An expert on Middle East politics

Monarchical authoritarianism: survival and political liberalization in a middle eastern regime type

Arab Muslim attitudes toward the West: Cultural, social, and political explanations

Determinants of Arab public opinion on foreign relations

Jordan: the death of normalization with Israel

Deliberalization in Jordan

Explains how the Jordanian monarchy has survived economic crisis and regional political instability.Weaving together accounts of historical developments, cultural elements, economic factors, and regional and international dynamics, Russell E. Lucas explores how the monarchy in Jordan survived economic crisis and regional political instability during the 1990s. Lucas analyzes the factors behind the successful liberalization and deliberalization of laws regulating political parties, the parliament, and the press that helped preserve the monarchy. These institutional survival strategies co-opted the opposition, kept it divided, and reinforced the unity of the regime’s coalition of supporters. The author also compares survival strategies in Jordan with those of Morocco, Kuwait, Iran, and Egypt to explain the surprising durability of authoritarian regimes in the Middle East.Russell E. Lucas is Assistant Professor of Political Science and International and Area Studies at the University of Oklahoma at Norman.

Institutions and the Politics of Survival in Jordan: Domestic Responses to External Challenges, 1988-2001 (SUNY series in Middle Eastern Studies)

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Russell Lucas is a Professor of International Relations and Global Studies at Michigan State University. Dr. Lucas teaches classes on the politics and culture of the Middle East, as well as theories of global studies.  His research specializes on Middle Eastern politics and culture with attention to foreign policy, public opinion, political institutions, and the media.  His book, Institutions and the Politics of Survival in Jordan: Domestic Responses to External Challenges, 1988-2001 was published by SUNY Press.  He has also published articles in a range of journals, including Journal of Democracy, International Studies Quarterly, International Journal of Middle East Studies, Journal of Arabian Studies, International Interactions, Journal of Middle East Culture and Communication, and the Middle East Journal.  His current research focuses on conceptions of public opinion in the Arab World and on the politics of Arab monarchies.  He has previously served as the Director of the Global Studies in the Arts and Humanities program in the College of Arts and Letters.  He has previously taught at Florida International University and at the University of Oklahoma.

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Faculty Conversations: Russell Lucas

The Hamas terror group said Wednesday that it has reached a cease-fire agreement with Israel, after the Jewish state carried out air strikes in retaliation for rocket fire attacks from Gaza.

Hamas claims cease-fire reached after Israeli airstrikes; Israel denies it

The Hamas terror group said today that it has reached a cease-fire agreement with Israel, after it carried out air strikes in retaliation for rocket fire attacks from Gaza. 

Israel is denying such claims - another reason Israel's methods should be questioned, says Yael Aronoff, director of Michigan State University's Jewish Studies Program and the Serling Chair in Israel Studies.

"All countries have a right to protect their borders and illegal entry at their borders, especially when some are from Hamas, which still formally calls for Israel's destruction. Yet, the number of Palestinians killed calls into question the methods used by Israel. Israel contends that many of the people at the border are not peaceful and that it first uses non-lethal measures and only uses lethal measures as a last resort to protect the border. Israel also contends that it is criticized when non-militants are killed, but that Palestinians intentionally fire from smoky areas, which makes it more difficult for them to distinguish civilians from non-civilians. Palestinians claim that Israel should not be using lethal force, and that civilians are also being killed. However, some in the Palestinian Authority have also criticized Hamas for encouraging civilians, and even children, to come close to the border and try to cross it.”
 

Gaza clashes: Israel's methods should be questioned

gaza-clashes-israels-methods-should-be-questioned

Professor of International Relations and Global Studies

The Hamas terror group said today that it has reached a cease-fire agreement with Israel, after it carried out air strikes in retaliation for rocket fire attacks from Gaza. 

Israel is denying such claims - another reason Israel's methods should be questioned, says Yael Aronoff, director of Michigan State University's Jewish Studies Program and the Serling Chair in Israel Studies.

"All countries have a right to protect their borders and illegal entry at their borders, especially when some are from Hamas, which still formally calls for Israel's destruction. Yet, the number of Palestinians killed calls into question the methods used by Israel. Israel contends that many of the people at the border are not peaceful and that it first uses non-lethal measures and only uses lethal measures as a last resort to protect the border. Israel also contends that it is criticized when non-militants are killed, but that Palestinians intentionally fire from smoky areas, which makes it more difficult for them to distinguish civilians from non-civilians. Palestinians claim that Israel should not be using lethal force, and that civilians are also being killed. However, some in the Palestinian Authority have also criticized Hamas for encouraging civilians, and even children, to come close to the border and try to cross it.”
 

Source:  

Russell Lucas, director of the Global Studies in the Arts and Humanities Program, talks about the development he sees in his students' global perspectives.

To read more, go to http://msutoday.msu.edu/news/2013/faculty-conversations-russell-lucas/

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