Killing Contention: Demobilization in Morocco during the Arab Spring (Syracuse University Press)
"This is the rare dive into Moroccan politics that not only takes ‘the street’ seriously, but also divulges a bigger theoretical lesson in how protest movements live and die. Through rich qualitative evidence, Badran shows how Morocco’s monarchy and ideological divides sabotaged the February 20 youth network during the Arab Uprisings."--Sean Yom, author of From Resilience to Revolution: How Foreign Interventions Destabilize the Middle East
"An excellent contribution to the literature. Badran is to be commended for a well-written, deeply researched, and persuasive treatment. It’s readable and compelling."--Gregory White, Mary Huggins Gamble Professor of Government, Smith College
"Badran’s Killing Contention tracks the February 20th Movement’s fate through the tools of political science. Theory and contemporary frameworks are underpinned by a remarkable body of in-person interviews of those who made their own history, now no longer disappearing into silence."--James Miller, Professor Emeritus, Clemson University
"A valuable contribution to our knowledge of the less understood protests in Morocco and adds nuance to the role that repression, reform, and intra-movement dynamics play in the mobilization-demobilization cycle of a social movement."--Michael Wuthrich, author of National Elections in Turkey: People, Politics, and the Party System
Project on Middle East Political Science (POMEPS) Podcast interview found here
Jadaliyya Interview found here.
Other Research Projects:
Authoritarian Resilience and Democratic Backsliding in North Africa
One of my current research focuses on authoritarian upgrading and resilience in the MENA. A recently published paper in the Journal of Human Rights titled ‘The Covid Pandemic and authoritarian consolidation in North Africa. This paper investigates how the expansion of emergency powers and surveillance are not just designed to support public health, but also to provide greater authoritarian power for regimes under the guise of fighting the pandemic. The paper will be included in an edited book titled, ‘Rights at Stake and the COVID-19 Pandemic: Two Special Issues of the Journal of Human Rights’ (London: Routledge, 2023). I am expanding on the findings from this paper by testing the applicability of Diversionary War Theory in explaining regime response to the Covid-19 pandemic. I do this by first systematically analyzing the regime response to the pandemic in Algeria and Morocco. My co-author and I expect to find strong evidence that the pandemic was skillfully used by autocrats in both states to divert public attention from social and economic issues and to consolidate autocratic power, all while maintaining relatively high approval ratings. The paper relies on open-source information primarily from news outlets, State Department Country Reports, and the Johns Hopkins University’s Novel Coronavirus Visual Dashboard. The paper will be presented at the upcoming SPSA Conference in January 2023.
Social Movement Framing in Algeria’s ‘Revolution of Smiles’
I was recently awarded a grant to investigate the role of humorous framing in Algeria’s 2019 ‘Revolution of Smiles’, which successfully ousted Abdelaziz Bouteflika, president of Algeria for 20 years. The Revolution of Smiles refers to the movement’s unique use of humor as a tool for mobilization. Humor and mockery of the regime was systematically used in slogans, banners, and online posts. This unique framing of the movement as a ‘Revolution of Smiles’, also referred to as ‘The Laughter Revolution’, was a strategic element to this peaceful revolution. This project aims to investigate the Revolution of Smiles by understanding the role that: 1) strategic framing through humor helped mobilize and unite Algerians to peacefully protest, and 2) whether the Covid-19 Pandemic, followed by the government’s lockdown polices did indeed demobilize the movement and whether the regime uses the pandemic as a guise to crackdown on dissent. This project also adds nuance to previous social movement theory literature concerning demobilization by analyzing a unique case of rapid demobilization due to health measures taken by the government to curb the spread of Covid-19. This project will be informed by fieldwork in Algeria, which will include elite interviews with members and leaders of labor, Islamist, leftist organizations, along with independent activists that were involved in protests.
Contemporary Temporary Marriage in the MENA
My research of the institution of temporary Mut’ah marriage within the MENA region suggests that temporary marriages may facilitate sex trafficking and slavery under the guise of religious legitimacy. A temporary marriage implies a short-term Islamic marriage that is usually a private verbal agreement between potential spouses. There is an absence of systematic empirical work on this complex phenomenon, particularly with regards to its positive and negative effects on the women involved. My research, together with Brian Turnbull from the University of Kansas, examines the possible exploitative and liberating aspects of temporary marriage. Our research utilizes first-hand accounts provided online to better understand how and why the institution of temporary marriage has been revived both within the MENA region and expanded into the West. We review narratives from individuals who have engaged in temporary marriages and analyze support for the competing views within the literature. We argue that temporary marriages can create a private space for the participants to feel better about their relationship, even if those outside still criticize and shame them. However, this private space also gives exploitative men more leeway to take advantage of their partner. Sexual exploitation and trafficking becomes more likely when matchmakers facilitate transnational marriages by locating vulnerable populations who are willing to engage in the arrangements, usually in return for compensation to the woman or her family.
#BlackLivesMatter and Global Framing of Social Protest and Dissent
My co-author and I will investigate the impact that the Black Lives Matter Movement (BLM) has had on the framing of protests beyond the United States. Our research aims to trace the manifestation of the BLM social movement from a national to international scope. We seek to answer the following questions: 1) What characteristics of the BLM framing penetrate geopolitical boundaries? 2) How has the BLM movement changed activism and framing internationally?
"This is the rare dive into Moroccan politics that not only takes ‘the street’ seriously, but also divulges a bigger theoretical lesson in how protest movements live and die. Through rich qualitative evidence, Badran shows how Morocco’s monarchy and ideological divides sabotaged the February 20 youth network during the Arab Uprisings."--Sean Yom, author of From Resilience to Revolution: How Foreign Interventions Destabilize the Middle East
"An excellent contribution to the literature. Badran is to be commended for a well-written, deeply researched, and persuasive treatment. It’s readable and compelling."--Gregory White, Mary Huggins Gamble Professor of Government, Smith College
"Badran’s Killing Contention tracks the February 20th Movement’s fate through the tools of political science. Theory and contemporary frameworks are underpinned by a remarkable body of in-person interviews of those who made their own history, now no longer disappearing into silence."--James Miller, Professor Emeritus, Clemson University
"A valuable contribution to our knowledge of the less understood protests in Morocco and adds nuance to the role that repression, reform, and intra-movement dynamics play in the mobilization-demobilization cycle of a social movement."--Michael Wuthrich, author of National Elections in Turkey: People, Politics, and the Party System
Project on Middle East Political Science (POMEPS) Podcast interview found here
Jadaliyya Interview found here.
Other Research Projects:
Authoritarian Resilience and Democratic Backsliding in North Africa
One of my current research focuses on authoritarian upgrading and resilience in the MENA. A recently published paper in the Journal of Human Rights titled ‘The Covid Pandemic and authoritarian consolidation in North Africa. This paper investigates how the expansion of emergency powers and surveillance are not just designed to support public health, but also to provide greater authoritarian power for regimes under the guise of fighting the pandemic. The paper will be included in an edited book titled, ‘Rights at Stake and the COVID-19 Pandemic: Two Special Issues of the Journal of Human Rights’ (London: Routledge, 2023). I am expanding on the findings from this paper by testing the applicability of Diversionary War Theory in explaining regime response to the Covid-19 pandemic. I do this by first systematically analyzing the regime response to the pandemic in Algeria and Morocco. My co-author and I expect to find strong evidence that the pandemic was skillfully used by autocrats in both states to divert public attention from social and economic issues and to consolidate autocratic power, all while maintaining relatively high approval ratings. The paper relies on open-source information primarily from news outlets, State Department Country Reports, and the Johns Hopkins University’s Novel Coronavirus Visual Dashboard. The paper will be presented at the upcoming SPSA Conference in January 2023.
Social Movement Framing in Algeria’s ‘Revolution of Smiles’
I was recently awarded a grant to investigate the role of humorous framing in Algeria’s 2019 ‘Revolution of Smiles’, which successfully ousted Abdelaziz Bouteflika, president of Algeria for 20 years. The Revolution of Smiles refers to the movement’s unique use of humor as a tool for mobilization. Humor and mockery of the regime was systematically used in slogans, banners, and online posts. This unique framing of the movement as a ‘Revolution of Smiles’, also referred to as ‘The Laughter Revolution’, was a strategic element to this peaceful revolution. This project aims to investigate the Revolution of Smiles by understanding the role that: 1) strategic framing through humor helped mobilize and unite Algerians to peacefully protest, and 2) whether the Covid-19 Pandemic, followed by the government’s lockdown polices did indeed demobilize the movement and whether the regime uses the pandemic as a guise to crackdown on dissent. This project also adds nuance to previous social movement theory literature concerning demobilization by analyzing a unique case of rapid demobilization due to health measures taken by the government to curb the spread of Covid-19. This project will be informed by fieldwork in Algeria, which will include elite interviews with members and leaders of labor, Islamist, leftist organizations, along with independent activists that were involved in protests.
Contemporary Temporary Marriage in the MENA
My research of the institution of temporary Mut’ah marriage within the MENA region suggests that temporary marriages may facilitate sex trafficking and slavery under the guise of religious legitimacy. A temporary marriage implies a short-term Islamic marriage that is usually a private verbal agreement between potential spouses. There is an absence of systematic empirical work on this complex phenomenon, particularly with regards to its positive and negative effects on the women involved. My research, together with Brian Turnbull from the University of Kansas, examines the possible exploitative and liberating aspects of temporary marriage. Our research utilizes first-hand accounts provided online to better understand how and why the institution of temporary marriage has been revived both within the MENA region and expanded into the West. We review narratives from individuals who have engaged in temporary marriages and analyze support for the competing views within the literature. We argue that temporary marriages can create a private space for the participants to feel better about their relationship, even if those outside still criticize and shame them. However, this private space also gives exploitative men more leeway to take advantage of their partner. Sexual exploitation and trafficking becomes more likely when matchmakers facilitate transnational marriages by locating vulnerable populations who are willing to engage in the arrangements, usually in return for compensation to the woman or her family.
#BlackLivesMatter and Global Framing of Social Protest and Dissent
My co-author and I will investigate the impact that the Black Lives Matter Movement (BLM) has had on the framing of protests beyond the United States. Our research aims to trace the manifestation of the BLM social movement from a national to international scope. We seek to answer the following questions: 1) What characteristics of the BLM framing penetrate geopolitical boundaries? 2) How has the BLM movement changed activism and framing internationally?