Nasir Almasri
Political Science
- Email nalmasri@bu.edu
- Education PhD., Political Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Nasir Almasri is a Postdoctoral Scholar with the Society of Fellows at Boston University and an affiliate of the Department of Political Science. His research sits at the intersections of comparative politics, security studies, and international relations. His book project, The Rise and Fall of Radical Movements in the Middle East, examines the legacies of colonialism and authoritarianism for opposition movements across the region. Whereas previous studies have centered Islamist opposition actors in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, the book contends that the relative level of radicalism among opposition groups today can be attributed to their earliest experiences in confronting colonial powers and nascent state rulers. Nasir compares Egyptian Islamists, Iraqi Communists, and Palestinian Nationalists in an effort to highlight how vastly different ideological movements behaved in strikingly similar ways when faced with repression. His other research includes an examination of scholarly conceptualizations of “moderation” in the Global War on Terror era and the consequences of online activism on offline debates among activists.
Nasir received his PhD in Political Science from MIT. Before joining Boston University, he was a Predoctoral Scholar with the Middle East Initiative at Harvard Kennedy School and a Graduate Fellow at the Middle East Institute in Washington DC.