Jack McGinn | London School of Economics and Political Science (original) (raw)

Papers by Jack McGinn

Research paper thumbnail of Syrian Studies Association Bulletin - Vol. 27, 1, Fall 2023

Research paper thumbnail of Saudi Arabia and Iran: beyond conflict and coexistence?

Research paper thumbnail of Iraq and its regions: Baghdad-provincial relations after Mosul and Kirkuk

The period from July 2017 to May 2018 could prove transformational for Iraq. In July 2017, Iraqi ... more The period from July 2017 to May 2018 could prove transformational for Iraq. In July 2017, Iraqi government forces liberated Mosul from Islamic State (IS). In the aftermath of that victory, President of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Masoud Barzani pushed ahead with a referendum on Kurdish independence to enhance Erbil’s bargaining power in its disputes with Baghdad. This backfired and instead the Iraqi Prime Minister, Haider al-Abadi, ordered Iraqi forces into Kirkuk, the disputed territory between Baghdad and Erbil, in October 2017. These momentous events form the background against which Iraq will vote in the May 2018 national elections. This vote will not only decide if Abadi gets a second term, but also whether Iraq has moved beyond the divisive sectarian rhetoric that has dominated the country’s post-regime change politics. The LSE Middle East Centre convened a workshop on 15 January 2018, bringing together Iraqi political analysts and decision-makers with other exper...

Research paper thumbnail of Saudi Arabia and Iran: beyond conflict and coexistence?

The decades-old Saudi–Iranian rivalry has been once again thrust into the spotlight with politica... more The decades-old Saudi–Iranian rivalry has been once again thrust into the spotlight with political and social upheaval spreading in both countries and the wider region. With each government facing domestic pressure – be it from religious hardliners or civil society activists – their hostile stance vis-a-vis their regional rival may partially be explained by an attempt to rally a fractious country against a national foe. Both remain deeply involved in conflicts outside their borders, each funding proxies and political movements in a bid for influence and regional hegemony. In the hopes of deconstructing the popular – but reductionist – ‘Sunni vs. Shiʿa’ analytical framework often used to explain the conflict, the LSE Middle East Centre convened a workshop on 8 May 2018, bringing together Saudi and Iranian political, economic and social analysts with other Iran- and Saudi Arabia-watchers. The workshop examined the major dynamics that shape the ongoing rivalry between these regional he...

Research paper thumbnail of Iraq and its regions: the future of the Kurdistan region of Iraq after the referendum

Despite huge Iraqi, regional and international opposition, Masoud Barzani, then President of the ... more Despite huge Iraqi, regional and international opposition, Masoud Barzani, then President of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI), went ahead with an independence referendum on 25 September 2017. The overwhelming vote in favour preceded a disastrous aftermath, with the KRI losing the territorial gains made during the fight against Islamic State (also known as ISIS) and Barzani announcing his resignation. Iraq imposed a blockade on international flights to and from the KRI, sent troops into Kirkuk, and withheld public salaries and oil revenues. The KRI’s internal political divisions deepened, protests around salaries and corrupt patronage networks intensified, tensions within the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) mounted and the economic crisis worsened – any chances of realising Kurdish independence now appear remote. The post-referendum crisis showed the severity of Baghdad and Erbil’s outstanding issues: territorial disputes, distribution of the federal budget and the ownership and...

Research paper thumbnail of Non-Hierarchical Revolution: Grassroots Politics in the First Palestinian Intifada

Oxford Middle East Review, 2021

This article seeks to outline the non-hierarchical characteristics of the first intifada, using a... more This article seeks to outline the non-hierarchical characteristics of the first intifada, using as examples the decentralised healthcare networks, labour unions, and women's movements which were formed in the years preceding the uprising and provided a structure and backbone to the resistance. Such a focus on three distinct, but interdependent, forces behind the intifada is informed by a belief that each operated primarily on a deliberately horizontal basis of organising, thus highlighting the common motivation that activists felt towards a model of democratised resistance. The article concludes with a discussion of the town of Beit Sahour, where pre-existing networks of solidarity helped to produce a resilient campaign of tax resistance, coordinated by popular committees.

Research paper thumbnail of A study of grassroots political organising during, and in the years immediately preceding, the first Intifada as an example of anarchist praxis

Research paper thumbnail of Discourse in Israel During the Death of the Peace Process

This study looks into the ways that the Israeli media and academia portray both the Palestinians ... more This study looks into the ways that the Israeli media and academia portray both the Palestinians and the peace process in the post-Oslo years, with a view to ascertaining the prevalent Israeli attitudes towards the Palestinians, taking the years from 2000 through 2005 as a sample. These years are important in assessing the political zeitgeist as they mark the closing era of the Oslo peace process, punctuated by the Camp David talks and the second Palestinian intifada. The research aims to look at how Israeli narratives regarding their neighbours are an expression of certain trends within Israeli society, coupled with the reporting of political developments. It is primarily looking at how the citizens of Israel see both the Palestinians and the nature of the Israel-Palestine conflict, and as such the study does not delve into the narratives that come from other Western pro-Israeli commentators or from the Jewish Diaspora. The focus on a nation, and more specifically certain voices within that nation, is in order to investigate the narratives that dominate within the society and conflict in question. 2

Research paper thumbnail of Syrian Studies Association Bulletin - Vol. 27, 1, Fall 2023

Research paper thumbnail of Saudi Arabia and Iran: beyond conflict and coexistence?

Research paper thumbnail of Iraq and its regions: Baghdad-provincial relations after Mosul and Kirkuk

The period from July 2017 to May 2018 could prove transformational for Iraq. In July 2017, Iraqi ... more The period from July 2017 to May 2018 could prove transformational for Iraq. In July 2017, Iraqi government forces liberated Mosul from Islamic State (IS). In the aftermath of that victory, President of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Masoud Barzani pushed ahead with a referendum on Kurdish independence to enhance Erbil’s bargaining power in its disputes with Baghdad. This backfired and instead the Iraqi Prime Minister, Haider al-Abadi, ordered Iraqi forces into Kirkuk, the disputed territory between Baghdad and Erbil, in October 2017. These momentous events form the background against which Iraq will vote in the May 2018 national elections. This vote will not only decide if Abadi gets a second term, but also whether Iraq has moved beyond the divisive sectarian rhetoric that has dominated the country’s post-regime change politics. The LSE Middle East Centre convened a workshop on 15 January 2018, bringing together Iraqi political analysts and decision-makers with other exper...

Research paper thumbnail of Saudi Arabia and Iran: beyond conflict and coexistence?

The decades-old Saudi–Iranian rivalry has been once again thrust into the spotlight with politica... more The decades-old Saudi–Iranian rivalry has been once again thrust into the spotlight with political and social upheaval spreading in both countries and the wider region. With each government facing domestic pressure – be it from religious hardliners or civil society activists – their hostile stance vis-a-vis their regional rival may partially be explained by an attempt to rally a fractious country against a national foe. Both remain deeply involved in conflicts outside their borders, each funding proxies and political movements in a bid for influence and regional hegemony. In the hopes of deconstructing the popular – but reductionist – ‘Sunni vs. Shiʿa’ analytical framework often used to explain the conflict, the LSE Middle East Centre convened a workshop on 8 May 2018, bringing together Saudi and Iranian political, economic and social analysts with other Iran- and Saudi Arabia-watchers. The workshop examined the major dynamics that shape the ongoing rivalry between these regional he...

Research paper thumbnail of Iraq and its regions: the future of the Kurdistan region of Iraq after the referendum

Despite huge Iraqi, regional and international opposition, Masoud Barzani, then President of the ... more Despite huge Iraqi, regional and international opposition, Masoud Barzani, then President of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI), went ahead with an independence referendum on 25 September 2017. The overwhelming vote in favour preceded a disastrous aftermath, with the KRI losing the territorial gains made during the fight against Islamic State (also known as ISIS) and Barzani announcing his resignation. Iraq imposed a blockade on international flights to and from the KRI, sent troops into Kirkuk, and withheld public salaries and oil revenues. The KRI’s internal political divisions deepened, protests around salaries and corrupt patronage networks intensified, tensions within the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) mounted and the economic crisis worsened – any chances of realising Kurdish independence now appear remote. The post-referendum crisis showed the severity of Baghdad and Erbil’s outstanding issues: territorial disputes, distribution of the federal budget and the ownership and...

Research paper thumbnail of Non-Hierarchical Revolution: Grassroots Politics in the First Palestinian Intifada

Oxford Middle East Review, 2021

This article seeks to outline the non-hierarchical characteristics of the first intifada, using a... more This article seeks to outline the non-hierarchical characteristics of the first intifada, using as examples the decentralised healthcare networks, labour unions, and women's movements which were formed in the years preceding the uprising and provided a structure and backbone to the resistance. Such a focus on three distinct, but interdependent, forces behind the intifada is informed by a belief that each operated primarily on a deliberately horizontal basis of organising, thus highlighting the common motivation that activists felt towards a model of democratised resistance. The article concludes with a discussion of the town of Beit Sahour, where pre-existing networks of solidarity helped to produce a resilient campaign of tax resistance, coordinated by popular committees.

Research paper thumbnail of A study of grassroots political organising during, and in the years immediately preceding, the first Intifada as an example of anarchist praxis

Research paper thumbnail of Discourse in Israel During the Death of the Peace Process

This study looks into the ways that the Israeli media and academia portray both the Palestinians ... more This study looks into the ways that the Israeli media and academia portray both the Palestinians and the peace process in the post-Oslo years, with a view to ascertaining the prevalent Israeli attitudes towards the Palestinians, taking the years from 2000 through 2005 as a sample. These years are important in assessing the political zeitgeist as they mark the closing era of the Oslo peace process, punctuated by the Camp David talks and the second Palestinian intifada. The research aims to look at how Israeli narratives regarding their neighbours are an expression of certain trends within Israeli society, coupled with the reporting of political developments. It is primarily looking at how the citizens of Israel see both the Palestinians and the nature of the Israel-Palestine conflict, and as such the study does not delve into the narratives that come from other Western pro-Israeli commentators or from the Jewish Diaspora. The focus on a nation, and more specifically certain voices within that nation, is in order to investigate the narratives that dominate within the society and conflict in question. 2