Curtis Ryan

"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."

“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...

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...

Thrilled to publish this exceptional collection on Syria a year after Assad

pomeps.org/pomeps-studi...

A great opportunity for Middle East scholars looking to workshop their first book.

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...

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...

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!

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.

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 Figures from classified IDF database listed 8,900 named fighters as dead or probably dead in May, as overall death toll reached 53,000

Revealed: Israeli military’s own data indicates civilian death rate of 83% in Gaza war www.theguardian.com/world/ng-int...

The destruction of #Gaza by Israel continues, with nearly 200.000 structures damaged or destroyed, according to the latest @UNOSAT / @UNHABITAT analysis. With over 60 million tons of rubble, and most of the agricultural land gone, Gaza is made unhabitable

unhabitat.org/sites/defaul...

Episode 6: The MERIP Roundtable, "On Recognition" | The MERIP Podcast Listen to Episode 6: The MERIP Roundtable, "On Recognition" from The MERIP Podcast. The MERIP Roundtable is a new format for the MERIP podcast featuring conversation on urgent issues in the Middle…

NEW PODCAST: The MERIP Roundtable "On Recognition"

@jdryan08.bsky.social is joined by EdCommers @lisahajjar.bsky.social, @seanyom.bsky.social, and Jacob Mundy to discuss genocide recognition by Israeli figures and institutions, and UK/Canada recognition for a Palestinian state.

buff.ly/IZuBpDI

Normalizing Gaza's genocide And other big questions about the direction of Middle Eastern politics. Thank you so much for subscribing to Abu Aardvark's Ghost and the MENA Academy (sounds like a killer indy band, right?). Moving...

Everyone now agrees that Gaza is at least close to genocide, but instead of acting to stop it the US and too many others are normalizing it. My new piece asks what that means for Gaza, Israel, regional order… and IR theory.

abuaardvarkghost.ghost.io/normalizing-...

Syria at the Crossroads: Unpacking Sectarianism and the Crisis in Suweida - MERIP Join MERIP and Spectre Journal in the third installment of our Syria at the Crossroads conversation series. This conversation will center on the recent sectarian clashes in Suweida and further […]

TODAY 1PM EST: Syria at the Crossroads: Unpacking Sectarianism and the Crisis in Suweida

w/ Sara Ajlyakin, Sana Mustafa and Yasser Munif

Co-sponsored by MERIP and @journalspectre.bsky.social

The Ghost of Abu Aardvark Middle East Politics and the Academy

The start of a new semester is the perfect time to become a core supporter of Abu Aardvark’s Ghost and the MENA Academy. For the next three weeks I’m offering 25% off annual subscriptions - please consider joining up and helping me to keep the blog going!

abuaardvarkghost.ghost.io/new-semester...

‘Can you tell us how he died?’: Mohamed Salah criticises Uefa over tribute to ‘Palestinian Pelé’ Footballer Suleiman al-Obeid was killed in an Israeli attack in southern Gaza last week, according to Palestine Football Association

‘Can you tell us how he died?’: Mohamed Salah criticises UEFA over tribute to ‘Palestinian Pelé’

www.theguardian.com/football/202...

Better read this by @byjordangreen.bsky.social about "a strain of white power violence known as “militant accelerationism.” Its adherents promote a militant vanguard committed to terrorism and insurrection as a means of bringing about a white ethno-state."

The newest issue of Middle East Report is now out: New Gender Frontlines. Open access and available here:

Coming up soon: Today's launch event for the Gender Frontlines issue of Middle East Report. Details:

Thanks to you both :)

Yep, Trump got rolled An incompetent administration leaps without looking into a new phase of regional war There was a brief moment last week when it looked like Donald Trump had come to his senses. After signaling that h...

“Both Israel and the US will almost certainly come to rue their embrace of might makes right as they reach the limits of their military capabilities and find themselves alone in a world without allies or sympathy.” New piece just dropped.

abuaardvarkghost.ghost.io/yep-trump-go...

Iranian parliament moves to close Strait of Hormuz after US aggression: Lawmaker In a decisive response to the US aggression against Iran

The Iranian parliament has voted to close the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz in the wake of US attacks, presaging major spikes in oil prices and disruptions to global energy security.

Erdogan vows to boost Turkey's missile production as Israel-Iran war escalates Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says Turkey will strengthen its deterrence capabilities so that no country would dare attack it.

Erdogan announced plans this week to step up Turkey’s missile production. Some see it as a sign that the Israel-Iran war could trigger an arms race in the region, with countries aiming to build deterrence and preempt future conflicts

Via @suzanfraser.bsky.social

apnews.com/article/turk...

"The incident was the latest in nearly daily mass deaths of Palestinians who were seeking aid in past weeks, including near sites operated by the U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation."

"As Israel strikes targets across the Iranian capital...it hits civil-society figures associated with the country’s protest movement alongside officials...Parnia Abbasi, 23, a poet and an English teacher, was killed together with her parents and brother on the first day of the air campaign..."

EXCLUSIVE: American Security Contractor Unloads On US-Israeli ‘Gaza Humanitarian Foundation’ I thought I was signing up for an aid mission. But what I've witnessed in Gaza is horrific.

With even less news coming out of Gaza due to an internet blackout & crowding out effects due to Israel's attack on Iran, it's essential to keep asking where things are, especially amid claims that aid is getting in via the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.

Reporting confirms analysts' worst fears.

Over 200 Israeli strikes in Iran kill 9 IRGC commanders and scientists The head of Iran’s armed forces and IRGC were both killed as Israel said they hit more than 100 sites across the country.

UPDATE: Over 200 Israeli strikes in Iran kill 9 IRGC commanders and nuclear scientists. Details on who they are/replacements www.al-monitor.com/originals/20...

Why did Israel attack Iran now? What is it really trying to achieve... and can it succeed? Last night, Israel launched a major military strike against Iran, killing a number of its senior military commanders and taking shots at key...

Israel’s targeting thus far — and it is very early — looks like it is not just about degrading the nuclear program. It seems to be trying to provoke regime collapse in Iran and put an end to the nuclear talks with the US.

abuaardvarkghost.ghost.io/why-did-isra...

The Imperial Boomerang Lands in Los Angeles As police and the National Guard escalate against anti-ICE protesters, the Department of Homeland Security bridges US violence abroad and US violence at home.

Were Aime Césaire alive to conduct a structural analysis of the advancing militarization of American law enforcement since 9/11, I suspect he would have understood DHS as a template for how Imperial Boomerangs operate in the 21st century.

Me for @zeteo.com on LA, and what led to it.

A more accurate rendition of what is happening in LA if it had happened in any other country