Ellen Lust-Okar

Associate Professor, Political Science

Ellen Lust is an Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science. She received a Ph.D. in Political Science and an MA in Middle East Studies at the University of Michigan. Her books include Structuring Conflict in the Arab World (Cambridge University Press, 2005); Political Participation in the Middle East (Lynne Reinner Press, 2008), co-edited with Saloua Zerhouni; and The Middle East, an edited textbook (CQ Press, 2010). She has also published articles in such journals as Comparative Politics, Comparative Political Studies, International Journal of Middle East Studies and Politics and Society. Her work broadly examines the politics of authoritarianism, and through this, the prospects for development and democracy in the region. She is currently working on a book manuscript examining the politics of elections in the Arab world, as well as a collaborative project focusing on the ways in which ongoing social and economic transformations in Africa and the Middle East affect governance programs (with Stephen Ndegwa, World Bank). She is also an associate editor of the newly launched journal, Middle East Law and Governance, sponsored by the University of Toronto and Yale University Law Schools. Ellen Lust has studied, conducted research, and led student and alumni groups in Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Israel, Palestine and Syria.

She can be contacted at ellen.lust-okar@yale.edu.