Abdeslam E. Maghraoui
Associate Professor of the Practice of Political Science

Office Location: 140 Science Drive, 275 Gross H, Box 90204, Durham, NC 27708
Office Phone: (919) 660-4300
Email Address: abdeslam.maghraoui@duke.edu

Specialties:
Comparative Politics
Political Institutions
Security, Peace, & Conflict

Education:
Ph.D., Princeton University, 1991
MA, Princeton University, 1986
M.A., Princeton University, 1985
BA (College Honors, Honors in Major), UC Santa Cruz, 1982
B.A., University of California, Santa Cruz, 1982

Research Description: Abdeslam Maghraoui is Associate Professor of the Practice of Political Science and Core Faculty in the Duke Islamic Studies Center. His research and teaching address key political questions facing contemporary states and societies in the Middle East: Why did the early liberal experiments fail? Why are current democratization attempts shaky? Are Islamic political parties good or bad for democracy? Are Islamic political principles compatible with modern political ethics? He approaches these questions through “political culture” theory to consider the possibilities of political emancipation and resistance to authoritarian relations within the framework of local cultural traditions and language. Instead of postulating a causal relation between particular cultural values and political outcomes, his research borrows from different disciplines to highlight the permanent, even if concealed, interplay between culture and politics in general. His work has been funded by grants from the Ford Foundation, The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, and the U.S. Institute of Peace. His papers on North Africa’s problematic transition to democracy were published in the Journal of Democracy, The Middle East Policy Journal, The Journal of Mediterranean Studies, and Mediterranean Politics. His first book, Liberalism without Democracy: Nationhood and Citizenship in Egypt, 1922-1939 (Duke University Press, 2006), reveals the inherent contradictions of colonial liberalism (the idea of occupying a people to liberate them). His book in progress studies competing Muslim conceptions of violence, morality, ethics, and authority in the context of Morocco.

Areas of Interest:
- Political Identity
- Political Culture
- Islam and Politics
- North Africa, Middle East, Muslims in the West

Teaching (Fall 2024):

• POLSCI 352S.01, U.s. policy in middle east Synopsis

  Old chem 123, Tu 10:20 AM-12:50 PM

• POLSCI 497S-2.01, Sen sem in pol institutions Synopsis

  Lsrc b105, Th 10:20 AM-12:50 PM

Representative Publications   (More Publications)

1. Maghraoui, A, The Perverse Effect of Good Governance: Lessons from Morocco, edited by Council, MEP, Middle East Policy, vol. 19 no. 2 (Summer, 2012), pp. 49-65, WILEY [perverse-effect-good-governance-lessons-morocco], [doi] .
2. Maghraoui, A, The King’s Islamists, in The Islamists are Coming: Who they Really Are, edited by Wright, R (2012), US Institute of Peace Press [morocco-the-king%E2%80%99s-islamists] .
3. Maghraoui, A, American Foreign Policy and Islamic Renewal, in Conflict, Identity, and Reform in the Muslim World, edited by Brumberg, D; Shehata, D (2009), USIP Press [conflict-identity-and-reform-in-the-muslim-world] .
4. Abdeslam Maghraoui, Liberalism without Democracy: Nationhood and Citizenship in Egypt, 1922-1936 (Duke University Press) (2006), Duke University Press [ViewProduct.php] .

Curriculum Vitae

Highlight:
Dr. Maghraoui is associate professor of the practice of political science. He is core faculty in the Duke Islamic Studies Center and Duke University Middle East Studies Center. His research focuses on the interactions between culture and politics in the context of Arab and Muslim majority countries. His work encompasses three overlapping areas of research: "political identity," "political institutions," and "political behavior and attitudes." His work on political identity investigates the tensions between the modern notion of citizenship and competing social identities in the Middle East. His research on institutions examines how autocratic Arab monarchies, which draw legitimacy from inherited tradition use modern institutions to reproduce non-democratic forms of domination. His work on political attitudes explores the tensions between conformity to group norms and the quest for individual autonomy among youths in predominantly Muslim societies. The common thread among these three areas of research is an exploration of the central role of language as a tool to assert identity, renew authoritarian relations, and claim individual autonomy. Professor Maghraoui's research addresses key political challenges facing states and societies in North Africa and the Middle East today. Among these are the questions of democratization, the role of religion in public life, youth empowerment, and governance.