Global Tipping Points Series: "Understanding Muslim Societies"

 Ellen Lust received a PhD in Political Science and an MA in Middle East Studies at the University of Michigan, and is currently a tenured Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science at Yale University. She teaches graduate and undergraduate courses on Middle East politics, and previously served as Chair of the Council on Middle East Studies, where she played an instrumental role in obtaining Title VI funding for the program and establishing the Major on Modern Middle East Studies. Her research focuses on the politics of authoritarianism and the prospects for development. Books include Structuring Conflict in the Arab World (Cambridge University Press, 2005), Political Participation in the Middle East (Lynne Rienner Press, 2008), co-edited with Saloua Zerhouni; The Middle East (CQ Press, 2010), and Governing Africa’s Changing Societies (Lynne Rienner Press, forthcoming), co-edited with Stephen Ndegwa. She has also authored and co-authored articles in such journals as Comparative Political Studies, Comparative Politics, International Journal of Middle East Studies, and Politics and Society, as well as numerous book chapters. She is a founding, associate editor of the journal, Middle East Law and Governance, and has lived, studied, conducted research, and led student and alumni tours in Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Morocco, Palestine, Syria and Tunisia.