Lawrence Rubin
Associate Professor
- School of International Affairs
- Center for International Strategy, Technology, and Policy
Overview
Lawrence Rubin is co-director of the Georgia Tech DC Program and an associate professor in the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs as well as an associate fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies. His research interests include Middle East politics and international security with a specific focus on intra-regional relations, religion and politics, nuclear proliferation, and emerging technologies. He has conducted research in Morocco, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, the UAE, and Yemen. Rubin in a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
During the 2017-2018 AY, Rubin served as a senior advisor in the Office of the Secretary of Defense for Policy through a Council on Foreign Relations International Affairs Fellowship in nuclear security, sponsored by the Stanton Foundation. He worked in the Middle East and Countering WMD offices.
Rubin is the author and editor of three books, including The End of Strategic Stability? Nuclear Weapons and the Challenge of Regional Rivalries (Georgetown University Press, 2018) co-edited with Adam Stulberg, Islam in the Balance: Ideational Threats in Arab Politics (Stanford University Press, 2014) and Terrorist Rehabilitation and Counter-Radicalisation: New Approaches to Counter-terrorism (Routledge 2011) with Rohan Gunaratna and Jolene Jerard. He recently edited a special issue for Orbis titled, “Emerging Technology and National Security,” 64:4 (2020). His other work has been published in International Studies Review, Politics, Religion & Ideology, Democracy and Security, International Area Studies Review, Middle East Policy, Terrorism and Political Violence, Orbis, Contemporary Security Policy, Democracy and Security, Non-Proliferation Review, British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies, Lawfare, the Brookings Institute, The National Interest, The Washington Quarterly, and The Washington Post. He served as the guest editor for a special volume in Orbis 64:4 (Fall 2020), “Emerging Technology and National Security.”
Rubin is a former editor of the journal of Terrorism and Political Violence. He was senior advisor for United States Institute of Peace’s Task Force on Extremism in Fragile States (2017-18) and he was a senior advisor for the Reagan Institute’s The Contest for Innovation: Strengthening America’s National Security Innovation Base in an Era of Strategic Competition (2019).
Prior to coming to Georgia Tech, Rubin was a Research Fellow at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs with the Dubai Initiative in Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government (2009-2010) and was lecturer on the Robert and Myra Kraft chair in Arab politics at the Crown Center for Middle East Studies, Brandeis University (2008-2009). Outside of Academia, he has held positions at the National Defense University’s Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies and the RAND Corporation.
Rubin received his PhD in Political Science from UCLA (2009) and earned degrees from University of Oxford, London School of Economics, and UC Berkeley. His research has been supported by the Hollings Center for International Dialogue, the Institute of Global Cooperation and Conflict, the U.S. Department of Education, Horowitz Foundation for Social Policy, Project on Middle East Political Science, and the Defense Threat Reduction Agency.
Interests
- Global Nuclear Security
- International Security Policy
- Regional Security Challenges
Focuses:
- Middle East
- Energy
- Weapons and Security
- Middle-Eastern Studies
- Religion and Politics
- Terrorism
Courses
- INTA-2260: Govt Pol Soc-Middle East
- INTA-2695: Undergraduate Internship
- INTA-3103: Challenge of Terrorism
- INTA-3110: U.S. Foreign Policy
- INTA-3260: Middle East Relations
- INTA-4011: Technology& Military Org
- INTA-4016: Strategy & Arms Control
- INTA-4500: INTA Pro-Seminar
- INTA-4695: Undergraduate Internship
- INTA-6016: Strategy & Arms Control
- INTA-6103: International Security
- INTA-8010: IAST Ph.D. Proseminar
Publications
Recent Publications
Journal Articles
- A Middle East space race? Motivations, trajectories, and regional politics
In: Space Policy [Peer Reviewed]
Date: January 2024
- China’s 5G networks: A tool for advancing digital authoritarianism abroad?
In: Orbis
Date: 2022
- Saddam Hussein’s role in the gassing of Halabja
In: Non Proliferation Review [Peer Reviewed]
Date: August 2021
Abstract
Iraq’s use of chemical weapons against Iraqi Kurdish civilians in 1987 and 1988 is among the most morally troubling events in the latter half of the twentieth century. Most of the questions surrounding the attack, including why, when, and how, have been addressed in path-breaking research by Joost Hiltermann and other researchers from Human Rights Watch. However, even as more records and internal documents from the period have come to light, one question remains unresolved: Did Saddam Hussein, Iraq’s leader, directly order the gassing of Iraqi Kurds? This study reassesses the Halabja attack of 1988—in particular, Saddam’s thinking and behavior relating to the attack—in light of the post-2003 evidence. It synthesizes insights from the Iraqi records at the Conflict Records Research Center and Stanford University; debriefings of Iraqi principals, which the authors obtained in response to Mandatory Declassification Review requests; recent memoirs of Iraqi and US officials; and other previously unexplored sources. Although these records provide no direct proof that Saddam Hussein issued an explicit order to gas Halabja, it is clear he created a command environment in which the indiscriminate gassing of Iraqi Kurds was considered permissible and even desirable.
- Quantum Sensing's Potential Impacts on Strategic Deterrence and Modern Warfare
In: Orbis
Date: February 2021
Chapters
- Conclusion
In: Todd S. Sechser, Neil Narang, and Caitlin Talmadge, eds., Emerging Technologies and International Stability [Peer Reviewed]
Date: December 2021
All Publications
Books
- The End of Strategic Stability? Nuclear Weapons and the Challenge of Regional Rivalries
Date: 2018
- Islam in the Balance: Ideational Threats in Arab Politics (Stanford University Press, 2014)
Date: 2014
Islam in the Balance: Ideational Threats in Arab Politics is an analysis of how ideas, or political ideology, can threaten states and how states react to ideational threats. It examines the threat perception and policies of two Arab, Muslim majority states, Egypt and Saudi Arabia, in response to the rise and activities of two revolutionary "Islamic states," established in Iran (1979) and Sudan (1989).
- Terrorist Rehabilitation and Counter-radicalisation
Date: 2011
- Terrorist Rehabilitation and Counter-Radicalisation: New Approaches to Counter-terrorism
Date: 2011
This book seeks to explore the new frontiers in counter-terrorism research, analyses and practice, focusing on the imperative to rehabilitate terrorists.
Journal Articles
- A Middle East space race? Motivations, trajectories, and regional politics
In: Space Policy [Peer Reviewed]
Date: January 2024
- China’s 5G networks: A tool for advancing digital authoritarianism abroad?
In: Orbis
Date: 2022
- Saddam Hussein’s role in the gassing of Halabja
In: Non Proliferation Review [Peer Reviewed]
Date: August 2021
Abstract
Iraq’s use of chemical weapons against Iraqi Kurdish civilians in 1987 and 1988 is among the most morally troubling events in the latter half of the twentieth century. Most of the questions surrounding the attack, including why, when, and how, have been addressed in path-breaking research by Joost Hiltermann and other researchers from Human Rights Watch. However, even as more records and internal documents from the period have come to light, one question remains unresolved: Did Saddam Hussein, Iraq’s leader, directly order the gassing of Iraqi Kurds? This study reassesses the Halabja attack of 1988—in particular, Saddam’s thinking and behavior relating to the attack—in light of the post-2003 evidence. It synthesizes insights from the Iraqi records at the Conflict Records Research Center and Stanford University; debriefings of Iraqi principals, which the authors obtained in response to Mandatory Declassification Review requests; recent memoirs of Iraqi and US officials; and other previously unexplored sources. Although these records provide no direct proof that Saddam Hussein issued an explicit order to gas Halabja, it is clear he created a command environment in which the indiscriminate gassing of Iraqi Kurds was considered permissible and even desirable.
- Quantum Sensing's Potential Impacts on Strategic Deterrence and Modern Warfare
In: Orbis
Date: February 2021
- National Security Implications of Emerging Satellite Technologies
In: Orbis
Date: October 2020
- How Small States Acquire Power: A Social Network Analysis
In: International Area Studies Review [Peer Reviewed]
Date: January 2018
- The Ascendance of Official Islams
In: Democracy and Security [Peer Reviewed]
Date: 2018
ABSTRACT
This article examines how and why four Arab states, Morocco, Jordan, Tunisia, and Egypt, have increased official Islam (OI) to counter the new challenges in the regional environment following the Arab uprisings. It argues that regimes responded to the initial rise of popular Islam as well as the threat from extremist groups by enhancing their support for official Islam. In an effort to control the religious space and legitimize their rule, these regimes have allocated financial resources, political capital, and institutional power to elements of official Islam. Furthermore, these regimes’ survival strategies vary according to the regime type and the presence or absence of inherited religious institutions. For example, we find that Tunisia turned to foreign training of their imams and greater cooperation with religious leaders in other countries. By contrast, Egypt, under President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, further coopted al-Azhar and OI by setting the agenda for how religion institutions should engage society. Meanwhile, Jordan continued its long-standing development of OI while Morocco further expanded and internationalized OI. These similar goals but distinct approaches demonstrate the importance of the understanding the context in which these specific policies are developed.
- How states can use ‘Official Islam’ to limit radical extremism
In: The Washington Post
Date: November 2017
- How to Give Counterterrorism a Fighting Chance
In: The National Interest
Date: 2017
- Islamic Political Activism among Israel’s Negev Bedouin Population
In: British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies [Peer Reviewed]
Date: 2017
Abstract
This paper examines Islamic political activism among the Bedouin Arab citizens of Israel who reside in the Negev/Naqab (southern Israel). It describes how a religious-political movement became the dominant political force among the non-Jewish communities of the Negev, in doing so, this paper explores the link between religious-political ideology, represented by the Islamic movement, and tribalism, the dominant social-cultural influence among this population. While this paper is a first cut at trying to understand these linkages, I suggest that Israeli Islamist political leaders have mobilized support in two interconnected ways. First, they have attracted support through dawa (religious education), social-welfare activities, and mobilizing symbols. Second, Islamic political activists have worked within and exploited one of the most salient features of Bedouin life, tribalism, by recruiting support from the lower-status, largely urbanized, and landless tribes. These activities have taken place within the broader context of a changing landscape of identity within these communities of the Negev.
- The Strategic Illogic of Counterterrorism Policy
In: The Washington Quarterly [Peer Reviewed]
Date: December 2016
- The Strategic Illogic of Counterterrorism Policy
In: The Washington Quarterly [Peer Reviewed]
Date: December 2016
- "Why the Islamic State won't become a normal state" in Islam and International Order, POMEPS Studies 15
Date: July 2015
- How Jordan uses Islam against the Islamic State
Date: November 2014
How Jordan uses Islam against the Islamic State - Who's afraid of an "Islamic state?" The Washington Post
Date: October 2014
Who's afraid of an "Islamic state?"
- Islamic Political Activism in Israel
In: Brookings Institution
Date: April 2014
In this new Saban Center Analysis Paper, Lawrence Rubin examines the curious case of the Islamic movement in Israel, from its origins in the early 1970s, fragmentation in the mid-1990s, to its present state. He provides an overview of this Islamic movement as a window into an under-examined subject at the intersection of Israeli-Arab and Islamist politics.
Rubin pays particular attention to the evolution of the Islamic movement by surveying its major inflection points, including its development, its split into hardline and moderate factions and its attempts at reconciliation. The paper also situates this movement within the domestic and regional environment in order to highlight both the similarities and differences between the Israeli Islamic movement and others in the region. Rubin looks at the future trajectories of the movement, including the challenges and opportunities presented by the Prawer Plan and other developments. Finally, the paper concludes by highlighting why this movement is important for Arab-Jewish relations, the peace process and regional peace and stability—and what it means for U.S. foreign policy.
- When Victory Is Not an Option: Islamist Movements in Arab Politics
In: INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MIDDLE EAST STUDIES
Date: August 2013
- The Rise of Official Islam in Jordan
Date: February 2013
This paper examines the development of ‘Official Islam’, or state-sponsored religious institutions, in Jordan. We argue that Jordan's development went through three phases. From its independence in 1947 until the revolution, the state undertook minimal efforts to develop this institution. After the Iranian revolution, however, the state changed course by developing two such institutions – the Advisory Council of Dar al-Ifta (Department for Issuing Fatwas) and the Royal Aal al-Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought. These institutional changes set the stage for the regime's new policy of seeking to manage the public religious space. With the rise of Global Jihadism in the late 1990s, however, the state has increasingly empowered both institutions seeking to actively shape the religious space and debate in Jordan.
- Documenting Saddam Hussein's Iraq
Date: June 2011
Regime changes through revolution or war are of great interest for scholars not simply because there is a need to explain these events but also because the conquering army or new regine may release information that enables scholars to assess the previous historical record. Access to state records is particularly important for trying to understand more about social and political life under authoritarian or totalitarian rule.
- Islam, Domestic Politics, and International Relations
In: International Studies Review [Peer Reviewed]
Date: 2011
- “Islamic Political Activism among Israel’s Negev Bedouin Population,” British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies
Journal - Editors
- Emerging Technology and National Security
In: Orbis [Peer Reviewed]
Date: October 2020
Abstract
This article explores the national security implications of advances in satellite rendezvous and proximity operations and on-orbit servicing technology. It illustrates how the dual-use nature of these technologies, their proliferation as a result of military requirements and changing commercial markets, and the absence of a set of rules governing behavior have transformed the security environment. With the re-emergence of great power competition, and the increasing number of state and non-state actors in space, the potential instability caused by these emerging technologies could have profound effects on global peace and stability.
Chapters
- Conclusion
In: Todd S. Sechser, Neil Narang, and Caitlin Talmadge, eds., Emerging Technologies and International Stability [Peer Reviewed]
Date: December 2021
- Conclusion
In: The End of Strategic Stability [Peer Reviewed]
Date: August 2018
- Introduction
In: The End of Strategic Stability [Peer Reviewed]
Date: August 2018
- Non-Kinetic Approaches to Counter-Terrorism: A Case Study of Egypt and the Islamic Group
Date: 2011
- Dealing with the Damage: How to Manage a Nuclear Iran,
Date: 2007
Working Papers
- “U.S. Foreign Policy in the Middle East amidst Regional Disorder and Entangled Alliances,”
In: International Sea Power Symposium Proceedings
Date: April 2017
- Islam in the Balance: Ideational Threats in Arab Politics
Date: 2014
Internet Publications
- Great Power Competition Below the Line: Comparative (and Contending) Approaches to Strategic Stability
In: Present and Future Challenges to Maintaining Balance Between Global Cooperation and Competition
Date: November 2020
- "Sudan’s government seems to be shifting away from Islamic law. Not everyone supports these moves”
In: The Washington Post
Date: August 2020
- Jordan and Qatar restore diplomatic ties, but why now?
In: IISS Analysis
Date: July 2019
- How States Foster Violent Extremism and What the United States Should Do About It
In: Lawfare
Date: June 2019
- How states can use ‘Official Islam’ to limit radical extremism
In: Washington Post
Date: November 2017
- How to Give Counterterrorism a Fighting Chance
In: The National Interest
Date: January 2017
- “Why Israel Outlawed the Northern Branch of the Islamic Movement,” Brookings' Lawfare, December 7, 2015
Date: December 2015
Reports
- “Great Power Competition Below the Line,” with Adam Stulberg and Dalton Lin, in Present and Future Challenges to Maintaining Balance Between Global Cooperation and Competition
In: Present and Future Challenges to Maintaining Balance Between Global Cooperation and Competition
Date: November 2020
- “Saudi Arabia, Iran and the United States,” Saudi Arabia, Iran and De-Escalation in the Persian Gulf (Project SEPAD), June 2020.
In: Saudi Arabia, Iran and De-Escalation in the Persian Gulf (Project SEPAD)
Date: June 2020
Other Publications
- “An ISIS Containment Doctrine,” The National Interest, June 14, 2016 with Jenna Jordan
Date: June 2016
- Why the Islamic State won't become a normal state
Date: July 2015
- Stanford University Press
In: The Saban Center for Middle East Policy, [Peer Reviewed]
Date: 2014
- The Rise of Official Islam in Jordan
In: Politics, Religion, and Ideology [Peer Reviewed]
Date: 2013
- Documenting Saddam Hussein’s Iraq
In: Contemporary Security Policy [Peer Reviewed]
Date: 2011
- A Typology of Soft Powers in Middle East Politics
Date: 2010
- Ideological Reorientation and Counterterrorism: Confronting Militant Islam in Egypt
In: Terrorism and Political Violence [Peer Reviewed]
Date: 2008