On October 9th, a group of panelists gathered for an informal discussion of Adam Mestyan’s new book Modern Arab Kingship: Remaking the Ottoman Political Order in the Interwar Middle East (PUP, 2023). After some introductory notes by the author, including a recognition of the ongoing violence in Palestine-Israel, the discussion’s chair, Dina Khoury (GWU) and each of the panelists presented their impressions of the work and how it has contributed to thinking about their own research. Topics of discussion included how to conceptualize local rule in the post-Ottoman period, the importance of developing new frameworks for examining the development of local polities in the Middle East, and moving beyond nationalism narratives to center the local, regional, and religious. Other panelists included Drs. Orit Bashkin (Chicago), Emily Greble (Vanderbilt), Hanan Hammad (TCU).
