My research interests fall within the International Relations of the  Middle East and are driven by the interaction of three themes: Religion and  Legitimacy; Contested Sovereignty; and Political Violence. I am especially interested in the following areas:

• Islam, the state andumma
• 'Soft power' security dilemmas
• Internal-external security dilemmas
• Re-conceptualising sovereignty
• Irredentist and secessionist movements
• Gulf ecurity
• Hizballah
• The Internet and 'cyber sovereignty'

My forthcoming monograph,Saudi Arabia and Iran: Soft Power  Rivalry in the Middle East,is to be published by I.B. Tauris in  February 2013.

International Relations of the Middle East
• International Relations of the Persian Gulf
• International Relations theory
• Gulf security
• Sovereignty
• Irredentism
• Political Violence
• Islam and the state within International Relations
• 'Soft power' in the Middle East
• Iran
• Saudi Arabia
• Bahrain
• The 'soft power' of sport

• PPR 225       Introduction to Peace Studies

Term 1: Roots of violence

The first term examines the  causes of contemporary armed conflicts: its root causes and immediate triggers.  We will ask questions such as: how do contemporary wars differ from past wars?  Are they caused by economic and political structures or by more behavioural  factors such as hatred and mistrust? Is the human aggression that produces  violent behaviour determined by instinctive urges or learned behaviour? What  impact have the media and Diaspora communities had on political violence and  efforts to control and end it?

• POLI 100       Understanding Politics and Governance

Term Three

• The USA and its Discontents
• Global Crises

In the third and final term we take a look at the ongoing 'War on  Terror'. In this section we focus on the global role of the USA, and the  response of other world actors to the position and actions of the USA. In  particular, we examine the how the internal politics of the USA helps to shape and set the agenda for the politics of the global stage. The term concludes  with an examination of some of the current issues in world politics - usually focusing on some current or recent conflicts.

The  crises to be explored include:

• Environmental crises
• Nuclear weapons
• Humanitarian intervention
• Cyber sovereignty

Selected Publications and Presentations

Mabon, S., Saudi Arabia and  Iran: Soft power rivalry in the Middle East, (London: I.B. Tauris, 2012).

Mabon, S., 'The Battle for Bahrain: Iranian-Saudi rivalry', Middle East Policy, Vol.19 No.2, 2012. 

Mabon,  S., 'Kingdom in Crisis: Saudi Arabia, Instability and the Arab Spring', Contemporary Security Policy,  forthcoming, 2012.

Mabon, S., Kennedy-Pipe, C., Clubb, G., Terrorism  and Political Violence, (London: Sage, 2014).

Conference  Papers

International Studies Association, San Francisco, 2013 Paper entitled: Westphalia's Sorites Paradox.

European Association of Israel Studies Munich, 11.09.12 Paper entitled: Perception, Rationality and Religion: Israel and the Iranian nuclear  crisis.

International Studies Association, San Diego, 04.04.12 Paper entitled: Aiding Revolution:  Wikileaks and the Arab Spring.

POLIS  'Teach In', School of Politics and International Studies,University  of Leeds, 18.11.12 Paper  entitled: Iran: Rationality and the Nuclear Programme.

Botany  House, School of Politics and International Studies, University  of Leeds, 11.10.11 Paper  entitled: Kingdom in Crisis: Saudi  Arabia, instability, and the Arab Spring.

British  International Studies Association Manchester, 28.04.11 Paper  entitled: Ayatollah Khamenei: Or How I  Learned To Stop Worrying and Love The Bomb

The  Third World Conference for Middle East Studies (WOCMES-3) Barcelona, 27.07.10Paper  entitled: Identity Incongruence in the  Gulf: An analytic approach to Middle Eastern International Relations.

Invited Speaker

MOD, University of Bradford: Hard Power, Soft Power and Regional Security: Exploring Conflict  and Competition within the Persian Gulf (18.10.12)

Department of Politics, University of  Sheffield: Ayatollah Khamenei or: How I  Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (04.05.12)

Additional Information

I am a Research Associate at the Foreign Policy Centre. I am also the Strategy and Dissemination  Co-Ordinator of the Terrorism and Political Violence Association. See  www.tapva.com

In addition I am also on Twitter: @drmabon

Other Interests and Hobbies

I am an avid snowboarder, a sports fan and a keen musician.