Curtis Ryan
@curtisryan.bsky.social
Professor of Political Science, Appalachian State University. IR. Middle East politics. Music fanatic. A bit too obsessed with Jordan and with Arab and Middle East alliances and politics. Section Chair, APSA Middle East and North African Politics section.
The Austria game is now over, but there are still games against Algeria and Argentina for Jordan's Nashama, and this podcast:
The FootPol Podcast@footpolpodcast.bsky.social · 2mo ago⚽ Making their World Cup debut against Austria earlier today, Jordan is one of the tournament's most intriguing stories. Today's FootPol archive revisit sees @curtisryan.bsky.social explain how football reflects Jordan's history, identity, politics and society. www.buzzsprout.com/2253650/epis...
My contribution to the new @pomeps.bsky.social collection: How is Jordan to navigate the current wars and crisis in the Middle East, if many of its main problems come from its alleged "peace partner" and it's largest ally?: pomeps.org/with-friends...
With Friends Like These: Jordanian Security Amidst the US-Israel War on Iran - Project on Middle East Political Science
Curtis R. Ryan, Appalachian State University Even within the context of the “small states” literature in international relations, Jordan might be the consummate small state.[1] It is geographically sm...
pomeps.org
New @POMEPS collection: On how smaller or weaker states navigate the current wars and crisis in the Middle East, especially amidst the volatility of a Trump-led U.S. Based on a great workshop organized by @whazbun.bsky.social pomeps.org/pomeps-studi...
POMEPS Studies 60: Weak States in a Turbulent Middle East - Project on Middle East Political Science
In the context of the current US and Israeli wars on Iran (and Lebanon) and during what appears to be the eclipse of US primacy, we brought together a group of scholars with expertise on the “weak” st...
pomeps.org
The Austria game is now over, but there are still games against Algeria and Argentina for Jordan's Nashama, and this podcast:
The FootPol Podcast@footpolpodcast.bsky.social · 2mo ago⚽ Making their World Cup debut against Austria earlier today, Jordan is one of the tournament's most intriguing stories. Today's FootPol archive revisit sees @curtisryan.bsky.social explain how football reflects Jordan's history, identity, politics and society. www.buzzsprout.com/2253650/epis...
Getting ready for Jordan’s first ever World Cup game? This podcast with someone you know should help: www.buzzsprout.com/2253650/epis...
2026 World Cup Debutants: Jordan's Football Story ft. Curtis Ryan - The FootPol Podcast
A compelling instalment in our in-season series on World Cup debutants, in this episode co-hosts Guy and Francesco talk to Middle East scholar Curtis Ryan of Appalachian State University about Jordan’...
buzzsprout.com
I really enjoyed being a guest on this podcast with Guy Burton and Francesco Bel Castro -- The latest FootPol Podcast featuring Jordan's first World Cup and more:
The FootPol Podcast@footpolpodcast.bsky.social · 4mo agoNew episode in our 2026 World Cup Debutants series now out! Jordan’s historic first qualification. With @curtisryan.bsky.social, we explore football, identity, rivalries and politics shaping the game in that country. Do listen and like, share and subscribe! www.buzzsprout.com/2253650/epis...
New episode in our 2026 World Cup Debutants series now out! Jordan’s historic first qualification. With @curtisryan.bsky.social, we explore football, identity, rivalries and politics shaping the game in that country. Do listen and like, share and subscribe! www.buzzsprout.com/2253650/epis...
“A whole civilization will die tonight” is the most vile thing a US president has ever said, certainly during the post-1945 era when they’ve had the power to kill civilizations with the dropping of a bomb. I’m staring into the darkness. May this not be one of the most fateful days in human history.
Jordan is in an increasingly vulnerable position in the Iran war, but Jordan is also really between two conflicts. I wrote about this here, and on how the allies are a major part of the problem arabcenterdc.org/resource/jor...
Jordanian Security and the US-Israel War on Iran
Eid al-Fitr should be a time of joy, but for Jordanians, and for so many others across the region, this year it was accompanied by air raid sirens, missiles, and drone strikes. For the Hashemite Kingd...
arabcenterdc.org
This is the latest in the @pomeps.bsky.social studies series: IR Theory and the Middle East at War - a great lineup of authors here: pomeps.org/pomeps-studi...
POMEPS Studies 58: IR Theory and the Middle East at War - Project on Middle East Political Science
In December 2025, POMEPS convened a workshop at Aarhus University in Denmark, bringing together scholars to collectively interrogate these questions: what core concepts, theories, or hypotheses in Mid...
pomeps.org
He has a green card, but ICE is continuing a pattern of criminalizing criticism of US foreign policy and eviscerating the First Amendment. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
President of Wisconsin’s largest mosque detained by US immigration agents
Attorneys for Salah Sarsour, a Palestinian-born US green card holder, say he was targeted for criticizing Israel
theguardian.com
Colin Powell told George Bush in the run-up to the Iraq war: "You break it, you own it". Trump's Iran message to allies in Asia and beyond is: "I break it, you own it". Good Evan Feigenbaum on how Trump's war could prove a disaster for US Indo-Pacific ambitions carnegieendowment.org/emissary/202...
In Its Iran War Debate, Washington Has Lost the Plot in Asia
The United States ignores the region’s lived experience—and the tough political and social trade-offs the war has produced—at its peril.
carnegieendowment.org
I wrote here on Jordan’s concerning situation as the US and Israeli war with Iran continues to expand - ‘Jordanian Security and the US-Israel War on Iran’ arabcenterdc.org/resource/jor...
Jordanian Security and the US-Israel War on Iran
Eid al-Fitr should be a time of joy, but for Jordanians, and for so many others across the region, this year it was accompanied by air raid sirens, missiles, and drone strikes. For the Hashemite Kingd...
arabcenterdc.org
Memo on "Israel, the Axis of Resistance, and the End of Deterrence" for the POMEPS Studies 58 (@pomeps.bsky.social) pomeps.org/israel-the-a...
Israel, the Axis of Resistance, and the End of Deterrence - Project on Middle East Political Science
Waleed Hazbun, University of Alabama Until last summer’s twelve-day war, Israel and Iran had avoided direct warfare despite indirect conflict and covert operations spanning nearly half a century. T...
pomeps.org
The “Suez moment” I talk about here abuaardvarkghost.ghost.io/ir-theory-an...
IR Theory and the Middle East at War
The last two and a half years have challenged some of the most enduring assumptions about Middle Eastern order in the field of International Relations of the Middle East. The US-Israeli attack on Iran...
abuaardvarkghost.ghost.io
Ishaan Tharoor@ishaantharoor.bsky.social · 4mo agoMy latest for the @newyorkerunion.bsky.social On Trump's Suez moment, the strategic debacle of the Iran war and a stark illustration of the changing face of American power on the world stage
The Project on Middle East Political Science is pleased to announce POMEPS Studies 58: IR Theory and the Middle East at War. Download the full PDF here: pomeps.org/pomeps-studi...
POMEPS Studies 58: IR Theory and the Middle East at War - Project on Middle East Political Science
In December 2025, POMEPS convened a workshop at Aarhus University in Denmark, bringing together scholars to collectively interrogate these questions: what core concepts, theories, or hypotheses in Mid...
pomeps.org
Foreign ministers from Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Egypt will meet in Islamabad today in an attempt to come up with a plan to de-escalate the Iran war, after another group got involved in the expanding conflict: Yemen's Houthi rebels. n.pr/4bGtmic
Pakistan hosts diplomatic discussions on ending war
Foreign ministers from Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Egypt will meet in Islamabad today in an attempt to come up with a plan to de-escalate the Iran war, after another group got involved in the expanding conflict: Yemen's Houthi rebels.
n.pr
I wrote here on Jordan’s concerning situation as the US and Israeli war with Iran continues to expand - ‘Jordanian Security and the US-Israel War on Iran’ arabcenterdc.org/resource/jor...
Jordanian Security and the US-Israel War on Iran
Eid al-Fitr should be a time of joy, but for Jordanians, and for so many others across the region, this year it was accompanied by air raid sirens, missiles, and drone strikes. For the Hashemite Kingd...
arabcenterdc.org
"I think responses [that ask only for the Administration to 'explain itself'] are pathetic. This isn’t a mystery that needs to be solved. This is not the case of the missing casus belli."
Isaac Chotiner@ichotiner.bsky.social · 5mo agoNew Interview: www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a...
“Much more likely is a short to medium-length campaign to degrade the capabilities of the IRGC and the paramilitary Basij force in order to reduce the repressive capacity of the Iranian state... That wouldn’t be as easy in reality as it is on social media.” abuaardvarkghost.ghost.io/eternal-suns...
Eternal Sunshine of the Bomb Iran Mind
All signs point to an imminent American bombing attack on Iran, ostensibly in support of protestors challenging the regime. Such a military intervention in search of regime change has long been a fant...
abuaardvarkghost.ghost.io
Abu Aardvark@abuaardvark.bsky.social · 5mo agoI already covered why this won’t work more than a month ago foreignpolicy.com/2026/01/14/a...
Thrilled to publish this exceptional collection on Syria a year after Assad pomeps.org/pomeps-studi...
POMEPS Studies 57: Syria After Assad - Project on Middle East Political Science
Many developments during the past year have given rise to a host of crucial questions about the future of Syria and the Syrian people. To explore them, the Project on Middle East Political Science (PO...
pomeps.org
A great opportunity for Middle East scholars looking to workshop their first book.
Apply now for the Spring 2026 POMEPS Virtual Research Workshops! The deadline to apply is October 15, 2025. For more information on how to apply, visit: pomeps.org/call-for-app...
Call for Applications: Spring 2026 Virtual Research Workshops - Project on Middle East Political Science
The POMEPS Spring Virtual Research Workshop convenes online discussions of groups of three thematically linked journal article-length papers focusing on topics/cases in the MENA region. To provide fee...
pomeps.org
Today is the last day to vote in Apsa Mena officer elections. Please vote if you haven’t already. And if you have, thanks for voting!
APSA MENA Politics Section@apsamena.bsky.social · 12mo agoSection members - Reminder about our elections! Only a few days left to get your vote in. You should have received an email (hint: search for 'Survey Research' in your inbox), or you can find the ballot on @apsa.bsky.social Connect. Get your votes in for your new elected representatives! #menasky
Section members - Reminder about our elections! Only a few days left to get your vote in. You should have received an email (hint: search for 'Survey Research' in your inbox), or you can find the ballot on @apsa.bsky.social Connect. Get your votes in for your new elected representatives! #menasky
Dear colleagues in the APSA MENA section: We have one more week of online voting for 3 executive committee positions: chair, treasurer, and at-large member. Pls see the link in your email from APSA and please vote!
Famine confirmed for first time in Gaza FAO, UNICEF, WFP & WHO reiterate call for immediate ceasefire & unhindered humanitarian access to curb deaths from hunger & malnutrition.
Revealed: Israeli military’s own data indicates civilian death rate of 83% in Gaza war www.theguardian.com/world/ng-int...
Revealed: Israeli military’s own data indicates civilian death rate of 83% in Gaza war
Figures from classified IDF database listed 8,900 named fighters as dead or probably dead in May, as overall death toll reached 53,000
theguardian.com
