Earlham College | News from Public Affairs

Dean Gregory Mahler to Convene
Democratization Workshop in
West Bank City of Jericho

Gregory Mahler is no stranger to the Middle East. His impressive academic credentials include service as a visiting professor at both Tel Aviv University and Hebrew University in Jerusalem.

RICHMOND, Ind. — Gregory Mahler, Earlham College's academic dean and vice-president for academic affairs, has been invited to present the workshop "Democratization and Reform in Palestine" in the West Bank in December. The invitation was made by the Palestinian Academic Society for the Study of International Affairs (PASSIA), an independent Palestinian think tank located in Jerusalem.

Mahler's workshop will examine the reform and democratization process in Palestine up to the present time; identify both its failures and achievements and share knowledge and skills among participants that could help to improve the current political situation.

Still in the transition to democracy, Palestine faces a number of problems, notes Mahler, including the dominant role of the party in power and an environment of frequent political intolerance.

"The elections held in 1996 and 2005 haven't created a sense of participation in the Palestinian population," says Mahler, "and the notion of democracy has yet to find substantial roots in the attitudes of the people. During this time in Jericho, we hope to think comparatively about the problems, opportunities, conditions and constraints for democratic development and reform."

While playing a key role in the "Democratization and Reform" workshop, Mahler will also participate in a parallel workshop dealing with the development of political parties in Palestine.

"There is a clear need to foster the institutional development and capacity of political parties in Palestine," he notes. "A functioning democracy requires a pluralistic system at the heart of which is an open and healthy system of political parties."

According to Mahler, workshop attendees will likely include college and university students, government civil servants, private sector leaders and members of the Palestinian Parliament.

Mahler, who received his Ph.D. in political science from Duke University, joined the Earlham faculty in July 2007. Prior to coming to Earlham, he served Kalamazoo College as provost for 10 years.

No stranger to the Middle East, Mahler's impressive academic credentials include service as a visiting professor at both Tel Aviv University and Hebrew University in Jerusalem. He has done extensive international speaking for the U.S. Department of State in such countries as Albania, Belarus, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Moldova, Mauritania, Senegal and Spain. In 1991 as a part of work with the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations, he received a Malone Fellowship for Arab and Islamic Studies and traveled to the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. In 2005, Mahler conducted a weeklong seminar on civic education in Jerusalem and Ramallah for PASSIA.

Mahler has authored or edited more than 20 books. His widely used comparative politics textbook, published by Prentice Hall, is currently in its fifth edition. His book Constitutionalism and Palestinian Constitutional Development (1996) received much attention in Palestine. He recently published the book Politics and Government in Israel (2004), and he is currently at work on a volume titled The Middle East Peace Process: Context and Documents, scheduled to be released in 2009. He also has published a substantial number of journal articles and chapters in books.

Mahler will leave for Jerusalem on Dec. 7, and will return to Richmond on Dec. 16. "A quick trip," he says, "but exciting."

In the spring semester Mahler, who is also a professor of politics, will teach the course "Israel and the Middle East" at Earlham.

Contact:
Mark Blackmon, director of media relations
765/983-1256 — E-Mail Mark