Ariel I. Ahram is assistant professor in the School of International and Area Studies and the Department of Political Science. He specializes in the politics of developing world generally and the Middle East specifically. His research focuses substantively on question of state formation, particularly weak and failing states, and on mixed methods and qualitative research techniques. He earned a Ph.D. in government and M.A. in Arab Studies from Georgetown University in 2008 and 2005, respectively, and a B.A. from Brandeis University in 2001.

Representative Publications:

"The Challenge of Conceptual Stretching in Mixed-Method Research,” Working Paper, International Political Science Association, Committee on Concepts and Methods, May 2009

“The Theory and Method of Comparative Area Studies,” Working Paper, International Political Science Association, Committee on Concepts and Methods, February 2009.

“Dealing With State-Sponsored Militias: Policy Recommendations in the Face of Path Dependence,” Democracy & Society, Vol. 6, No. 1 (Fall 2009).

“Devolution from Above: State-Sponsored Militias in the International System,” forthcoming, Journal of Strategic Studies.

“Symbolic Frames: Identity and Legitimacy in Iraqi Islamist Discourse” Rhetoric & Public Affairs, Vol. 12, No. 1 (2007). 

“Trends in Multi-Method Research: Sailing Ahead, Reckoning with Old Risks and New,” Newsletter of the American Political Science Association Organized Section on Qualitative Methods, Vol. 5, No. 1 (Spring 2007), (in collaboration with Scott Siegel, Julia Azari, Ashwini Chatre, Bridget Coggins, Jana Grittersova, Matthew Ingram, Matthew Lieber, Claire Metelits, Tom Pepinksy, Andrew Pieper, Karthika Sasikumar, and Prerna Singh), pp. 24-8.

“The National Iranian Oil Company and Iranian Politics,” Baker Institute Energy Forum Report, Rice University, 2007 (with Dan Brumberg)

“Why States Choose Paramilitarism,” Georgetown Journal of International Affairs, Vol. 7, No. 1 (2006).

“Returning Exiles to Iraqi Politics,” Middle East Review of International Affairs, Vol. 9, No. 1 (2005).

“The Frontiers of Loyalty: Do They Really Change?,” Orbis: A Journal of World Affairs, Vol. 47, No. 4 (2003), (with Yossi Shain).