Professor

PhD, University of Calgary

rex.brynen (at) mcgill.ca

Research interests

• Peacebuilding and post-conflict reconstruction.
• Middle East politics: Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon; Arab-Israeli peace process (with special emphasis on development assistance and refugees); regional conflict, security and development in the Middle East; authoritarianism and democratization in the Arab world.
• Conflict, peacebuilding, and development simulation.

Selected publications

Books

Palestinian Refugees: Challenges of Repatriation and Development (co-editor and contributor, with Roula el-Rifai). London: I.B. Tauris, 2007.

Persistent Permeability? Regionalism, Localism, and Globalization in the Middle East (co-editor and contributor, with Bassel Salloukh). London: Ashgate, 2004.

Aid Effectiveness in the West Bank and Gaza. Washington DC: World Bank, June 2000. (principal author).

A Very Political Economy: Peacebuilding and Foreign Aid in the West Bank and Gaza. Washington DC: United States Institute of Peace, 2000.

Political Liberalization and Democratization in the Arab World, Volume 2: Comparative Experiences, (co-editor and contributor, with Bahgat Korany and Paul Noble), Boulder: Lynne Rienner, 1998.

Political Liberalization and Democratization in the Arab World, Volume 1: Theoretical Perspectives, (co-editor and contributor, with Bahgat Korany and Paul Noble). Boulder: Lynne Rienner, 1995.

The Many Faces of National Security in the Arab World, (coeditor and contributor, with Bahgat Korany and Paul Noble). London: Macmillan, 1993.

Echoes of the Intifada: Regional Repercussions of the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict. (editor, and contributor with Neil Caplan) Boulder: Westview Press, 1991.

Sanctuary and Survival: The PLO in Lebanon. Boulder: Westview Press, 1990.

Articles and Book Chapters

(Ending) Civil War in the Classroom: A Peacebuilding Simulation, PS: Political Science & Politics 43 (January 2010).

Building a Better Relationship: Palestinian Refugees, Lebanon, and the Role of the International Community, Ottawa: International Development Research Centre, 2009.

The Past as Prelude? Negotiating the Palestinian Refugee Issue, Chatham House Briefing Paper, June 2008.

“Palestine: Building Neither Peace Nor State” In Charles Call and Vanessa Hawkins Wyeth, eds., Building States to Build Peace (Boulder: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2008).

“Aid as Carrot, Aid as Stick: The Politics of Aid Conditionality in the Palestinian Territories," Accord (2008).

“Canada's Role in the Israeli-Palestinian Peace Process”. In Paul Heinbecker and Bessma Momani, eds, Canada and the Middle East: In Theory and Practice (Waterloo: Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 2007).

“Managing Public Resources: The Experience of the Palestinian “Proto-State””. In James Boyce and Madalene O’Donnell, eds, Peace and the Public Purse: Economic Policies for Postwar Statebuilding (Boulder: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2007).

(with David Romano) “The Palestinians: Finding No Freedom in Liberation” In Ray Hinnebusch and Rick Fawn, eds. The Iraq War: Causes and Consequences (Boulder: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2006).

“Perspectives on Palestinian Refugee Repatriation” In Mick Dumper, ed. Palestinian Refugee Repatriation: Global Perspectives (London: Routledge, 2006).

“Donor Assistance: Lessons from Palestine for Afghanistan.” In Gerd Junne and Willemijn Verkoren, eds, Post Conflict Development: Meeting New Challenges (Boulder: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2004).

"Cluster-bombs and Sandcastles: Kramer on the Future of Middle East Studies in America" Middle East Journal, Spring 2002.

"Mirror, Mirror? The Politics of TV Science Fiction." In David Schultz, ed., It's Showtime! Media, Politics and Popular Culture (Baltimore: Peter Lang, 2000).

"Palestine." (with Hisham Awartani and Clare Woodcraft). In Shepard Forman and Stewart Patrick, eds., Good Intentions: Pledges of Aid for Post-Conflict Recovery. Boulder: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2000.

"Compensation as Part of a Comprehensive Solution to the Palestinian Refugee Problem." Workshop Report, IDRC/PRRN, July 1999. (available on PRRN)

"Building Economic Peace and Regional Security: The Primacy of Politics" [in Arabic]. In Augustus Richard Norton, ed., al-Amin fi al-sharq al-awsat: tawjihat jadidah [Security in the Middle East: New Directions]. Palestinian Council on Foreign Relations, 1999.

"Recent Political Developments." In World Bank, Development Under Adversity? The Palestinian Economy in Transition (Washington, DC: World Bank,1998).

"Much Ado about Nothing? The Refugee Working Group and the Perils of Multilateral Quasinegotiation," International Negotiations 2, 2 (November 1997).

"Imagining a Solution: Final Status Arrangements and Palestinian Refugees in Lebanon," Journal of Palestine Studies 26, 2 (Winter 1997).

(with Jill Tansley) "The Refugee Working Group of the Middle East Multilateral Peace Negotiations," Israel-Palestine Journal 2, 4 (Autumn 1995).

"The Neopatrimonial Dimensions of Palestinian Politics," Journal of Palestine Studies 25, 1 (1995).

"The Palestinians and Confidence-Building Measures in the Arab-Israeli Conflict", in G. Ben-Dor and D. Dewitt, eds, Confidence and Security Building in the Middle East: The Arab-Israeli Nexus (Boulder: Westview Press, 1994).

"Economic Crisis and Post-Rentier Democratization in the Arab World: The Case of Jordan", Canadian Journal of Political Science, 35, 1 (1992).

(with Paul Noble) "The Gulf Conflict and the Arab State System: A New Regional Order?" Arab Studies Quarterly 13, 1-2 (Winter/Spring 1991).

"Palestine and the Arab State System: Permeability, State Consolidation, and Responses to the Intifada", Canadian Journal of Political Science, (1991).

Internet Projects and Research Networks

Interuniversity Consortium for Arab and Middle Eastern Studies—Montreal's McGill-based research consortium on Middle East.

Palestinian Refugee ResearchNet—an online resource and international research network on Palestinian refugees (supported by IDRC).

PaxSims—a web resource on the use of simulations for teaching and training with regard to fragile and conflict-affected countries (co-edited with Gary Milante).

Brynania—the POLI 450/650 civil war and peacebuilding simulation.

Teaching

Courses (2009-10)

Reference Letters

While I am always pleased to write letters of reference for former and current students, I receive literally hundreds of such requests each year. Consequently, I require at least three weeks notice between receipt of all relevant materials (forms, unofficial transcript, CV) and mail-out.

To reach me...

Office hours (fall term): Tuesday, 12h00-14h00, or by appointment.

Additional undergraduate advising hours (August-September) can be found here

POLI 340 students: I am also usually available for 15 minutes immediately after class.

POLI 640 students: I am also usually available for an hour immediately before class.

My office is located at Leacock 331.
phone: (514) 398-5075