Brains Like a Shoe

A blog about the politics and conflicts of the Horn of Africa and the Middle East, and the role of the United States in facilitating peacemaking, state-building and economic development in the region.

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Publications/Other

Publications

“A Leverage Point for Peace: how the United States should deal with Sudan’s troubling debt,” Save Darfur Coalition (December 2009).

“When Killers become Victims: Darfur in Context,” SAIS Review Volume 29, Number 2 (Summer-Fall 2009).

hothe United States should deal with Sudan’s troubling debt

“Enforcing a Turning Point and Imposing a Deal: An Analysis of the Darfur Abuja Negotiations of 2006,” Journal of International Negotiation Volume 13, Issue 3 (Fall 2008).

Presentations

“Islamist Democrats?: Assessing and Evaluating the Democratic Commitments of Islamist Parties in Turkey, Morocco, and Jordan,” Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy’s 7th Annual Conference (May 2006).

Unpublished Working Papers

Somalia Backgrounder, March 2009.

  • Brains like a Shoe = Mokh Zay Gazma

    The creation of this blog has given me the opportunity to add مخ زي جزمة - "mokh zay gazma" - to the archives of the internet. A google search demonstrates that no one has ever transliterated this Egyptian Colloquial Arabic expression into English in the same way that I have. The term literally means "brains like a shoe" and in Egypt it is a derogatory term used to describe someone who is extremely stubborn. The role of intransigence and the dearth of creativity for new solutions should be clear to all those who track developments in the Horn of Africa and the Middle East. This blog intends to comment regularly on these politics and the role of an often sadly, stale America foreign policy in supporting peacekmaking, state-building, and economic development in these closely linked and volatile regions.

  • Recent Posts

    • Peace in Darfur: still a long way off
    • Bashir’s at My Hotel, and I am Getting Out of Here
    • Quick reading recs on Darfur, Egypt, the UAE and more
    • One Egyptian’s Interesting Reality
    • A Book Review: Maps by Nurrudin Farah

  • Archives

    • March 2010
    • January 2010
    • December 2009
    • November 2009
    • October 2009
    • September 2009
    • August 2009

  • Blogroll

    • Amjad Atallah
    • An American in Araby
    • Inside the Beltway & Outside the Ordinary
    • James Zogby
    • Making Sense of Darfur
    • Poets and Policymakers
    • Political Dissonance
    • Refugees International
    • Sahel Blog
    • Save Darfur's Blog
    • افهم دارفور

  • Twitter Feed: seanpbrooks

    • Back from #Sudan...catching up...but just wrote this for FP, "Peace in #Darfur: still a long ways off"...http://bit.ly/9izXgD 2010/03/11
    • New post on Reintegrating the Taliban; policies thus far confused and contradictory http://poetsandpolicymakers.com/?p=223 #Afghanistan 2010/01/23
    • RT @abuaardvark: Sen. Tom Coburn wants to slash Title VI, FLAS + exchanges-- bc US doesn't need it's foreign language skills + expertise 2010/01/22
    • RT @esthersprague: Chatham House Report - Decisions and Deadlines: A Critical Year for Sudan http://bit.ly/58fH3F 2010/01/22
    • RT @PomedWire: Clinton just mentioned case of Egyptian bloggers arrested last week at #naghammadi, including our conf rep Bassem Samir 2010/01/21
    • New post on the blog...One Egyptian?s Interesting Reality on #Sudan, #Gaza, and Freedom of Expression http://bit.ly/86n0XT #Egypt 2010/01/21
    • Sudan Paper: Eritrean president upset with #Sudan's Bashir for silence re: UN Security Council sanctions against #Eritrea 2010/01/20
    • Are #Darfur Rebels Playing War Games with Civilians? http://bit.ly/5KCF07 2010/01/20
    • Sudan extends deadline for election nominations, NCP targeting voters in the "slums" http://bit.ly/8L6mgb 2010/01/20
    • RT @abuaardvark: RT @p_mandaville: State Dept lifts ban on Tariq Ramadan http://tinyurl.com/yc62rb3 http://myloc.me/33rI8 2010/01/20
    • Just wrote a a review of a Somali novel written in 1986, but still relevant today --- Maps by Nurrudin Farah http://bit.ly/8RWPIz #Somalia 2010/01/20
    • The big three that need to forgive Haiti's debt: Inter-American Development Bank and Taiwan and Venezuela http://bit.ly/4pt11X 2010/01/19
    • Solving Yemen's Problems in Two Hours With Time Left Over for Tea http://bit.ly/6YEB5k 2010/01/19
    • Yemeni court gives journalist 3 months in jail http://bit.ly/6LeAch 2010/01/19
    • RT @willcfischer: My article on the importance of good jobs for our veterans. RT @change A Fighting Chance for Our Fighting Folks http:/ ... 2010/01/19
Brains Like a Shoe · coogee theme · 2009
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