded by filing a complaint with Georgetown University, Fair's employer, alleging discrimination and harassment.
In May 2017, Fair began an altercation with white nationalist
Richard B. Spencer
Richard Bertrand Spencer (born May 1978) is an American neo-Nazi, antisemitic conspiracy theorist, and white supremacist. A former editor, he is a public speaker and activist on behalf of the alt-right movement. He advocates for the r ...
at a gym in
Alexandria, Virginia
Alexandria is an independent city (United States), independent city in the northern region of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of Downto ...
. While the two were working out, Fair approached Spencer and accused him of being a
Nazi
Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...
, along with a number of other accusations, leading a third gym patron to intervene on behalf of him. This incident resulted in Spencer's membership being terminated by the manager of the gym.
In January 2018, Fair was involved in an incident at
Frankfurt Airport
Frankfurt Airport (; german: link=no, Flughafen Frankfurt Main , also known as ''Rhein-Main-Flughafen'') is a major international airport located in Frankfurt, the fifth-largest city of Germany and one of the world's leading financial centres ...
. When her bag was flagged for possibly containing explosives, it was searched and
German Federal Police
The Federal Police (''Bundespolizei'' or BPOL) is the national and principal federal law enforcement agency of the German Federal Government, being subordinate to the Federal Ministry of the Interior, Building and Community (''Bundesministerium ...
instructed Fair that she would have to dispose of a liquid
deodorant
A deodorant is a substance applied to the body to prevent or mask body odor due to bacterial breakdown of perspiration or vaginal secretions, for example in the armpits, groin, or feet. A subclass of deodorants, called antiperspirants, prevents s ...
or transfer it to her checked bag. German police stated that Fair was uncooperative, as she accused them of sexism and of being Nazis and thugs, and directed expletives at them. Fair was charged with slander under Germany's
defamation
Defamation is the act of communicating to a third party false statements about a person, place or thing that results in damage to its reputation. It can be spoken (slander) or written (libel). It constitutes a tort or a crime. The legal defini ...
law. She subsequently published an article on ''
HuffPost
''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...
'' partially rejecting the police account of the incident.
In the midst of the
Brett Kavanaugh Supreme Court nomination hearings in September 2018, Fair tweeted that
Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
members of the
Senate Judiciary Committee
The United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, informally the Senate Judiciary Committee, is a standing committee of 22 U.S. senators whose role is to oversee the Department of Justice (DOJ), consider executive and judicial nominations, a ...
were "entitled white men justifying a serial rapists' arrogated entitlement" and that they "deserve miserable deaths while
feminists
Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male poi ...
laugh as they take their last gasps." She made additional comments expressing support for post-mortem
castration
Castration is any action, surgical, chemical, or otherwise, by which an individual loses use of the testicles: the male gonad. Surgical castration is bilateral orchiectomy (excision of both testicles), while chemical castration uses pharmaceut ...
and corpse desecration of the senators. At least one student expressed the fear that Fair's comments would cause students who hold opposing views to feel threatened. Georgetown University responded by saying that her expressions did not violate the university's policies. The university later responded by moving up her scheduled international research leave.
Fair has accused the historian
Dipesh Chakrabarty
Dipesh Chakrabarty (born 1948, in Kolkata, India) is an Indian historian, who has also made contributions to postcolonial theory and subaltern studies. He is the Lawrence A. Kimpton Distinguished Service Professor in history at the University ...
of sexual harassment.
Fair also charged historian Rochona Majumder for sexual exploitation and plagiarism. Upon being sued and subsequent defeat in the lawsuit; Fair issued an unconditional public apology for the vilification and retracted her malafide statements issued in this regard.
Works
; Books
* ''Cuisines of the Axis of Evil and Other Irritating States: A Dinner Party Approach to International Relations'' (The Lyons Press, 2008). .
* ''Fighting to the End: The Pakistan Army's Way of War'' (Oxford University Press, 2014). .
* ''In Their Own Words: Understanding Lashkar-e-Tayyaba'' (Oxford University Press, 2019).
; Edited collections
* ''Treading on Hallowed Ground: Counterinsurgency Operations in Sacred Spaces'' (with
Sumit Ganguly, Oxford University Press, 2008). .
* ''Islam and Governance in Bangladesh'' (with Ali Riaz, Routledge, 2010). .
* ''Pakistan in National and Regional Change: State and Society in Flux'' (with Shaun Gregory, Routledge, 2013). .
; Research reports
* ''Limited Conflicts Under the Nuclear Umbrella: Indian and Pakistani Lessons from the Kargil Crisis'' (with Ashley J. Tellis and Jamison Jo Medby, RAND, 2002). .
* ''The Counterterror Coalitions: Cooperation with Pakistan and India'' (RAND, 2004). .
* ''Urban Battle Fields of South Asia: Lessons Learned from Sri Lanka, India, and Pakistan'' (RAND, 2005). .
* ''Fortifying Pakistan: The Role of U.S. Internal Security Assistance'' (with Peter Chalk, US Institute of Peace Press, 2006). .
* ''The Madrassah Challenge: Militancy and Religious Education in Pakistan'' (US Institute of Peace Press, 2008). .
* ''Counterinsurgency in Pakistan'' (with Seth G. Jones, RAND 2010). .
References
External links
Personal web pageGeorgetown UniversityCarnegie Endowment for International PeaceAfter bin Laden, Still No Choice for U.S. with Pakistan Q&A with C. Christine Fair about U.S.–Pakistan relations (May 2011)
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fair, C. Christine
1969 births
Living people
American women political scientists
American political scientists
Walsh School of Foreign Service faculty
American scholars of Pakistan studies
Writers about Pakistan
American political writers
Women political writers
21st-century American women writers
American cookbook writers
Women cookbook writers
American women non-fiction writers
21st-century American non-fiction writers
American women academics