Jean-Pierre Filiu

is Professor of Middle East Studies at Sciences Po in Paris, and has held visiting professorships at both Columbia University and Georgetown University. He is the author of From Deep State to Islamic State: The Arab Counter-Revolution and its Jihadi Legacy (2015), Gaza: A History (2014) Arab Revolution: Ten Lessons from the Democratic Uprising (2011), all published by Hurst; and of Apocalypse in Islam (University of California Press, 2011).

Articles

Who is to blame for the current chaos in the Middle East?

A conversation with Jean-Pierre Filiu

The hope of the Arab Spring, as pro-democracy revolutions swept the Middle East, is now a distant memory, as Yemen, Syria and Egypt remain mired in chaos and conflict (to varying degrees). But where did it all go so wrong? In his new book, From Deep State to Islamic State: The Arab Counter-Revolution and its Jihadi Legacy, Jean-Pierre Filiu examines the destructive role of Arab dictators in funding and arming hardline Islamists – boosting groups such as Islamic State (IS) – with a view to dividing the opposition and convincing western powers to back their dictatorships. Here, he discusses his arguments with New Humanist editor Samira Shackle.