91AV

The populist uprisings in North Africa and the Middle East in February and March against the region's authoritarian regimes have put 91AV Political Science Professor Ali Abdullatif Ahmida, Ph.D., in the national and international media spotlight.

Ahmida has been interviewed in depth by NPR's Lynn Neary on , NPR's Renee Montange on , , , BBC Radio and numerous other media outlets for his insights into the region, especially on the regime of Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi and Libya's future.

On the second anniversary of the Libyan revolution, interviewed Ahmida about Libya's future. The BBC Radio on Aug. 8, 2012, radio Berkeley on July 9, 2012 and WBEZ Chicago public radio on July 11 interviewed Ahmida about the Libyan elections that took place the weekend of July 7th and Libya's transition.

The , and   news service interviewed Ahmida for insights following the death of Qaddafi in October, stories that were picked up by media outlets around the nation and beyond. The earlier invited Ahmida to write an op-ed column, which was published March 17th and picked up by the Huffington Post, Forbes, St. Petersburg Times, Dallas Morning News, Business Week-Business Exchange, Dagbladet (a leading Oslo, Norway newspaper),  India Times and a number of other news outlets. A profile of Ahmida was also featured on the front page of the Boston Globe on March 31.

Professor Ahmida was born in Libya and educated at Cairo University in Egypt and the University of Washington in Seattle. His specialty is political theory, comparative politics, and historical sociology of power, agency and anti-colonial resistance in North Africa, especially modern Libya.

He is the author of The Making of Modern Libya: State Formation, Colonialization and Resistance (State of New York University Press, 1994). This book has been translated into Arabic and was published in a second edition by the Center of Arab Unity Studies (1998, Beirut, Lebanon).

His 2005 book, Forgotten Voices: Power and Agency in Colonial and Postcolonial Libya (Routledge Press) was also translated and issued in Italian and most recently in 2009 in Arabic by the Center of Arab Unity Studies, Beirut.

Interviews

Ahmida has been interviewed by several media outlets on the state of affairs in Libya during the transition government. On Feb. 3, 2012, he was interviewed by WBEZ and on Jan. 13, the posted a 30-minute interview. Following the death of  Qaddafi on Oct. 20, 2011, Ahmida was interviewed by several media outlets, including the , , and public radio. The Associated Press, New York Times and Reuters stories were picked up by more than 50 media outlets.

Ahmida was interviewed on on Aug. 26, 2011 by Renee Montagne on the future of Libya's leadership after the fall of Moammar Gadhafi. On Aug. 24th, Ahmida was interviewed by the about Gadhafi's future after the fall of Tripoli. He was interviewed for CNN stories on the Libyan stalemate on and again on . and the also interviewed Ahmida for stories analyzing the significance of the International Criminal Court's issuance of arrest warrants on June 27, 2011 for Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi and two of his relatives.  interviewed Ahmida on the significance of the round black hat worn by Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi on April 20th. On April 14th, Ahmida was interviewed live on WMPG-FM, Greater Portland Community Radio, and  on April 12 the Italian newspaper also published an interview with Ahmida titled "Il gran rifiuto di Bengasi."

On March 28, radio broadcast an interview with Ahmida on its midday news and posted a 26-minute interview on its website, in which Ahmida discussed current events in Libya as well as his own experience growing up in Libya. Ahmida was also interviewed by on March 24 and by the Portuguese newspaper Publico on March 25th.

On March 18, Ahmida was interviewed by the Journal Tribune (Biddeford), and on March 20th he was quoted in the National Post (Ontario, Canada). On March 17th, Ahmida was interviewed by for a segment on Qaddafi and on March 16th by on KPFT Radio Houston.

On March 6, 2011, Lynn Neary interviewed Ahmida on NPR's Weekend Edition about the history of resistance movements in Libya, and how Libyans view the possibilities of foreign involvement.  

On March 2, 2011 Renee Montange interviewed Ahmida on NPR's Morning Edition. Ahmida explained that when Qaddafi seized power in Libya during a 1969 coup, he was a young military officer, who defined himself as a populist leader in touch with the country's traditional values. But over the decades, Qaddafi has become an increasingly eccentric leader out of touch with his people.

Ahmida was also interviewed for March 2nd stories for the and the National Post, Ontario, Canada, and on March 1st by CBC Radio, Canada, and on KPFT Pacifica Radio, Houston, Texas.

On Feb 22, 2011 Ahmida was interviewed on "Background Briefing with Ian Masters" on KPFK Pacifica Radio, Los Angeles (); on Jadaliyya, an independent online magazine produced by the Arab Studies Institute (); on the PBS Charlie Rose show (); and by WMTW8 TV based in Lewiston and Portland, Maine (). On Feb. 27, Ahmida was interviewed by magazine, and on Feb. 28, he was interviewed by WBEZ Chicago Public Media () and .. In addition, Neil MacFarquhar, New York Times bureau chief for the United Nations, has consulted with Ahmida. 

Professor Ahmida

Professor Ahmida, who is chair of 91AV's Department of Politcal Science, is also the editor of Beyond Colonialism and Nationalism in the Maghrib: History, Culture and Politics (Palgrave, 2000). He has also recently published Bridges Across the Sahara: Social, Economic and Cultural Impact of the Trans-Sahara Trade during the 19th and 20th Centuries (Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2009); and Post-Orientalism: Critical Reviews in North African Social and Cultural History (published in Arabic by the Center of Arab Unity Studies, Beirut, Lebanon 2009).

He has lectured in a variety of U.S., Canadian, European and African universities and colleges, and has contributed several book reviews, articles and chapters to books on the African state, identity and alienation, class and state formation in modern Libya.

He has also been called upon to advise the United Nations Security Council on issues related to North Africa.