Geopolitics & Empire · Isa Blumi: The Geopolitics of the War on Yemen #085

Dr. Isa Blumi discusses his book "Destroying Yemen" which explains how the Atlanticist empire has sought for a century to secure financial, political, and resource control over an independent Yemeni state with the help of GCC actors. Blumi also explains how Saudi Arabia is quickly disintegrating and what this means for the future.

Show Notes

In Yemen, Hardly A Revolution https://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/09/opinion/09blumi.html

What's Going On In Yemen? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6oJf8g6FDHo

Websites

https://www.su.se/english/profiles/iblum-1.253921

https://www.twitter.com/isablumi

Books

https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520296145/destroying-yemen

About the Guest

Isa Blumi is Senior Lecturer/Associate Professor of Turkish Studies at Stockholm University Institute for Turkish Studies. He holds a PhD in History and Middle Eastern/Islamic Studies from New York University and a Master of  Political Science and Historical Studies from The New School for Social Research, New York.

Dr. Isa Blumi joins Stockholm University after spending the last 10 years teaching and researching in universities located in Germany, Belgium, Turkey, the USA, United Arab Emirates, Switzerland, and Albania/Kosovo.

Isa Blumi researches societies in the throes of social, economic, and political transformation. His latest work covers the late Ottoman period and successor regimes, arguing that these events are part of process that interlinks the Balkans, the Middle East, and the larger Islamic world. In this respect, it is key to explore in a comparative, integrated manner how post-Ottoman Turkey fits into what is a global story of transition.

As he expands his work to include more of the 20th century, Blumi explores processes of change induced by Muslim refugees who ended up settling throughout the world. Exploring these refugees' stories through this global perspective helps question how we understand identity and social organization, themes Blumi will focus on in the courses he will teach. Beyond his historical research, Blumi also regularly writes, and lectures on contemporary Balkan and Middle Eastern politics (especially Kosovo, Turkey and Yemen) and political Islam.

*Podcast intro music is from the song "The Queens Jig" by "Musicke & Mirth" from their album "Music for Two Lyra Viols": http://musicke-mirth.de/en/recordings.html (available on iTunes or Amazon)