Joshua A. Stacher (born 1975) is an American political scientist and scholar of Middle East politics, authoritarianism, and social movements.

Background and education

Joshua Stacher received his undergraduate degree at Washington and Jefferson College in 1998, having majored in History and English. He subsequently studied comparative politics and Middle Eastern Islamist movements at The American University in Cairo, there receiving his master's in Political Science in 2002. In 2007 Stacher received his doctorate from the University of St. Andrews School of International Relations. His thesis was entitled “Adapting Authoritarianism: Institutions and Co-optation in Egypt and Syria”. He subsequently served as Post-Doctoral Fellow at the

Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs The Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs (Maxwell School) is the professional public policy school of Syracuse University, a private research university in Syracuse, New York. The school is organized in 11 academic departments and 13 ...

, in

Syracuse New York Syracuse ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States. It is the fifth-most populous city in the state of New York following New York City, Buffalo, Yonkers, and Rochester. At the 2020 census, the city' ...

. In 2008 Stacher became Associate Professor of Political Science at Kent State University, Ohio. Stacher speaks Arabic ( Modern Standard, as well as

Egyptian Egyptian describes something of, from, or related to Egypt. Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to: Nations and ethnic groups * Egyptians, a national group in North Africa ** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of years of ...

and Syrian dialects) at the advanced to fluent level.

Published research

Stacher's

peer-reviewed Peer review is the evaluation of work by one or more people with similar competencies as the producers of the work (peers). It functions as a form of self-regulation by qualified members of a profession within the relevant field. Peer review ...

literature focuses on Egyptian politics and the relationship between authoritarianism, opposition parties and social movements, and political culture. Stacher has taken issue with the idea that deep-seated

cultural Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human Society, societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, and habits of the ...

or historical factors give Egyptians an inherently anti-democratic political culture. Instead he has attempted to show that Egypt's political culture is characterized by public apathy caused by the authoritarian nature of the state. Stacher has illustrated various ways in with the Egyptian government has acted to repress or frustrate opposition parties in order to retain power, while nominally allowing electoral choice. Stacher is currently at work on a book "that compares

institutions Institutions are humanly devised structures of rules and norms that shape and constrain individual behavior. All definitions of institutions generally entail that there is a level of persistence and continuity. Laws, rules, social conventions a ...

and

co-optation Co-option (also co-optation, sometimes spelt coöption or coöptation) has two common meanings. It may refer to the process of adding members to an elite group at the discretion of members of the body, usually to manage opposition and so maintai ...

to explain authoritarian durability in Egypt and Syria".

Public views

The Arabist

In 2005 Stacher was a frequent contributor to the Middle Eastern politics blog ''The Arabist'', publishing over a hundred articles.

Muslim Brotherhood

In March 2007 Stacher, along with Professor Samer Shehata, wrote an op-ed that was published in the Boston Globe entitled "Hear out the

Muslim Brotherhood The Society of the Muslim Brothers ( ar, جماعة الإخوان المسلمين'' ''), better known as the Muslim Brotherhood ( ', is a transnational Sunni Islamist organization founded in Egypt by Islamic scholar and schoolteacher Hassan ...

" which criticized the United States government for refusing to deal with the organization. They argued that the group was "the most popular and organized political movement in Egypt" and that it had "demonstrated a commitment to working peacefully ... despite years of repression". As the oldest and most important Islamist group in the Middle East, an engagement with the Brotherhood would demonstrate a willingness on the part of the United States to talk to moderate Islamist groups, and signify a genuine commitment to "promoting democracy - not just to supporting those who are friendly to U.S. interests".

References

External links

Joshua Stacher at Kent State UniversityInterview on The Arabist podcast
Focuses on the rise of Gamal Mubarak and the ongoing succession of power within Egypt's National Democratic Party. {{DEFAULTSORT:Stacher, Joshua American political scientists Kent State University faculty Alumni of the University of St Andrews Washington & Jefferson College alumni 1975 births Living people