Walid Phares
Encyclopedia
Walid Phares an American scholar of Lebanese origins, he is a professor and commentator on global terrorism
and Middle East
ern affairs.
Phares has testified before committees of the U.S. State
, Justice
, Defense
and Homeland Security
Departments, the United States Congress
, the European Parliament
, the United Nations Security Council
. He has been a Terrorism expert at NBC
from 2003 to 2006 and is a contributor at Fox News since 2007.
, where he studied at the Lebanese and Saintt Joseph Universities. After earning degrees in law, political science and sociology, he practiced law in Beirut. He then earned a Masters degree in International Law from the Université de Lyon
in France and a Ph.D. in international relations
and strategic studies from the University of Miami
. He emigrated to the United States
in 1990, after Syrian troops invaded the last enclaves of what was known then as the "Free Lebanon".
Phares is a Senior Fellow and the Director of the Future Terrorism Project at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies
in Washington, D.C., and a Visiting Fellow at the European Foundation for Democracy in Brussels. In 2008 he also became the Coordinator of the Trans-Atlantic Parliamentary Group on Counter Jihadi-Terrorism.
Phares is an expert on Maronite history and affairs, and has served as the Secretary General of the World Maronite Union and also as the Secretary General of the World Lebanese Cultural Union.
and the Lebanese University
.
Once established in the USA, Phares taught at the Department of Political Science at Florida Atlantic University
between 1993 and 2005. He has been a senior lecturer at the Lifelong Learning Society since 1994. His courses include Middle East Politics, Political History, Ethnic and Religious Conflict and International Terrorism. He has given lectures throughout North America and Europe.
As of 2008, Phares teaches Global Strategies at the National Defense University
in Washington, D.C.
In 1984, Phares adhered to a small political party of center-left, the "Social Democratic Christian Union" - Union Sociale Démocratique Chrétienne(USDC).
In 1986, Phares represented the USDC in the political council of the Lebanese Forces
, the umbrella organization for the Christian Resistance parties and independent personalities during the Lebanese civil war. He served as the head of External and Diaspora affairs in the Lebanese Forces during the years 1986 and 1987.
In 1988 Phares revamped the USDC and was elected as Secretary General for the new Social Democratic Christian Party(PSDC).
His attempts to democratize the Lebanese Forces coalition by demanding its leaders to go through a transparent electoral process put him on a collision course with the ruling warlords and led him to resign from the political council of the Lebanese Forces in March of 1989.
Throughout the years of the civil war, Phares sought to promote a pluralist and federalist system in Lebanon as the solution to the sectarian violence ravaging the country. His ideas on the matter are best exposed in his first publication "Pluralism in Lebanon".
To this end, Phares was and still is an adamant supporter for dialogue with Liberal Muslims while rejecting all forms of religious radicalization.
, Global Affairs
, Journal of Middle East, South Asian Studies, The Journal of International Security Affairs
and other journals.
His columns have appeared in many publications including The Jerusalem Post
, Family Security Matters
, The Washington Times
, The Wall Street Journal
, World Defense Review
, The Philadelphia Inquirer
, The Denver Post
, The Indianapolis Star
, The San Diego Union-Tribune
, Oregon News, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Detroit Free Press
, the Chicago Sun-Times
, San Francisco Chronicle
, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
, La Razon
(Spain), Le Matin
(Montreal), al Siyassa (Kuwait), and al Nahar (Lebanon),
Terrorism
Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...
and Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
ern affairs.
Phares has testified before committees of the U.S. State
United States Department of State
The United States Department of State , is the United States federal executive department responsible for international relations of the United States, equivalent to the foreign ministries of other countries...
, Justice
United States Department of Justice
The United States Department of Justice , is the United States federal executive department responsible for the enforcement of the law and administration of justice, equivalent to the justice or interior ministries of other countries.The Department is led by the Attorney General, who is nominated...
, Defense
United States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...
and Homeland Security
United States Department of Homeland Security
The United States Department of Homeland Security is a cabinet department of the United States federal government, created in response to the September 11 attacks, and with the primary responsibilities of protecting the territory of the United States and protectorates from and responding to...
Departments, the United States Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
, the European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
, the United Nations Security Council
United Nations Security Council
The United Nations Security Council is one of the principal organs of the United Nations and is charged with the maintenance of international peace and security. Its powers, outlined in the United Nations Charter, include the establishment of peacekeeping operations, the establishment of...
. He has been a Terrorism expert at NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
from 2003 to 2006 and is a contributor at Fox News since 2007.
Biography
Walid Phares was born on December 1957 and raised in BeirutBeirut
Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon, with a population ranging from 1 million to more than 2 million . Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coastline, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport, and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan...
, where he studied at the Lebanese and Saintt Joseph Universities. After earning degrees in law, political science and sociology, he practiced law in Beirut. He then earned a Masters degree in International Law from the Université de Lyon
University of Lyon
The University of Lyon , located in Lyon and Saint Etienne, France, is a center for higher education and research comprising 16 institutions of higher education...
in France and a Ph.D. in international relations
International relations
International relations is the study of relationships between countries, including the roles of states, inter-governmental organizations , international nongovernmental organizations , non-governmental organizations and multinational corporations...
and strategic studies from the University of Miami
University of Miami
The University of Miami is a private, non-sectarian university founded in 1925 with its main campus in Coral Gables, Florida, a medical campus in Miami city proper at Civic Center, and an oceanographic research facility on Virginia Key., the university currently enrolls 15,629 students in 12...
. He emigrated to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in 1990, after Syrian troops invaded the last enclaves of what was known then as the "Free Lebanon".
Phares is a Senior Fellow and the Director of the Future Terrorism Project at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies
Foundation for Defense of Democracies
The Foundation for Defense of Democracies describes itself as a non-profit, non-partisan policy institute "working to defend free nations against their enemies". It was founded shortly after the September 11, 2001, attacks to address what it regards as the "threat facing America, Israel and the...
in Washington, D.C., and a Visiting Fellow at the European Foundation for Democracy in Brussels. In 2008 he also became the Coordinator of the Trans-Atlantic Parliamentary Group on Counter Jihadi-Terrorism.
Phares is an expert on Maronite history and affairs, and has served as the Secretary General of the World Maronite Union and also as the Secretary General of the World Lebanese Cultural Union.
Academic work
Prior to his emigration to the United States, Phares was a visiting lecturer on the History of the Middle East and Lebanon between the years of 1979 and 1989 in Saint Joseph University, Université Saint-Esprit de KaslikUniversité Saint-Esprit de Kaslik
Université Saint-Esprit de Kaslik , , is a private Catholic higher education institution founded by the Lebanese Maronite Order in 1961....
and the Lebanese University
Lebanese University
The Lebanese University is the only public institution for higher learning in Lebanon. Founded in 1951, it has 17 faculties as of 2006 and serves various cultural, religious, and social groups of students and teachers....
.
Once established in the USA, Phares taught at the Department of Political Science at Florida Atlantic University
Florida Atlantic University
Florida Atlantic University, also referred to as FAU or Florida Atlantic, is a public, coeducational, research university located in , United States. The university has six satellite campuses located in the Florida cities of Dania Beach, Davie, Fort Lauderdale, Jupiter, Port St. Lucie, and in Fort...
between 1993 and 2005. He has been a senior lecturer at the Lifelong Learning Society since 1994. His courses include Middle East Politics, Political History, Ethnic and Religious Conflict and International Terrorism. He has given lectures throughout North America and Europe.
As of 2008, Phares teaches Global Strategies at the National Defense University
National Defense University
The National Defense University is an institution of higher education funded by the United States Department of Defense, intended to facilitate high-level training, education, and the development of national security strategy. It is chartered by the Joint Chiefs of Staff, with Navy Vice Admiral...
in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
Political activism in Lebanon
Soon after finishing his graduate degree in Public Law, Walid Phares joined in 1981 the "MECHRIC Committee", a federation of Middle Eastern Christian NGOs.In 1984, Phares adhered to a small political party of center-left, the "Social Democratic Christian Union" - Union Sociale Démocratique Chrétienne(USDC).
In 1986, Phares represented the USDC in the political council of the Lebanese Forces
Lebanese Forces
The Lebanese Forces is a Lebanese political party. Founded as a militia by Bachir Gemayel during the Lebanese Civil War, the movement fought as the main militia within the Christian-dominated Lebanese Front...
, the umbrella organization for the Christian Resistance parties and independent personalities during the Lebanese civil war. He served as the head of External and Diaspora affairs in the Lebanese Forces during the years 1986 and 1987.
In 1988 Phares revamped the USDC and was elected as Secretary General for the new Social Democratic Christian Party(PSDC).
His attempts to democratize the Lebanese Forces coalition by demanding its leaders to go through a transparent electoral process put him on a collision course with the ruling warlords and led him to resign from the political council of the Lebanese Forces in March of 1989.
Throughout the years of the civil war, Phares sought to promote a pluralist and federalist system in Lebanon as the solution to the sectarian violence ravaging the country. His ideas on the matter are best exposed in his first publication "Pluralism in Lebanon".
To this end, Phares was and still is an adamant supporter for dialogue with Liberal Muslims while rejecting all forms of religious radicalization.
Books
| Year | Book | Publisher |
|---|---|---|
| 1979 | Pluralism in Lebanon | Kasleek University |
| 1980 | The Lebanese Thought and the Thesis of Arabization | Dar el-Sharq Press |
| 1981 | Democratic Dialogue | Manshurat el-Tagammoh |
| 1985 | Thirteen Centuries of Struggle | Mashreq Editions (Beirut Beirut Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon, with a population ranging from 1 million to more than 2 million . Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coastline, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport, and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan... ) |
| 1986 | The Iranian Islamic Revolution | Dar el-Sharq Press |
| 1995 | Lebanese Christian Nationalism: The Rise and Fall of an Ethnic Resistance Lebanese Christian Nationalism: The Rise and Fall of an Ethnic Resistance Lebanese Christian Nationalism: The Rise and Fall of an Ethnic Resistance is a book by Middle East expert and scholar Walid Phares.In this book Walid Phares examines the history and evolution of an ethnic community, the Lebanese Christians, and the rise and fall of an ethno-nationalist movement... |
L. Rienner Publishers |
| 1998, 2001 | History of the Middle East: Trends and Benchmarks | IRP University of Miami Press |
| 2005 | Future Jihad: Terrorist Strategies Against America Future Jihad: Terrorist Strategies Against America Future Jihad: Terrorist Strategies Against America is a book by Middle East expert and scholar Walid Phares.In this book Walid Phares presents his analysis of the Jihadist movement and the strategies it employs in its war against America and Western governments... |
Palgrave Macmillan Palgrave Macmillan Palgrave Macmillan is an international academic and trade publishing company, headquartered in Basingstoke, Hampshire, England, United Kingdom and with offices in New York, Melbourne, Sydney, Hong Kong, Delhi, Johannesburg. It was created in 2000 when St... |
| 2007 | The War of Ideas: Jihadism against Democracy | Palgrave Macmillan Palgrave Macmillan Palgrave Macmillan is an international academic and trade publishing company, headquartered in Basingstoke, Hampshire, England, United Kingdom and with offices in New York, Melbourne, Sydney, Hong Kong, Delhi, Johannesburg. It was created in 2000 when St... |
| 2008 | The Confrontation: Winning the War against Future Jihad | Palgrave Macmillan Palgrave Macmillan Palgrave Macmillan is an international academic and trade publishing company, headquartered in Basingstoke, Hampshire, England, United Kingdom and with offices in New York, Melbourne, Sydney, Hong Kong, Delhi, Johannesburg. It was created in 2000 when St... |
| 2010 | The Coming Revolution: Struggle for Freedom in the Middle East | Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster, Inc., a division of CBS Corporation, is a publisher founded in New York City in 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. It is one of the four largest English-language publishers, alongside Random House, Penguin and HarperCollins... |
Journals
Phares' articles have appeared in Frontpage Magazine, Middle East QuarterlyMiddle East Quarterly
Middle East Quarterly is a peer reviewed quarterly journal, a publication of the American conservative think tank Middle East Forum founded by Daniel Pipes in 1994. It is devoted to subjects relating to the Middle East and Islam and analyzes the region "explicitly from the viewpoint of American...
, Global Affairs
Global Affairs
Global Affairs is a bilingual online journal of international relations, published in both Spanish and English.It has an impartial standpoint among its diverse contributors....
, Journal of Middle East, South Asian Studies, The Journal of International Security Affairs
The Journal of International Security Affairs
The Journal of International Security Affairs is an American magazine on international relations and U.S. foreign and defense policy published twice annually by the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs. It was established in 2001 and its editor-in-chief is Ilan Berman ....
and other journals.
His columns have appeared in many publications including The Jerusalem Post
The Jerusalem Post
The Jerusalem Post is an Israeli daily English-language broadsheet newspaper, founded on December 1, 1932 by Gershon Agron as The Palestine Post. The daily readership numbers do not approach those of the major Hebrew newspapers....
, Family Security Matters
Center for Security Policy
The Center for Security Policy is a Washington, D.C. think tank that focuses on national security issues. The Center was founded in 1988 by Frank Gaffney, Jr....
, The Washington Times
The Washington Times
The Washington Times is a daily broadsheet newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States. It was founded in 1982 by Unification Church founder Sun Myung Moon, and until 2010 was owned by News World Communications, an international media conglomerate associated with the...
, The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal is an American English-language international daily newspaper. It is published in New York City by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corporation, along with the Asian and European editions of the Journal....
, World Defense Review
World Defense Review
World Defense Review is bi-weekly English-language publication that gathers articles about foreign policy, global conflict and defense issues. Original articles are regularly contributed by J. Peter Pham, an expert on international relations, terrorism, political violence and African affairs; Walid...
, The Philadelphia Inquirer
The Philadelphia Inquirer
The Philadelphia Inquirer is a morning daily newspaper that serves the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, metropolitan area of the United States. The newspaper was founded by John R. Walker and John Norvell in June 1829 as The Pennsylvania Inquirer and is the third-oldest surviving daily newspaper in the...
, The Denver Post
The Denver Post
-Ownership:The Post is the flagship newspaper of MediaNews Group Inc., founded in 1983 by William Dean Singleton and Richard Scudder. MediaNews is today one of the nation's largest newspaper chains, publisher of 61 daily newspapers and more than 120 non-daily publications in 13 states. MediaNews...
, The Indianapolis Star
The Indianapolis Star
The Indianapolis Star is a morning daily newspaper that began publishing on June 6, 1903. It has won the Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting twice, in 1975 and 1991. It is currently owned by the Gannett Company.-History:...
, The San Diego Union-Tribune
The San Diego Union-Tribune
-Predecessors:The predecessor newspapers of the Union-Tribune were:* San Diego Sun, founded 1861 and merged with the Evening Tribune in 1939.* San Diego Union, founded October 10, 1868.* Evening Tribune, founded December 2, 1895.-Ownership:...
, Oregon News, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Detroit Free Press
Detroit Free Press
The Detroit Free Press is the largest daily newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, USA. The Sunday edition is entitled the Sunday Free Press. It is sometimes informally referred to as the "Freep"...
, the Chicago Sun-Times
Chicago Sun-Times
The Chicago Sun-Times is an American daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois. It is the flagship paper of the Sun-Times Media Group.-History:The Chicago Sun-Times is the oldest continuously published daily newspaper in the city...
, San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is the only major daily newspaper in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, and its suburbs. The AJC, as it is called, is the flagship publication of Cox Enterprises. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is the result of the merger between The Atlanta Journal and The Atlanta...
, La Razon
La Razón (Madrid)
La Razón is Spain's fifth highest-circulation general-interest daily newspaper based in Madrid. It is the newest of the five most read, having been founded in 1998 by Luis Maria Ansón....
(Spain), Le Matin
Le Matin
Le Matin is a daily newspaper published by Edipresse in Lausanne, Switzerland. The French language tabloid has a circulation of 69,350 and a readership of 331,000.The Sunday edition Le Matin dimanche has a circulation of 207,945....
(Montreal), al Siyassa (Kuwait), and al Nahar (Lebanon),