Augustus Richard Norton
Professor Emeritus of International Relations and Anthropology, BU Pardee School of Global Studies College of Arts & Sciences at Boston University
Schools
- Boston University
Links
Biography
Boston University
Augustus Richard Norton is a faculty member emeritus of both International Relations and Anthropology. He is also a Visiting Professor in Politics of the Middle East at the University of Oxford and a Fellow at the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies. His research experience in the Middle East spans nearly three decades, including residences in Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait and Lebanon. His current research interests include inter-sectarian relations in the Middle East, reformist Muslim thought, and strategies of political reform and opposition in authoritarian states. In the 1990s he headed a widely-cited three-year project funded by the Ford Foundation that examined state-society relations in the Middle East and the question of civil society in the region. It is indicative of his interests that many of his courses are often cross-listed with the departments of Anthropology and Political Science. He has held academic appointments at New York University and the United States Military Academy. In 2006 he was an adviser to the Iraq Study Group (Baker-Hamilton Commission). He is a member of the Boston Study Group on Middle East Peace. In 2010, the Foreign Policy Association published the Study Group’s Israel and Palestine – Two States for Two Peoples: If Not Now, When?
Norton’s books include Hezbollah: A Short History, the two volume collection Civil Society in the Middle East, Amal and the Shi’a: Struggle for the Soul of Lebanon, The International Relations of the PLO (senior editor), Political Tides in the Arab World (co-author), UN Peacekeepers (co-author), and Security in the Middle East: New Perspectives (in Arabic). His recent articles have appeared in C_urrent History, Foreign Policy, International Spectator, Journal of Palestine Studies, Middle East Journal, The Nation_, and in leading newspapers. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the Middle East Studies Association, the American Anthropological Association, and the American Political Science Association. He is a co-founder of the Boston Forum on the Middle East and the Conference Group on the Middle East.
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Cases
Francis faces political, religious land mines on Egypt trip
April 26, 2017
National Catholic Reporter Augustus Richard Norton, College of Arts and Sciences, Padree School of Global Studies As Pope Francis prepares for a two-day visit to Egypt at the end of this week, experts on the country say he will face a series of difficult choices while he’s there… Expert quote: “Augustus Richard Norton, who has […]
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Moral Failure In The Response To The Syrian Conflict
December 19, 2016
WBUR Richard Norton, Pardee School/College of Arts & Sciences Full audio recording
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The Shah of Iran, the Islamic Revolution and the Mystery of the Missing Imam
January 14, 2016
New York Times (subscription required) Augustus Richard Norton, College of Arts & Sciences, Pardee School of Global Studies Even by today’s standards, the Middle East in the 1970s was chaotic… Expert quote: “I’ve also heard that there was an Iranian role in Sadr’s disappearance.” View full article
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Arab Spring countries need new social contracts, says Nahyan
October 6, 2015
Gulf News Augustus Richard Norton, College of Arts & Sciences, Pardee School of Global Studies Arab Spring countries need social contracts or a voluntary agreement among individuals by which organised society is brought into being and invested with the right to secure mutual protection and welfare, officials and experts told a regional conference on the […]
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Experts Media Alert – White House Summit on Countering Violent Extremism
February 13, 2015
The White House will hold a “Summit on Countering Violent Extremism” on February 18. According to a statement from the White House press secretary, the summit will “highlight domestic and international efforts to prevent violent extremists and their supporters from radicalizing, recruiting, or inspiring individuals or groups in the United States and abroad to commit […]
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Helping Iraqis save Iraq
December 24, 2014
Boston Globe (subscription required) Co-written by Augustus Richard Norton, College of Arts & Sciences Professional armies are complex organizations that require rigorous training, effective leadership, and an ethos of sacrifice and devotion to mission. After American withdrawal from Iraq in 2011, the fiction that an effective national Iraqi army was created under US tutelage crumbled […]
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US, Kurds Battle ISIS Over Control of the ‘Most Dangerous Dam in the World’
August 18, 2014
Christian Post Augustus Richard Norton, College of Arts & Sciences Kurdish forces continue to fight with the terrorist group Islamic State, better known as ISIS, over control of Mosul Dam, the largest dam in Iraq… Expert quote: “I do not think the Iraqi Air Force, which is also supporting the Peshmerga, would be sufficient. Reports that […]
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Augustus Richard Norton publishes new edition of Hezbollah: A Short History
June 9, 2014
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Syrian war’s brutality isn’t going away
October 12, 2013
CNN.com Augustus Richard Norton, College of Arts & Sciences A gruesome snuff video that has garnered more than 180,000 views on YouTube underlines just how grim the Syrian conflict has become… Expert quote: “The only identifying marks on the uniforms are yellow ribbons, which, in theory, would identify them as Hezbollahis.” View full article
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Insight: U.S. and allies target Hezbollah financing, ties in Africa
September 20, 2013
Reuters Augustus Richard Norton, College of Arts & Sciences The United States and its allies are clamping down on suspected Hezbollah activity in West Africa, which Washington says is a major source of cash for the Lebanese group as its patron Iran feels the pinch of sanctions… Expert quote: “If a person is found to […]
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