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Clarifying a Contested Concept: Regime Change from Within

Sheehan to Present at 2014 Middle East Dialogue

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Dr. Ivan Sascha Sheehan has been invited to deliver a talk at the 2014 Middle East Dialogue hosted by the Policy Studies Organization on February 27. Dr. Sheehan’s talk titled Clarifying a Contested Concept: Regime Change from Within will trace the evolution of the concept of regime change from within and argue that meaningful policy demands more precise articulation of the term. The conference, held at the Whittemore House in Washington, D.C. will feature scholars and policy analysts that address the event’s 2014 theme of Strategies for Change in the Middle East. Dr. Sheehan’s remarks at the 2013 Middle East Dialogue resulted in the publication of an article in the peer-reviewed journal, Digest of Middle East Studies.

The term “regime change from within” has become increasingly popular in opposition and policy discourse, especially in relation to the Islamic Republic of Iran. It has also begun entering the academic literature. But what does it mean? Despite its increasing use “regime change from within” is rarely defined and scant scholarly attention to date has been paid to defining it. This is problematic since, as an “umbrella concept,” the term can be stretched to include a wide variety of discrepant processes. In fact, “regime change from within” has been used as a holder for democracy promotion efforts within a country that start both inside and outside a country, as well as indigenous efforts that exclude outside support, to highlight the need for radical change, and more vaguely to call for “continuous” change or reform. This paper argues that coherent strategic policy demands better articulation of the meaning of the term. As a first step, the paper traces the evolution of use of the term “regime change from within,” tries to unpack its components, and develops a preliminary framework that partitions the concept into ends (vision) and means (strategy) to assess its utility for policy.

PSO/MED / Speaker Bios / Invitation

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SHEEHAN: Face the Facts on Iran Agreement | The Hill | Commentary

SHEEHAN: Face the Facts on Iran Agreement | The Hill | Commentary

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As world powers gather in Vienna to discuss a comprehensive agreement to curtail Tehran’s nuclear program, Dr. Ivan Sascha Sheehan is published in the The Hill on what Congress can do to correct White House missteps on Iran policy.

As the White House rolls the dice on a permanent pact and embraces the failed strategy of appeasement, Congress should place a check on the administration’s unwillingness to face the facts.

A nuclear compromise with Tehran will surrender the peace, not secure it. #PDF

UPDATE: 2/25 – This article was translated into Farsi and reprinted for a global audience. The policy recommendations were also featured Iranian National Television. Details soon.

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SHEEHAN: Facing the Facts on the Iran Agreement | Townhall.com | Commentary

SHEEHAN: Facing the Facts on the Iran Agreement | Townhall.com | Commentary

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Dr. Ivan Sascha Sheehan is published at Townhall.com on February 11 on why Congress must pass the Nuclear Weapons Free Iran Act as well as protect the intelligence capabilities of the Iranian opposition detained in Iraq.

The U.S. policy of engagement with the Iranian regime at the expense of concerns raised by key allies – including Israel and Saudi Arabia – has chilled U.S. relations with global partners and strengthened Tehran’s hand in ongoing discussions with the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council and Germany.

Iranian interpretations of the interim agreement have somehow preserved the domestic perks of the arrangement – including access to currency and the lifting of sanctions – while necessitating few of the actual obligations that would serve regional security interests.

Update: 2/26 – Syndicated in the Augusta Free Press

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FOX Baltimore: Iran Says Warships Headed Close to US Borders

Dr. Ivan Sascha Sheehan Interviewed on Fox 45

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On February 10, Dr. Ivan Sascha Sheehan was interviewed on Baltimore’s FOX 45 on the threat posed by Iranian warships dispatched to the Atlantic Ocean just one week before P5+1 nuclear negotiations are set to resume in Vienna. You can view the segment at:

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Upcoming Sheehan Speaking Engagements

Posted in analysis, college of public affairs, contact, counterterrorism, courses, data, education, evidence-based, foreign policy, foreign policy analysis, international relations, international security studies, media, pedagogy, policy, research, scholarly, security studies, sheehan, teaching, terrorism, university of baltimore on January 7, 2014 by Professor Sheehan

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Between January and April 2014, Dr. Ivan Sascha Sheehan will be delivering invited talks at international conferences in New Orleans, Washington DC, Toronto, and the United Kingdom. Stay tuned for details!

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Sheehan to Speak at 2014 Southern Political Science Association Conference

Posted in analysis, APSA, college of public affairs, counterterrorism, courses, data, databases, education, evidence-based, foreign policy, foreign policy analysis, framing, global, international relations, international security studies, mapping, media, middle east, peace, pedagogy, research, scholarly, security studies, sheehan, SPSA, teaching, terrorism, university of baltimore on January 7, 2014 by Professor Sheehan

Dr. Ivan Sascha Sheehan was invited to present in New Orleans at the 85th Annual Meeting of the Southern Political Science Association between January 9–11, 2014. Dr. Sheehan presented on a panel titled Terrorism and its Consequences where he discussed the results of a paper he published in the journal Perspectives on Terrorism, an empirical study that involved a systematic analysis of contemporary terrorism courses at 106 top-ranked universities and colleges in the United States.

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Turn up Heat on the Iranian Regime – The Hill – Commentary

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SHEEHAN: Turn up Heat on the Iranian Regime in Advance of P5+1 – The Hill – Commentary

Dr. Ivan Sascha Sheehan takes the White House to task in The Hill for promoting a policy of engagement with the Iranian regime at the expense of concerns raised by key allies – thereby chilling U.S. relations with valuable global partners – and undermining U.S. security interests.

Wendy Sherman, the administration’s trusted Iran hand, appears intent to reach an agreement at all cost. Her recent efforts to convince the U.S. Congress to back off the sanctions that forced Iran to the negotiating table in the first place were as naïve as they were ill conceived. Sanctions imposed under a provision of the 2011 Defense Authorization Act known as the Kirk-Menendez Amendment crippled Iran’s economy and facilitated the regime’s current crisis. Far from being paused, eased, or lifted, the penalties should be increased, extended and enhanced to further ensure Iranian compliance. Congress should ignore White House requests to delay further sanctions and turn up the heat on the regime by slashing oil exports and targeting the Iranian currency.

Sheehan Speaking at GMU on U.S. – Iran Conflict

Posted in analysis, ashraf, assad, baghdad, CIA, clinton, congress, counterterrorism, courses, covert, crimes against humanity, data, delisting, democracy, deterrence, diplomacy, dissident, DOMES, education, european union, evidence-based, foreign policy, foreign policy analysis, framing, global, gmu, hostages, human rights, human security, intelligence, international relations, international security studies, iran, iraq, maliki, media, MEK, MI6, middle east, military, mossad, NCRI, negotiation, nuclear, obama, PMOI, policy, politics, preemptive, protest, regime change, research, S-CAR, sanctions, scholarly, security studies, sheehan, state department, strike, syria, teaching, tehran, terrorism, threat, u.s. foundation for liberty, unrest, war, weapons, white house on November 15, 2013 by Professor Sheehan

U.S. – Iran Conflict: Beyond the Current Discourse / School for Conflict Analysis & Resolution / Center for the Study of Gender & Conflict/ George Mason University

Dr. Ivan Sascha Sheehan will participate in a conference on U.S.-Iran policy at George Mason University on November 23. Also speaking at the event will be:

Dr. Walid Phares, Adviser to Anti-Terrorism Caucus in U.S. House of Representatives and Co‐Secretary General of Transatlantic Euro-American Caucus Legislative Group on Counter Terrorism
Dr. Donna Hughes, Eleanor M. and Oscar M. Carlson Endowed Chair in Women’s Studies at the University of Rhode Island
Dr. Ivan Sascha Sheehan, Director of Graduate Programs in Negotiations and Conflict Management and Global Affairs and Human Security at the University of Baltimore
Dr. Ramesh Sepehrrad, Scholar and Practitioner at the School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution at George Mason University

Conflict Management in the Iranian Context: Diplomatic Engagement vs. Democratic Change from Within

Dr. Ivan Sascha Sheehan

Presentation Abstract: Washington policymakers concerned with the Iranian regime’s human rights violations, proxy violence, and pursuit of weapons of mass destruction have grown accustomed to the false dichotomy of prolonged negotiations and tactical military strikes. Such framing treats the Iranian regime as a fixture of the Middle East landscape and forecloses any potential for democratic change from within. This discussion will challenge conventional assumptions about conflict management in the Iranian context by exploring the unintended consequences of the U.S. policy of engagement as well as the military option. The discussion will also explore the prospect of regime change from within via the organized Iranian opposition.

Sheehan Article Featured on MSNBC

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An article by Dr. Ivan Sascha Sheehan was featured on MSNBC in advance of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s visit to the White House on Nov. 1. The commentary was featured in an interview with Ambassador Marc Ginsberg, former U.S. Ambassador to Morocco., who described Maliki as part of the problem and not the solution. #Screenshot

SHEEHAN: Use al-Maliki Visit to Send Iran a Clear Message – The Hill

The Washington D.C. Summit on Cross Continental Cooperation 2013 / “Future Prospects in Enhancing Continental Cooperation to Secure Political, Economic, and Social Progress”

Sheehan to Deliver Keynote Address at Summit on Cross Continental Cooperation

Posted in analysis, college of public affairs, democracy, diplomacy, education, european union, foreign policy, foreign policy analysis, framing, global, human rights, human security, international relations, keynote, media, policy, politics, scholarly, security studies, sheehan, state department on October 31, 2013 by Professor Sheehan

Dr. Ivan Sascha Sheehan has been invited to deliver a keynote address at the The Washington D.C. Summit on Cross Continental Cooperation. The Summit, held between November 4-7, will address themes related to “Future Prospects in Enhancing Cross Continental Cooperation to Secure Political, Economic, and Social Progress.”

Issues to be examined at the Summit include:

The Promotion of Democracy & Human Rights
The UN Security Council & International Law
The Middle East Conflicts
International Trade & Global Economic Prosperity
Intercultural Relations to Strengthen International Relations

The Summit in Washington, D.C. is part of a larger series of meetings in Berlin, Skopje, Addis Ababa, Brussels, Moscow, and Beijing between September 2013 – March 2014 that address the topic of Unlocking Potential: Uniting the World’s Leading Powers.

Speakers and delegates during the conferences will include, among others, heads of state and leading politicians, chief diplomats, leading governmental officials, senior academics, renowned authors, journalists, and celebrated artists.

The Summit is operated under the Leadership of: The Hon. Bertie Ahern (Former Prime Minister of Ireland) and The Hon. Franco Frattini (Former Foreign Minister of Italy).

Background Readings –

Sheehan to Participate in Twitter Q&A

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TWITTER Q&A – DR. IVAN SASCHA SHEEHAN (@ProfSheehan)

– OCTOBER 31 @ 12:00 – 1:00 PM (USA EST)

On the eve of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki’s visit with U.S. President Barack Obama, Dr. Ivan Sascha Sheehan will participate in a Twitter Q&A hosted by the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) Foreign Affairs Committee. You can participate in the live discussion by tweeting questions and comments to @iran_policy using the #FreeThe7.

Dr. Sheehan will address questions related to US-Iran policy, Iraqi complicity in recent violence directed at the Iranian opposition, and measures that must be taken in the U.S. Congress and by the White House to curtail Tehran’s pursuit of weapons of mass destruction.

SHEEHAN: Challenging a Terrorist Tag in the Media: Framing the Politics of Resistance and an Iranian Opposition Group – Digest of Middle East Studies – Fall 2013 – Vol. 22, Issue 2

SHEEHAN: Use al-Maliki Visit to Send Iran a Clear Message – The Hill

SHEEHAN: Time for Scholars to Examine Iranian Opposition – UPI.com

SHEEHAN: During Debate on Syria, U.S. Officials Must Also Protect Iranian Opposition – Diplomatic Courier

Dr. Sheehan will also remark on recent appearances where he addressed matters related to Iran policy in the U.S. Congress as well as in the academic community.

SHEEHAN: Use al-Maliki Visit to Send Iran a Clear Message – The Hill – Commentary

Use al-Maliki Visit to Send Iran a Clear Message – The Hill – Commentary

Posted in analysis, ashraf, assad, baghdad, chemical weapons, CIA, clinton, congress, counterterrorism, covert, crimes against humanity, delisting, democracy, diplomacy, dissident, european union, foreign policy, foreign policy analysis, freedom, gingrich, global, hostages, human rights, human security, intelligence, international relations, iran, iran policy committee, iraq, israel, killing, maliki, media, MEK, MI6, military, mossad, murder, NCRI, negotiation, nuclear, obama, paris, PMOI, policy, politics, preemptive, protest, rajavi, regime change, republican, rhetoric, sanctions, security studies, sheehan, state department, strike, syria, tehran, terrorism, the hill, threat, u.s. foundation for liberty, unrest, war, weapons, white house on October 24, 2013 by Professor Sheehan

In advance of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki’s visit to the U.S., Dr. Ivan Sascha Sheehan is published in The Hill on the need for the White House to press the Iraqi leader to explain the recent massacre of Iranian refugees in northeast Iraq and signal a decisive shift in policy toward Tehran.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s November 1 visit to Washington will say as much about the United States’ Iran policy as it does about future relations with Baghdad… Analysts will be watching closely to see if Mr. Obama leverages his influence over the leader that many are calling a puppet of the Iranian regime…

…The meeting poses a dilemma for the Obama White House: Embrace the Iraqi leader and signal the Iranian regime that the U.S. will bless the unholy alliance between Tehran and Baghdad by turning a blind eye to the slaughter of Iranian dissidents; or reject the failed strategy of appeasement and engage Tehran – via Baghdad – from a position of strength.

Time for Scholars to Examine Iranian Opposition – UPI.com – Commentary

Posted in analysis, briefing, CIA, clinton, congress, counterterrorism, covert, crimes against humanity, debate, delisting, democracy, diplomacy, dissident, foreign policy, foreign policy analysis, framing, freedom, gingrich, global, human rights, human security, intelligence, international relations, international security studies, iran, iraq, israel, maliki, media, MEK, MI6, middle east, military, mossad, NCRI, negotiation, nuclear, obama, paris, peace, PMOI, policy, politics, preemptive, protest, rajavi, regime change, republican, sanctions, scholarly, security studies, sheehan, state department, strike, syria, terrorism, threat, u.s. foundation for liberty, unrest, war on October 18, 2013 by Professor Sheehan

SHEEHAN: Time for Scholars to Examine Iranian Opposition – UPI.com – Commentary

With the latest round of P5+1 nuclear negotiations in Geneva concluded, Dr. Ivan Sascha Sheehan is published through United Press International on the need for the academic community to consider the wisdom of existing Iran policy in light of recent violence directed at the Iranian opposition detained in Iraq.

Tehran’s negotiating style, which relies on the cyclical use of threat and accommodation, has frustrated the West and served the regime’s ultimate interest – buying time for nuclear armament… Attention to these matters in scholarly circles is needed to ensure that the false dichotomy of prolonged negotiations and tactical military strikes is rejected and other tools for averting an Iranian nuclear crisis considered…

…The slaughter of Iranian dissidents comes at a challenging time for the Obama White House. Condemning the act of Iraqi aggression, carried out on behalf of Iran, could jeopardize sensitive backroom negotiations on the nuclear issue and the policy of appeasement that the administration seems inclined to pursue. It also raises questions as to the legality of providing military assistance to Iraqi forces in view of the Leahy law and Arms Export Control Act.

Digest of Middle East Studies (DOMES) / Wiley-Blackwell / Policy Studies Organization / Online ISSN: 1949-3606 / Fall 2013, Vol. 22, Issue 2

Sheehan Study on Iranian Opposition Published in Digest of Middle East Studies

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Challenging a Terrorist Tag in the Media: Framing the Politics of Resistance and an Iranian Opposition Group – Digest of Middle East Studies – Fall 2013 – Vol. 22, Issue 2

Dr. Ivan Sascha Sheehan is published in the latest edition of the Digest of Middle East Studies, a peer reviewed journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the Policy Studies Organization. The journal is edited by Middle East scholar Professor Mohammed M. Aman of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Study Abstract:

Scholars have shown that media framing has a powerful effect on citizen perception and policy debates. Research has provided less insight into the ability of marginalized actors to promote their preferred frames in the media in a dynamic political context. The efforts of an exiled Iranian opposition group to get its name removed from official terror lists in the US, UK and EU provides a valuable platform to examine this problem. Using content analysis, I explore how the group promoted its frames in the opinion sections of major world news publications over nine years (2003–2012). I then examine the extent to which journalists aligned to its frames, as opposed to rival official frames, over time in the larger arena of news. The results support research showing that by nurturing small opportunities, marginalized political actors can expand media capacity and influence, but these effects are mediated at least in part by critical or focusing events that make rival frames less salient. The study sheds light on the complex relationship between activists, the government and the media. It has implications for the ability of marginalized political actors to get their frames into public discourse. It also has implications for terror tagging and media coverage of other controversial issues.