Join us for a book talk by Dr. Hicham Alaoui in which he will deliver insights about the battle for democracy in the Middle East, drawing upon his recent book, Pacted Democracy in the Middle East: Tunisia and Egypt in Comparative Perspective (Palgrave, 2022), also available in French (Le Cherche Midi, 2024) and Arabic (Dar Saqi, 2025). Reflecting an ongoing research agenda, the book provides a novel framework for imagining how democratic politics can emerge from social conflicts waged over religion and Islamism in the public sphere. Contrasting cases like Tunisia, Egypt, and other regional countries, it further illuminates the novel and oft-ignored connections between secular opposition, theological identity, and authoritarian rule in the Arab world. A reception will be held from 5-6pm in Hum 1, Room 202, after the event.

Dr. Hicham Alaoui is a lecturer at Stanford University, where he teaches political science. He also serves on the Advisory Board of the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs at Harvard University. He is the founder and director of the Hicham Alaoui Foundation, which undertakes innovative social scientific research in the Middle East and North Africa. He is a scholar on the comparative politics of democratization and religion. His latest publications include Pacted Democracy in the Middle East: Tunisia and Egypt in Comparative Perspective (Palgrave, 2022), which has been translated into French and Arabic, as well as various other books, including the most recent co-edited book Political Economy, Power, and Cultural Heritage in the Arab World (Lynne Rienner, 2025) and co-authored book Making Aid Work: Dueling with Dictators and Warlords in the Middle East and North Africa (Lynne Rienner, 2025). He holds an A.B. from Princeton University, M.A. from Stanford University, and D.Phil. from the University of Oxford.

Co-presented by the Center for the Middle East and North Africa and the Politics Department.