Shadi Hamid is founding member and Associate at The Project on Middle East Democracy (POMED), a newly-incorporated organization dedicated to examining how genuine democracies can develop in the Middle East and how the US can best support that process. His articles on US foreign policy and Arab politics have appeared in the Carnegie Endowment’s Arab Reform Bulletin, The Christian Science Monitor, The Jerusalem Post, The American Prospect Online, The Daily Star, The Jordan Times, TomPaine.Com, and Insight Turkey. Hamid is the author of forthcoming book chapters on democratization in Jordan and is currently writing a book on the electoral ascendancy of political Islam after 9/11.
As a former Fulbright Fellow in Amman, Jordan, Hamid conducted extensive research on the Muslim Brotherhood and its political arm, the Islamic Action Front. He was previously Legislative Fellow at the Office of Senator Dianne Feinstein, where he worked on foreign affairs. Hamid has also served as an advisor on Muslim outreach for the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the Department of State.
In 2004, Hamid was co-founder of Muslims for John Kerry, helping to formulate a national plan to mobilize Muslim voters. He has been a consultant to various organizations on reform-related issues in the Arab world. He has also appeared on The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, NPR, and the BBC. Hamid received his Masters degree in Arab Studies from Georgetown University, where he was a David L. Boren Fellow. As a Marshall Scholar, Hamid will begin pursuing his PhD in politics at Oxford University, where he will focus on the role of Islamist parties during democratic transitions.
Selected Articles:
“Vision Gap, Part II,” The American Prospect Online, 8/24/06
“Vision Gap, Part I,” The American Prospect Online, 8/23/06
“The Path to War with Iran,” TomPaine, 5/9/06
“London Attacks: Turning Point for US Islamic Community,” The Christian Science Monitor, 7/28/05.
“Jordan: Democracy at a Dead End,” The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace's Arab Reform Bulletin, May 2005.
“A Democratic Moment,” The Jerusalem Post, 2/1/05