American Expert in US Foreign Policy and Human Rights is Awarded Segerstedt's Visiting Professorship

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– I'm very impressed with the legacy of Torgny Segerstedt and I am honored to be selected for this fellowship. I really appreciate the recognition at Gothenburg that social science is not just about crunching numbers or collecting theories like nuts in a basket, but there's a real application of the research for human betterment. That's why I'm in academia in the first place, and why I'm very excited to be part of this, says Stephen Zunes.

Stephen Zunes is currently based at The University of San Francisco where he is Professor of Politics. He is an expert in US foreign policy with a regional focus on the Middle East and North Africa, although he has also covered parts of the Global South and Eastern Europe. His main research interest is international law and human rights, critically examining the involvement of the United States in various international conflicts.

– The United States is one of the world’s first democracies and repeatedly talks about supporting a rules-based international order, freedom, democracy, and human rights, but it is also the number one supporter of authoritarian regimes and occupying armies. A lot of what I do is I look at the contradiction between the rhetoric and reality and analyze it.

Examines the Power of Civil Resistance to Fight Oppressive Regimes

Another specialty of his is looking at the role of civil society in challenging oppressive regimes. Stephen Zunes argues that the joint efforts by ordinary people, through civil resistance and largely non-violent means, are far more powerful and effective than armed struggle. These forces are often the real changemakers, more so than international organizations, alliances, or foreign governments.

It was not NATO that brought down communism in Eastern Europe. It was Polish dock workers, Czech intellectuals, East German church people, Estonian folk singers, and millions of other ordinary Europeans.

– It was not NATO that brought down communism in Eastern Europe. It was Polish dock workers, Czech intellectuals, East German church people, Estonian folk singers, and millions of other ordinary Europeans. In South Africa it was the civics, the unions, the United Democratic Front and the like that brought down apartheid. Similarly, it was civilians that brought down the monarchy in Nepal, Pinochet in Chile, Milosevic in Serbia, and Marcos in the Philippines, where nuns laid themselves in front of the tanks. 

Stephen Zunes emphasizes that his research is not about looking at these stories from a Gandhian or pacifist perspective, but rather as a strategic analyst, seeing them as the ultimate form of asymmetrical warfare.

Non-violent means are not only more likely to succeed on average than armed struggles, but are also much more likely to have a democratic outcome in the longer term.

– Non-violent means are not only more likely to succeed on average than armed struggles, but are also much more likely to have a democratic outcome in the longer term. It's not always the case – there are examples of backslides – but most of the time they lead to sustainable democracies, whereas armed revolutions usually lead to new dictatorships or civil war. 

Will Offer Insight to the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

During his time in Gothenburg, Stephen Zunes will split his time between teaching and researching. Aside from giving lectures and supporting graduate students within his area of expertise, he will also be contributing to the new PhD course New perspectives on social movements and social change, power and resistance, given at The Department of Sociology and Work Science. 

In terms of his own research, he will be working on two ongoing projects. One is looking at the impact of external actors, such as foreign governments, human rights organizations, and diaspora groups, on civil resistance movements and their success. The other is about the conflict between Israel and Palestine, examining the underlying political and ideological reasons for the US support of Israel.

– The US has long been willing to support armies and governments violating international legal norms, but I also want to look at some of the ideological factors motivating US support for Israel, such as the sentimental view of Israel that a lot of Western liberals have, as well as how many right-wing Christian evangelicals see Israel in biblical terms. At the same time, I want to examine some of the more rigid reactions of some on the left that kind of go to the other extreme.

US foreign policy in relation to the war in Gaza is also one of the many topical subjects that Stephen Zunes is considering for the public lectures he will be giving during his stay in Sweden.

US policy has not only denied justice to the Palestinians, it has denied security for Israel as well, and I emphasize that Palestinian rights and Israeli security are not mutually exclusive, but in fact are dependent on each other. 

– US policy has not only denied justice to the Palestinians, it has denied security for Israel as well, and I emphasize that Palestinian rights and Israeli security are not mutually exclusive, but in fact are dependent on each other.