Ahmed Abozaid

Research Topic
State Violence in Egypt from a Khaldounian Perspective

Ahmed Abozaid is a political scientist from Egypt. Ahmed holds a PhD from the Handa Centre for the Study of Terrorism and Political Violence (CSPTV) at the University of St Andrews. He holds MSc in International Relations from the University of Aberdeen (with distinction). Prior to joining the University of St Andrews, Ahmed was the co-founder and director of research of a Dubai-based think tank, the International Institution for Cultural Diplomacy, IICD (2010-2019).

Ahmed’s research interests vary from Theories of International Relations, Historical Sociology, Terrorism Studies, and Security Studies. His thesis is engaging with the question of decolonializing knowledge, with special emphasis on theories of state and the use of violence drawing on Ibn Khaldun’s works.

According to the Arab Citation & Impact Factor (ARCIF) foundation, between 2012 and 2021, of more than 3000 researchers from over 20 countries, Ahmed was listed among the top three most cited and most influential Arab scholars in the fields of Political Science and International Relations. Ahmed published six books in Arabic and more than 70 peer-reviewed papers in leading peer-reviewed English and Arabic journals.  

His research at Columbia Global Centers | Amman investigates the historical articulation between authority, legitimacy, and state violence against opposition movements during pre-colonial, colonial, and postcolonial contexts. 

Selected Publications:

• Counterterrorism Strategies in Egypt: Permanent Exceptions in the War on Terror. (Routledge, 2022). https://www.routledge.com/Counterterrorism-and-Human-Rights-in-Egypt-Permanent-Exceptions-in-the/Abozaid/p/book/9780367714635
   
• (2021) Did as-Saʿidiyya really revolt? An ethnographic investigation. Middle Eastern Studies, vol. 57, no. 6, pp. 992-1029, DOI: 10.1080/00263206.2021.1902809
   
• (2021) Re-reading Ibn-Khaldun in the 21st Century: Traveling Theory and the Question of Authority, Legitimacy, and State Violence in the Modern Arab World. Arab Studies Quarterly, vol. 43, no. 2, pp. 146-171.  https://doi.org/10.13169/arabstudquar.43.2.0146
   
• (2021) The Politics of Teaching International Relations in the Arab World: A Critique. E-IR. https://www.e-ir.info/2021/05/20/the-politics-of-teaching-international-relations-in-the-arab-world-a-critique/  
   
• (2020) Colonialism, Neo-Colonialism, and Anti-Terrorism Law in the Arab World, Terrorism and Political Violence, vol. 32, no. 4, pp. 890-894, DOI: 10.1080/09546553.2020.1747821
   
• (2020) Counterterrorism strategy and human rights in Egypt after the Arab uprising: A critical appraisal. Aggression and Violent Behavior, vol. 51, no. 1, pp. 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.avb.2020.101385
   
• (2018) “Clash of Civilizations” at Twenty-Five: Reappraising Huntington’s Legacy: View from the Arab World. Contemporary Arab Affairs, vol. 11, no. 4, pp. 135–158. https://doi.org/10.1525/caa.2018.114007