Biff Parker-Magyar

Assistant Prof. in Political Science @Yale. Formerly @MITPoliSci @HarvardWCFIA. Contentious politics in Jordan & Syria. peripatetic product of the garden state.

[Biff Parker-Magyar @BiffPM]

I wrote a piece for @JoDemocracy on a little-noticed court decision last week to effectively permanently outlaw Jordan’s teacher’s union https://t.co/3tAeBAVwyI

[EGAP @EGAPTweets]

This month we're highlighting EGAP work in the #MiddleEast. First up, @FotiniChristia & @Hlarreguy w/ Norhan Muhab & Elizabeth Parker-Magyar test if an intervention boosts respondents’ likelihood to report gender-based violence to supportive organizations. https://t.co/aUKlk4EyDL

[Biff Parker-Magyar @BiffPM]

@isabelmperera @CES_Europe Congrats Isabel!

[Noah Furtado @_noahfurtado]

The Jordan men’s national team will make its World Cup debut at Levi’s Stadium next month, but you may notice a few empty seats where their fans should be.

The U.S. war against Iran has made it difficult for fans from some countries to get visas despite State Department efforts to prioritize their applications. Story with the Pulitzer Prize-winning @sara_dinatale:

https://t.co/PxqDVoi57t

[Biff Parker-Magyar @BiffPM]

@lauraroyden 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉

[Biff Parker-Magyar @BiffPM]

hope Motasem can spend more time admiring the beauty in this world, as in this meditation on a tree that was his last post before arrest - https://t.co/gD0Gvr7c5T

[Biff Parker-Magyar @BiffPM]

I met Motasem Alaiwi a decade ago on a beautiful spring hike in Jordan

He became a prominent influencer: maybe the first Palestinian to attempt Everest

It's joyful and sad to see him released after 9 mo. in administrative detention, never facing a charge
https://t.co/s8tXs9dB1Y

[العربي الجديد @alaraby_ar]

الاحتلال يفرج عن الرحالة الفلسطيني معتصم عليوي بعد 9 أشهر من الاعتقال الإداري

[Biff Parker-Magyar @BiffPM]

RIP to the voice of my childhood, my adulthood, and way too many of the late nights of my PhD dissertation

https://t.co/ysC95OAHta

[New York Yankees @Yankees]

There will never be another John Sterling. His voice and legacy will live on forever 💙

[Authoritarian Political Systems Group @ApsgWorkshop]

Are you an early career scholar? Do you want to be part of the next season of our workshop series and get feedback from experts in the field?

Apply by May 31 here: https://t.co/kDNSEHTfq0

For more information visit: https://t.co/juLjuIiqYC

[Jonathan Guyer @mideastXmidwest]

A story that demands much more attention: Gaza's ceasefire hasn't brought the surge of aid it promised https://t.co/cbF4OwWkdG

[Biff Parker-Magyar @BiffPM]

@LiselHintz @hannahluci I have often felt that English is impoverished without Arabic’s yaatik al afiyeh, which seems to be the same with slightlyyyy more religious connotation

[Biff Parker-Magyar @BiffPM]

@kctww That’s surprising to me re: the hotels!

[Biff Parker-Magyar @BiffPM]

@kctww Hannah’s take on this is that, unlike most events, visitors are much more international or non-local, and so won’t be driving to the stadiums… unlike when Pats fans fill foxborough for every other event

[Alireza Doostdar علیرضا دوستدار @docstobar]

My friend and colleague Naghmeh Sohrabi has assembled a team of translators (I'm one of them) bringing Iranian perspectives on the war to English speaking audiences. Do check out these powerful essays.

https://t.co/fYdJE4z4K9

[Nicholas Danforth @NicholasDanfort]

DC think tanks are not actually pro-war, and have been especially critical of this one.

The more pointed critique is that often they peddle a peace-through-strength fantasy that helps weapons companies and frames the debate in ways that can make war more likely.

[Gideon Rachman @gideonrachman]

So war aim one is to repair the damage caused by the decision to go to war in the first place?

[Biff Parker-Magyar @BiffPM]

In 2016, heard John Bolton give a speech arguing the 2003 invasion of Iraq was a good idea, just poorly executed.

…In 2026, we’ve reached that in two weeks

https://t.co/Tiq4BX6H7W

[John Bolton @AmbJohnBolton]

I favor regime change in Iran, but I'm deeply worried that inadequate preparation will prevent that goal from being achieved. There seem to be holes in the strategy, from the lack of coordination with the opposition, to the lapse in preparing the American people ahead of the attack.

https://t.co/10xBD8MmQm

[Brandan P. Buck @brandan_buck]

"It's not a forever war, it's a series of small wars that we fight in perpetuity."

[Biff Parker-Magyar @BiffPM]

The Washington Post laying off their Middle East team weeks ago is of course a feature, not a bug, of this moment: Broad devaluation of even the pretense of scrutiny of U.S. policies beyond the superficial press releases of our ossified alliances

[Ali Vaez @AliVaez]

If reports of Khamenei's death are accurate, there are now three dynamics playing out: A vacuum at the top of the Iranian system, the divide between the regime and Iranian society, and between the Islamic Republic and the U.S. (and nearly everyone else in the region).