Upcoming Webinar: Lebanon, Hezbollah and the Ben Gurion Moment

Join ASMEA on September 18, 2025 at 12:30 pm (ET) for the webinar "Lebanon, Hezbollah and the Ben Gurion Moment" led by Dr. Robert Rabil, Florida Atlantic University.

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Dr. Rabil received his Bachelor of Arts in Computer Science from Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, his Masters in Government from Harvard University Extension School and his Ph.D. in Near Eastern and Judaic Studies from Brandeis University. His areas of research include Political Islam, Terrorism, Transnational and Revivalist Movements, U.S.-Arab Relations, Arab-Israeli Conflict, Reform in the Arab world, and Contemporary Middle Eastern and Southeastern Politics.

He is the author of Embattled Neighbors: Syria, Israel, and Lebanon (Lynne Rienner, 2003); Syria, the United States, and the War on Terror in the Middle East (Praeger, 2006);  Religion, National Identity and Confessional Politics in Lebanon: The Challenge of Islamism (Palgrave Macmillan, 2011);  Salafism in Lebanon: from Apoliticism to Transnational Jihadism (Georgetown University Press, 2014); The Syrian Refugee Crisis in Lebanon: The Double Tragedy of Refugees and Impacted Host Communities (Lexington Books, 2016); White Heart (London: Austin Macauley Publishers, 2018); and, most recently, Lebanon and Turkey: Historical Contexts and Contemporaneous Realities (Rowman & Littlefield, 2024). His articles have appeared in major newspapers and academic journals, including the Wall Street Journal, Chicago-Sun Times, Jerusalem Post, Daily Star (Beirut), History News Network, National Interest, CNN, Middle East Journal, Middle East Policy, Journal of International Security Affairs, Middle East Quarterly, and Middle East Review of International Affairs. He also contributed a number of book chapters on Political Islam and Middle Eastern Politics.

Dr. Rabil is currently undertaking multiple research projects on U.S. National Security and Transnational Salafism, and completing a research project on Israel-Lebanon Relations.

Previously, Dr. Rabil served as the chief of emergency for the Red Cross in Beirut, Lebanon, taught at Suffolk University, and was the project manager of the U.S. State Department funded-Iraq Research and Documentation Project.

Dr. Rabil’s frequent speaking engagements include appearances at major universities such as Harvard University, Johns Hopkins, Brandeis, Case Western Reserve, and the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School. He participates in roundtable discussions and forums sponsored by the U.S. Government, including the U.S. Army and National Intelligence Council. He has appeared on media outlets such as ABC, CBS, BBC, FOX, MSNBC, Newsmax, C-SPAN, I24 News, MTV and a number of Arabic TV channels. 

He was awarded the LLS Distinguished Faculty Award, the LLS Distinguished Professorship of Current Affairs, FAU Scholar of the Year, Fulbright nomination, and FAU Scholarly Award for Outstanding Research. He received multiple awards and certificates of appreciation from branches of the U.S. government. He was also conferred with an honorary Ph.D. in Humanities from the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts. He is a professor of political science at Florida Atlantic University and the Chastain-Johnston Middle Eastern Studies Distinguished Professor.