| Post: | Research Student |
| Location: | |
| Email: | N.M.Ahmed@sussex.ac.uk |
Biography
Nafeez Mosaddeq Ahmed is executive director of the Institute for Policy Research & Development in London (www.iprd.org.uk). He has taught courses in contemporary history and international relations theory at the Department of International Relations, University of Sussex, from where he obtained his DPhil in April 2009. He has also lectured at Brunel University's Politics & History Unit on empire and globalisation at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels.
His Doctoral thesis investigated the radicalisation processes and dynamics of violent conflict in the context of hierarchical (imperial) social systems in the modern world. It undertakes a theoretically-controlled historical investigation of empire/imperialism in contemporary IR discourse, exploring the relationship between contested social relations in modern imperial systems, and practices of mass violence, war and genocide between combatant and civilian groups.
Ahmed has also published extensively on international terrorism, al-Qaeda and the 'War on Terror'. His current project is an interdisciplinary analysis of global ecological, energy and economic crises and Western state-security responses to them as symptoms of a global systemic crisis, not only in terms of the contemporary socio-political conjuncture of the global political economy, but also the subliminal ideational and ethical assumptions with which it is concurrently co-extensive. His forthcoming book based on this research is The Crisis of Civilisation: How Climate, Oil, Food, Finance, Terror and Warfare will Change the World (London: Pluto Press 2010; New York: Macmillan, 2010).
Role
Associate Tutor (post-Doctoral) in International Relations
Qualifications
January 2005 - April 2009: Department of International Relations, University of Sussex
DPhil, International Relations
Thesis: ‘The Violence of Empire: The Logic and Dynamic of Strategies of Violence and Genocide in Modern Imperial Systems.' Supervisor: Dr Benno Teschke. Examiners: Dr Sam Knafo (Sussex) and Dr Alejandro Colas (Birkbeck)
- The thesis undertakes an interdisciplinary theoretical investigation encompassing IR Theory, Social Theory, Historical Sociology, and Genocide Studies, involving a critical appropriation of ‘Political Marxism' - particularly the concept of politically-constituted social relations - tested and extended through a comparative historiographical analysis of the Spanish and British empires from the fifteenth to the nineteenth centuries.
- This culminates in a historical materialist social constructivist model of the social relations and radicalisation processes of violent conflict and genocidal violence in different imperial systems, illuminating the trajectory of post-9/11 security discourses and counterinsurgency practices in the ‘War on Terror.'
September 2003 - November 2004: Department of International Relations, University of Sussex
MA Contemporary War & Peace Studies (Distinction)
Dissertation (Distinction): ‘Structural Violence as a Form of Genocide: The Impact of the International Economic Order.' Supervisor: Dr Martin Coward
Modules: Foundations of World Politics; Contemporary Warfare and Society; Issues in International Security; International Conflict Analysis
January 2003 - July 2003 Birkbeck College, University of London
Certificate, Development Studies
Modules: Development: Theories & Strategies; Development in a Global Context; Development in Practice
Research
International Relations Theory; Historical Sociology of Violence, War and Genocide; Modern Imperial Social Systems; History of European Atlantic Empires; Violent Conflict and Radicalisation; International Terrorism and Violent Extremism; Transdisciplinary Security Studies (global crises, climate change, energy scarcity, food insecurity, economic instability); Middle East Studies; Islam
Publications
Books
The Crisis of Civilisation: How Climate, Oil, Food, Finance, Terror and Warfare will Change the World (London: Pluto Press; New York: Macmillan, forthcoming 2010)
The London Bombings: An Independent Inquiry (London: Duckworth, 2006) North American edition (New York: Overlook Press, 2007).
- - Book launched in the House of Lords by Lord Rea of Eksdale.
The War on Truth: 9/11, Disinformation and the Anatomy of Terrorism (London: Arris Books, 2005)
- - North American edition (New York: Olive Branch Press, 2005) Italian edition (Rome: Fazi Editore, 2004) French edition (Paris: Editions Demi Lune, 2006)
- - Excerpts entered into Congressional Record by US Hon. Rep. (Georgia) Cynthia McKinney
Behind the War on Terror: Western Secret Strategy and the Struggle for Iraq (London: Clairview, 2003)
- - North American edition (Gabriola Island, New Society, 2003) Italian edition (Rome: Fazi Editore, 2003)
- - Recommended by Chatham House, Selected Reading List Iraq 2007
The War on Freedom: How and Why America was Attacked, September 11, 2001 North American edition (Joshua Tree, California: Institute for Policy Research & Development and Progressive Press, 2002)
- - German edition (Munich: Random House Bertelsmann, 2003); Italian edition (Rome: Fazi Editore, 2002); East Asian edition (Kuala Lumpur: Thinkers Library, 2002); Middle East edition (Beirut: Arab Scientific Publishers, 2002).
- - Nominated for the Naples Prize 2003 (Premio Napoli, Italy's most prestigious literary award).
- - Book was officially made available to each member of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States - a copy of the book is archived in a special collection "9/11 Commission Materials" at the National Archives in Washington DC http://www.archives.gov/research/alic/special-collections/9-11-commission.html
Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles
"The Crisis of (Post) Modernity: The De-Sacralisation of the Social, the Death of Democracy, and the Reclamation of Islamic Tradition", Arches Quarterly (London: The Cordoba Foundation, Vol. 3, No. 1, Summer 2009)
"Anglo-American World Order: 30 Years After the Islamic Revolution of Iran", Islamism Digest (London: Centre for the Study of Terrorism, Vol. 4, No. 2, February 2009) pp.14-19
"Review - Purify and destroy: the political uses of massacre and genocide, by Jacques Semelin", International Affairs (Vol. 84, No. 4, July 2008) pp. 836-837
"Structural Violence as a Form of Genocide: The Impact of the International Economic Order", Entelequia. Revista Interdisciplinar [Entelechy: Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies] (University of Malaga, No. 5, Fall 2007) pp. 3-41 <http://www.eumed.net/entelequia/en.art.php?a=05a01>
"Terrorism and Western Statecraft: Al-Qaeda and Western Covert Operations After the Cold War", in Paul Zarembka (ed.), Research in Political Economy (Elsevier, Amsterdam, 2006, Vol. 23)
"UN Humanitarian Intervention in East Timor: A Critical Appraisal" Entelequia. Revista Interdisciplinar (University of Malaga, No. 2, Fall 2006) pp. 227-244 <http://www.eumed.net/entelequia/en.art.php?a=02a16>
"The Globalization of Insecurity: How the international economic order undermines human and national security on a world scale", Historia Actual [Contemporary History] (University of Cadiz, No. 5, 2004), pp. 113-126 <http://www.historia-actual.com/hao/Volumes/Volume1/Issue5/eng/ v1i5c11.pdf>
"America and the Taliban: From Co-operation to War", Global Dialogue (Nicosia, Cyprus: Centre for World Dialogue, Vol. 4, No. 2, Spring 2002)
"Distortion, Deception and Terrorism: The Bombing of Afghanistan", International Socialist Review (Chicago: Center for Economic Research and Social Change, No. 20, November-December 2001)
Peer-Reviewed Book Chapters
"Capitalism, Securitization and Post-Cold War Western Collaboration with Islamist Terrorist Networks: Towards a Political Economy of the Deep State", in Eric Wilson (ed.) Government of the Shadows Vol II: National Security Agencies and the Dual State (New York: Macmillan, forthcoming 2010)
"Terrorism and Western Statecraft", in Paul Zarembka (ed.), The Hidden History of 9-11-2002 (New York: Seven Stories Press, 2007)
"Interrogating Terrorism: Muslim Problem or Covert Operations Nightmare?", in Kevin Barrett, John B. Cobb, Jr, and Sandra B. Lubarsky (eds.), 9/11 and American Empire Vol. II: Christians, Jews and Muslims Speak Out (New York: Olive Branch Press, 2006)
"The Discourse of Empire: United States National Security Strategies Since 1945", in Ronald Thoden (ed.), Terror und Staat: Der 11 September - Hintergrunde und Folgen: Goestregie, Terror, Geheimdienste, Medien, Kriege, Folter, Edition Zeitgeschichte (Berlin: Kai Homilius Verlag, 2004)
"State Terrorism at the Dawn of the New American Century", Afterword to William Blum [former State Department official], ll libro nero degli Stati Uniti (Rome: Fazi Editore, 2003). [Italian translation of Blum's original English edition known as Killing Hope: US Military and CIA Interventions Since World War II (London: Zed, 1995)]
Peer-Reviewed Policy Reports
"The Iran Threat: An Assessment of the Middle East Nuclear Stalemate" (London and Versonnex: Institute for Policy Research & Development and Transcend Research Institute, August 2008)
- - Presented at Nobel Peace Prize Laureates Conference (Stavanger: Point for Peace Summit, September 2008)
"Inside the Crevice: Islamist terror networks and the 7/7 intelligence failure", Parliamentary Briefing Paper (London: Institute for Policy Research & Development, August 2007)
- - Cited in Application for Judicial Review of HM Government's Decision Not to Pursue an Independent Public Inquiry into the London 7th July 2005 Terrorist Attacks (London: Oury Clark Solicitors, August 2007)
- - Foreword, by Detective Superintendent (ret.) Des Thomas, former Deputy Head of CID, Hampshire
- - Report launch event co-sponsored by Baroness Helena Kennedy QC and Garden Court Chambers
"Afghanistan, the Taliban and the United States: The Role of Human Rights in Western Foreign Policy", (Phoenix, Arizona: Institute for Afghan Studies, January 2001) <http://www.institute-for-afghan-studies.org/AFGHAN%20CONFLICT/TALIBAN/ afghanistan%20taliban%20and%20us.htm>
- - Recommended by the Central Asia Unit of the Conflict Prevention Initiative (CPI) of the Program on Humanitarian Policy and Conflict Research (HPCR), Harvard University
"The Impending Abyss: A Comprehensive Assessment of the Past and Future Trajectory of the Israel-Palestine Conflict", The Global Site, (Brighton: University of Sussex, July 2002) <http://www.theglobalsite.ac.uk/justpeace/israel-palestine.htm>
Country Reports and Briefings on Human Rights Practices
Co-authored with Faisal Bodi, Reza Kazim and Massoud Shadjareh, The Oldham Riots: Discrimination, Deprivation and Communal Tension in the United Kingdom, (London: Islamic Human Rights Commission, June 2001) <http://www.ihrc.org.uk/show.php?id=60>
- - Report used by the Runnymede Trust's Commission on British Muslims & Islamophobia and Commission on the Future of Multi-Ethnic Britain; and by the Central Police Training and Development Authority.
Suppressing Dissent: The Crackdown on Muslims in Zanzibar (London: Islamic Human Rights Commission, May-June 2001) <http://www.ihrc.org.uk/show.php?id=127>
The Killing in Kashmir and the Terrorism Act 2000 (London: Islamic Human Rights Commission, December 2000) <http://www.ihrc.org.uk/show.php?id=37>
Islamophobia in Papua New Guinea (London: Islamic Human Rights Commission, November 2000) <http://www.ihrc.org.uk/show.php?id=42>
Palestine Briefing for MPs: Part 1 (London: Islamic Human Rights Commission, November 2000) <http://www.ihrc.org.uk/show.php?id=40>
Routing Out The Opposition: The Comprehensive Repression of Human Rights in Turkish Society (London: Islamic Human Rights Commission, October 2000) <http://www.ihrc.org.uk/show.php?id=61>
- - Report launched by celebrated Turkish Member of Parliament Merve Kavacki (London: Muslim Cultural Heritage Centre, November 2000)
Algeria and the Paradox of Democracy: The 1992 Coup, its Consequences and the Contemporary Crisis (Berlin: Algeria Watch, November 2000) <http://www.algeria-watch.org/en/articles/1997_2000/paradox_democracy.htm>
- - Recommended reading in Initiative on Conflict Resolution and Ethnicity (INCORE) guide to Internet sources on conflict and ethnicity in Algeria (University of Ulster, Version 3, March 2001)
The Smashing of Chechnya - An International Irrelevance: A Case Study of the Role of Human Rights in Western Foreign Policy (London: Islamic Human Rights Commission, April 1999)
Activities
Ahmed has written for the Independent on Sunday and Muslim News, and appeared as an expert commentator for BBC News 24, BBC Radio Five Live, BBC World Today, BBC Asian Network, Channel 4, Sky News, C-SPAN, CNN, FOX News, Bloomberg, PBS Foreign Exchange, Al-Jazeera English, Press TV, Islam Channel and hundreds of other radio and TV shows in the USA, UK, and Europe. He is also cited and reviewed in the Sunday Times, Times Higher Educational Supplement, The Independent, The Observer, Big Issue Magazine, Vanity Fair, New York Observer, among others.
His first book, The War on Freedom (2002) was nominated for the 2003 Naples Prize, Italy's most prestigious literary award. His published research is widely cited in the peer-reviewed literature, and used in several US and UK university courses, including the Harvard University School of Public Health's Department of Global Health and Population and the Kings College London War Studies Department. His work is also listed in major bibliographies of expert literature including the US Army Air University's 'Causes of War' collection (2007); the UK Ministry of Defence's Joint Services Command & Staff College Research Guide on Counter-Terrorism and the GWOT (2008); and the International Labour Organization's 'World Commission on the Social Dimension on Globalization' social science bibliography on impacts of globalisation (2003).
As well as testifying in US Congress on Western state collaboration with Islamist extremist networks after the Cold War in summer 2005, Ahmed's research on international terrorism was used by the 9/11 Commission. His research on al-Qaeda has been endorsed by former senior US military and intelligence officials such as CIA veteran Robert Steele (founder of the US Army Marine Corps Intelligence Center) and Lt. Col. (ret.) Robert Bowman (former head of the Star Wars missile defence programmes under Presidents Ford and Carter). Ahmed has also consulted for the legal team representing the 7/7 Survivors Group, and for various media organisations on issues related to terrorism and foreign policy, such as the BBC. He is currently advising the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst on engagement with Muslim communities.
Ahmed is a former Senior Researcher at the Islamic Human Rights Commission (IHRC), a London-based NGO in Consultative Status with the UN Economic and Social Council, and is currently on the Executive Committee of the British Muslim Human Rights Centre at London Metropolitan University's Human Rights & Social Justice Institute. He is also Strategy Director for Creative Education at Arts Versa, a consultancy working with a variety of government agencies and civil society organisations to build cultural bridges between faith and ethnic communities to promote shared values and community cohesion, with a focus on Muslim diasporas and the creation of an inclusive progressive vision for British Islam.