I am a Postdoctoral Research Fellow with the Middle East Initiative at the Harvard Kennedy School.
My research explores the political economy of development in the Arab world. My book project examines the interaction of ethnic politics and trade politics in the region, and low and middle-income economies more broadly. I am also working on projects that investigate the effects of women’s employment on women’s empowerment, and state – business relations in the informal economy. My work has been published in Comparative Politics and the Middle East Journal. My publications and drafts of working papers are available on my research page.
I earned a Ph.D. in Politics at Princeton University, where I served as a teaching assistant for courses in Comparative Politics, International Relations and Middle Eastern Studies. I obtained a Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy (MALD) at the Fletcher School at Tufts University and a B.A. in International Relations from Stanford University.
Feel free to contact me at:
smonroe [at] hks [dot] harvard [dot] edu
I will be on the academic job market this Fall.
Selected Publications
Journal Articles:
“Down and Out: Founding Elections and Disillusionment with Democracy in Egypt and Tunisia," with Sharan Grewal. Comparative Politics, Forthcoming.
“No Arab Bourgeoisie, No Democracy? The Entrepreneurial Middle Class and Democratic Attitudes since the Arab Spring," with Nimah Mazaheri. Comparative Politics, volume 50, no. 4, July 2018, pp. 523 - 550.
“Salafis in Parliament: Democratic Attitudes and Party Politics in the Gulf,” Middle East Journal, lead article, volume 66, no. 3, Summer 2012, pp. 409 - 424.
Book Chapters:
“Varieties of Protectionism: Ethnic Politics and Business Politics in Jordan," in Crony Capitalism in the Middle East, ed. Ishac Diwan, Adeel Malik and Izak Atiyas. Oxford University Press, Forthcoming
Selected Honors and Awards
Bobst Center Fall Dissertation Grant (5,000 USD), 2017
Bobst Center Summer Dissertation Grant (5,000 USD), 2016
Princeton Institute for International and Regional Studies (PIIRS) Language Grant, 2015
POMEPS TRE Summer Research Grant, 2015
FLAS Summer Grant Recipient, 2014
PIIRS, Language Grant, 2014
Charles S. 05 and Margaret D. Fayerweather Graduate Fellow in Politics, AY2013-2014
Sultan Qaboos Cultural Center Summer Arabic Language and Media Scholarship, 2013