News from WVSA Principal Investigators

With U.S. and international attention now focused on threats from the Islamic State, questions about its political strength, ability to rule, and continuing appeal to extremist recruits are increasingly timely. To discuss these questions, The Washington Institute has hosted a Policy Forum presenting diverse, data-based perspectives from three experts: Dr. Munqith Dagher, a leading Iraqi survey research and political analyst who has just completed a unique poll inside IS-occupied Mosul; Aaron Zelin, an expert on IS and other jihadi media and political behavior; and Dr. David Pollock, who recently completed a series of surveys about IS and related issues in seven surrounding Arab societies, updating highly counterintuitive findings from a year ago.

Munqith Dagher has a distinguished record of conducting insightful Middle Eastern surveys in extreme situations, including in Syria and Iraq throughout the latest conflicts there. He has worked extensively with other major international survey organizations and published widely in Arabic on these topics.

Aaron Zelin is the Institute's Richard Borow Fellow, founder of the website Jihadology.net, and a fellow with the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation (ICSR) at King's College, London.

David Pollock is the Institute's Kaufman Fellow and director of Fikra Forum. Previously, he served as senior advisor for the Broader Middle East at the State Department, focusing on democracy, reform, and women's rights.

For more information, please, visit the web-site of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

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