James Ryan

@jdryan08

Director - Middle East Program

Director of Research

Research Areas

Turkey, Democratization, Middle East

James Ryan is the Director of Research and the Middle East Program at the Foreign Policy Research Institute (FPRI). He is trained as a historian and expert on Turkish and Middle Eastern affairs. He received his Ph.D. in History from the University of Pennsylvania, and has previously served as the Associate Director of the Hagop Kevorkian Center for Near Eastern Studies at New York University. His research interests center on the transition from empire to nation in Turkey and across the region, with special attention to political culture, democratization, and freedom of the press. His scholarly work has been published in academic journals such as Prisms: Perspectives on Southeast European History, the Journal of the Ottoman and Turkish Studies Association, and the Journal of Urban History, and he has published opinion essays for outlets including Newlines Magazine, Public Books, and Al-Jazeera America. He is currently at work on a book that explores the history of dissent in interwar Turkey. Dr. Ryan has also taught classes at the University of Pennsylvania and New York University, and regularly speaks with K-12 and community audiences about historical and contemporary topics related to the Middle East.