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David Mednicoff

Assistant Professor of Public Policy and Director, Middle Eastern Studies, University of Massachusetts Amherst

Prof. David Mednicoff (J.D./Ph.D., Harvard) directs the Middle Eastern Studies program at the University of Massachusetts -- Amherst. His areas of expertise include Middle Eastern law and politics, international law, human rights, globalization studies, US foreign policy, and comparative public policy.

Prof. Mednicoff's publications and ongoing research deal broadly with interdisciplinary connections between legal and political ideas and institutions at the national and transnational levels, particularly as these relate to current policy issues in the Middle East. He is currently completing two book manuscripts on the politics of the rule of law, democratization and US foreign policy in five Arab societies. He also has written on Arab constitutional politics and Islam before and after the events of 2011, the legal regulation of migrant workers in the Arab Gulf, human rights in the Middle East and humanitarian intervention. He has presented his work at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, the US Department of State, the Saudi Arabia Institute of Diplomatic Studies, and Georgetown, Harvard, Stanford and Yale Universities, among other places.

Prof. Mednicoff's teaching honors include a university-wide Lilly Teaching Fellowship for promising junior faculty, the U. Mass. College of Social and Behavioral Sciences Outstanding Teacher Award, and a national prize for innovative teaching related to the US after 9/11/01. Prof. Mednicoff was a Fulbright Senior Scholar in law in Qatar in 2006-7, where he taught legal and political philosophy at Qatar University. He was a Research Fellow in 2010-11 in the Dubai Initiative at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard. He will hold a Fellowship at the ZIF (Institute for Advanced Study) in Bielefeld, Germany in 2014 as a member of a research group on Religion and Human Rights in Constitution-Writing. He writes and comments frequently for the media.

Global Geopolitics Series

The US-Iran conflict and the consequences of international law-breaking

Jan 10, 2020 10:25 am UTC| Insights & Views

Editors note: Irans missile attack on a U.S. base in Iraq in retaliation for the Trump administrations killing of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani has dramatically escalated global tensions. Dozens of questions have...

Netanyahu’s hardline foreign policies may outlast his tenure

Mar 06, 2019 14:24 pm UTC| Insights & Views

The upcoming indictment of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could end the long-serving conservative politicians career. But even an abrupt exit would leave his hawkish policies in the Middle East intact. The...

A Trump Administration casualty: Democracy and civil rights in the Middle East

Aug 28, 2018 15:26 pm UTC| Insights & Views

Donald Trump has shown little interest in encouraging democratic politics and human rights in other countries. This departure from decades of American foreign policy rhetoric has received comparatively little attention....

Global Geopolitics Series

US airstrike on Syria: What next?

Apr 08, 2017 05:36 am UTC| Insights & Views

Make no mistake. The April 6 U.S. airstrike on Syria following Bashar al-Assads chemical weapon attack is a remarkable shift in President Donald Trumps and Washingtons past policy. As president-elect, Trumps Middle...

Economy

Wall Street Ends Lower as AI Selloff, Iran Tensions Weigh on Tech Stocks

Wall Street closed sharply lower on Friday, ending a two-week winning streak as investors sold technology shares amid a continued pullback in the artificial intelligence (AI) sector and renewed concerns over inflation...

Brent Oil Jumps 16% for Best Week Since April as US-Iran Conflict Fuels Supply Fears

Global oil prices posted their strongest weekly gains in months on Friday as the escalating conflict between the United States and Iran heightened concerns over global crude supply and shipping disruptions through the...

Trump Threatens Higher Canada Tariffs as Wildfire Smoke Sparks U.S. Air Quality Crisis

President Donald Trump has threatened to impose higher tariffs on Canada, blaming the country for worsening air pollution across the United States as smoke from hundreds of active Canadian wildfires spreads south of the...

AI Chip Stocks Face Valuation Pressure as Investors Shift Toward Big Tech and Software

The explosive rally in AI semiconductor stocks is showing signs of cooling as investors question lofty valuations and whether the massive spending on artificial intelligence infrastructure can continue at its current pace....

Malaysia Q2 Economy Grows 5.8%, Beating Forecasts on Strong Tech Exports and Domestic Demand

Malaysias economy expanded by 5.8% year-on-year in the second quarter of 2026, outperforming market expectations and highlighting the countrys resilience despite ongoing geopolitical uncertainties. According to advance...

Politics

Brazil Supreme Court Tightens Jair Bolsonaro House Arrest Ahead of Election

Brazils Supreme Court has imposed stricter restrictions on former President Jair Bolsonaro, suspending all non-essential visits to his residence for 30 days as the country moves closer to its October presidential election....

US Expands Iran Strikes as Strait of Hormuz Shipping Drops, Oil Prices Climb

The United States carried out a seventh straight night of military strikes on Iran, extending operations beyond the countrys southern coast and deeper into its interior, while Tehran launched retaliatory attacks on...

DOJ Subpoenas Major Law Firms in Trump Executive Order Dispute

The U.S. Justice Department has issued subpoenas to 14 major law firms seeking records and sworn testimony related to executive orders signed by President Donald Trump that targeted several prominent legal firms or...

Trump Criticizes ABC, NBC and CNN for Limiting Coverage of Election Speech

President Donald Trump criticized ABC, NBC and CNN after the three major U.S. news organizations declined to air his prime-time address on their main television platforms, intensifying his long-running dispute with the...

Iran Launches Fresh Attacks on U.S. Bases as Strait of Hormuz Tensions Escalate

Iran launched new attacks on U.S. military facilities in the Gulf on Friday after the United States carried out a sixth straight night of strikes on Iranian military targets, deepening a conflict that has unraveled last...

Science

Blue Origin New Glenn Explosion Could Delay Launch Operations Until 2028

Blue Origin is facing a significant setback after a dramatic explosion involving its New Glenn rocket severely damaged a launch pad at Cape Canaveral, Florida. According to NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, repairs to the...

Blue Origin New Glenn Rocket Explodes During Launch Pad Test, Delaying Space Ambitions

Blue Origin suffered a major setback after its uncrewed New Glenn rocket exploded during a launch pad test in Florida on Thursday, raising new challenges for Jeff Bezos space company as it competes with Elon Musks SpaceX...

SpaceX Delays Starship V3 Launch Ahead of Potential Record IPO

SpaceX on Thursday postponed the highly anticipated launch of its 12th Starship rocket test from Texas after technical issues interrupted the final countdown. The company now plans to attempt the Starship V3 launch again...

Trump Administration Releases New UFO Files and Apollo Mission Records

The U.S. Defense Department has released dozens of previously classified UFO-related files following an order from President Donald Trump, sparking renewed debate over unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) and government...

China vs. NASA: The New Moon Race and What's at Stake by 2030

The space race is back and this time, its a direct competition between the United States and China for dominance on the lunar surface. NASAs Artemis II mission recently made history when four astronauts flew farther into...

Technology

SpaceX Eyes Pentagon AI Deal as Cloud Pricing Strategy Pressures CoreWeave

SpaceX briefly recovered some of its losses on Friday after a Wall Street Journal report said the aerospace company is negotiating a multi-billion-dollar agreement with the Pentagon to provide artificial intelligence...

Mikron H1 2026 Sales Fall 5.9% as Automation Weakness Weighs on Profit

Swiss automation and machining systems manufacturer Mikron Group AG reported lower first-half 2026 results as weaker demand in its Automation and Machining businesses offset strong growth in its Tool division. Despite the...

KAIST, Stanford Develop Self-Dressing Robot for Cleanrooms and Emergency Gear

Researchers from South Koreas Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) and Stanford University have developed an innovative self-dressing robotic technology that allows people to put on clothing without...

SpaceX Aborts Starship Test Flight as Engine Issue Delays Launch

SpaceX (NASDAQ: SPCX) called off the 13th test flight of its Starship rocket just minutes before its scheduled liftoff from its Texas launch site on Thursday after an engine-related issue triggered an automatic abort. CEO...

Sam Altman Admits OpenAI Missteps, Promises Major AI Comeback Focused on User Freedom

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has publicly acknowledged that the company fell short of expectations over the past year, taking personal responsibility for its performance while outlining an ambitious vision for the future. In a...