Assistant Prof. in Political Science @Yale. Formerly @MITPoliSci @HarvardWCFIA. Contentious politics in Jordan & Syria. peripatetic product of the garden state.
Joined May 2010
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Pinned Tweet
5 Aug 2025
I wrote a piece for @JoDemocracy on a little-noticed court decision last week to effectively permanently outlaw Jordan’s teacher’s union journalofdemocracy.org/onlin…
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Biff Parker-Magyar retweeted
Excited to share that my recent @AJPS_Editor paper, "Endogenous opposition: Identity and ideology in Kuwaiti electoral politics," received Best Article awards from @APSAtweets 's Democracy & Autocracy and @APSAMENA sections. A link to the article can be found below.
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Pleased that my paper “Paper Pusher or President’s Guard: Contentious Action in Syria’s Revolution” has been conditionally accepted at the Journal of Peace Research
The latest version is online here: osf.io/preprints/osf/9c5vu_v…
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A joy of Syria's transition is publicly thanking by name the talented researchers and old friends who have helped me move it forward: Lina Omran, now doing fascinating PhD research at Krems on migration and violence, and @walid_ALnofal , long one of the best journos on s. Syria.
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This was the first paper I worked on in grad school, buoyed by so much feedback on the way. Its questions are now at the heart of my broader work, largely centered on Jordan and why state workers, especially teachers, so frequently take to the streets. More coming, I hope!
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Biff Parker-Magyar retweeted
Jun 4
This month we're highlighting EGAP work in the #MiddleEast. First up, @FotiniChristia & @Hlarreguy w/ Norhan Muhab & Elizabeth Parker-Magyar test if an intervention boosts respondents’ likelihood to report gender-based violence to supportive organizations. buff.ly/caBNfJ6
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Biff Parker-Magyar retweeted
May 13
The Jordan men’s national team will make its World Cup debut at Levi’s Stadium next month, but you may notice a few empty seats where their fans should be.
The U.S. war against Iran has made it difficult for fans from some countries to get visas despite State Department efforts to prioritize their applications. Story with the Pulitzer Prize-winning @sara_dinatale:
sfchronicle.com/sports/artic…
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I met Motasem Alaiwi a decade ago on a beautiful spring hike in Jordan
He became a prominent influencer: maybe the first Palestinian to attempt Everest
It's joyful and sad to see him released after 9 mo. in administrative detention, never facing a charge
x.com/alaraby_ar/status/2051…
May 5
الاحتلال يفرج عن الرحالة الفلسطيني معتصم عليوي بعد 9 أشهر من الاعتقال الإداري
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hope Motasem can spend more time admiring the beauty in this world, as in this meditation on a tree that was his last post before arrest - instagram.com/p/DKMt6djMZCC/
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RIP to the voice of my childhood, my adulthood, and way too many of the late nights of my PhD dissertation
x.com/Yankees/status/2051437…
May 4
There will never be another John Sterling. His voice and legacy will live on forever 💙
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Biff Parker-Magyar retweeted
Are you an early career scholar? Do you want to be part of the next season of our workshop series and get feedback from experts in the field?
Apply by May 31 here: forms.gle/5SSuuybK3739w1GT7
For more information visit: apsg.work/seminar-rules/
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Biff Parker-Magyar retweeted
Apr 14
A story that demands much more attention: Gaza's ceasefire hasn't brought the surge of aid it promised npr.org/2026/04/13/nx-s1-578…
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Mar 30
RT @docstobar: My friend and colleague Naghmeh Sohrabi has assembled a team of translators (I'm one of them) bringing Iranian perspectives…
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DC think tanks are not actually pro-war, and have been especially critical of this one.
The more pointed critique is that often they peddle a peace-through-strength fantasy that helps weapons companies and frames the debate in ways that can make war more likely.
Americans largely oppose the war on Iran. But the war is very popular among Washington think tanks, who are flush with more than $44 million from weapons companies since 2019 and act as the war’s loudest cheerleaders across major media networks 🧵
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Biff Parker-Magyar retweeted
Mar 17
So war aim one is to repair the damage caused by the decision to go to war in the first place?
Mar 17
A very senior political source outlined Israel's five objectives in this war:
1. To act jointly with the United States to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
2. To permanently deny any future Iranian regime the ability to again close the strait—including through the development of alternative methods.
3. To dismantle Iran's weapons industry, with an emphasis on ballistic missile capabilities—this time targeting not just equipment but the factories that produce it.
4. To complete the destruction of Iran's nuclear program.
5. To create the conditions for regime change.
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