Diaspora War-Makers

How does a small community of exiles come to reshape the foreign policy of a superpower? Focusing on the Iraqi opposition to Saddam Hussein, this talk traces how Iraqi exiles lobbied and mobilized American political figures in the lead-up to the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Drawing on previously unseen archival materials and interviews with key figures in American Middle East policy, Alshaibi shows how a once-marginal idea—regime change—became central to U.S. foreign policy, bringing into focus the intersections of diaspora activism, elite networks, and American imperial power. Speakers

• Wisam Alshaibi, Assistant Professor of Social Research and Public Policy, NYUAD