Professor & Director of the Institute for Transregional Study Bernard Haykel [afikra Conversations]
Bernard Haykel offers deep insight into contemporary Saudi Arabia, the realities of pivoting an entire economy away from oil, and what MBS’ vision 2030 actually looks like for the country. We also talk about why he started out studying Yemen before moving onto Saudi Arabia, contemporary geopolitics, and key axes of power between China, the US, and Saudi Arabia.
Bernard Haykel is a professor of Near Eastern Studies and the director of the Institute for Transregional Study of the Contemporary Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia at Princeton University. Between 1992 and 1993, he was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship in Yemen. He has taught at New York, Oxford, and Princeton Universities. His research is primarily focused on the political and social tensions that arise from questions about religious identity and authority. He has written two books: “Saudi Arabia in Transition” and “Revival and Reform in Islam”.
About Conversations
afikra Conversations is our flagship program featuring long-form interviews with experts from academia, art, and media who are helping document and/or shape the histories and cultures of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with new found curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into head first.
