Political Science Scholarship on the Middle East: A View from the Journals

Based on an original dataset of all articles on the Middle East in major political science journals during the last two decades, we assess trends in publishing on the region to explore whether it remains underrepresented in political science, as some claim. We focus on the evolution of the total share of MENA-focused articles, research topics, methods employed, and patterns of authorship by gender. Our findings show that the proportion of MENA-focused articles has increased, particularly after the Arab uprisings, but remains strikingly low. With respect to topics and methods, research on the Middle East is increasingly integrated in mainstream political science, with articles speaking to core disciplinary debates and relying more and more on statistical and experimental methods. Yet these shifts may come at the expense of predominantly qualitative research, and primary topics may reflect the priorities of Western researchers while underplaying the major concerns of Middle Eastern publics.