Nael M. Shama, PhD, is a political scholar and writer who focuses on the international relations and comparative politics of the Middle East. He is the author of Egyptian Foreign Policy from Mubarak to Morsi (2013 and 2019), Egypt before Tahrir: Reflections on Politics, Culture and Society (2014) and The Stagnant River: The State, Society, and Ikhwan in Egypt (In Arabic, 2016). He has written papers and book chapters on foreign policy making in Egypt, civil-military relations and social movements in the Middle East, and Islamist politics. His writings (in English and Arabic) have appeared in more than 35 different publications, including International Affairs, the Middle East Journal, Al-Jazeera Center for Studies, the Atlantic Council, the Middle East Institute, the Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center, ISPI, POMED, Le Monde Diplomatique, Reuters Opinion, Foreign Policy, World Politics Review, Jadaliyya, Al-Ahram, Al-Hayat, and more.