Welcome to Government Department Prof. Sharan Grewal
The William & Mary Government Department is excited to welcome Assistant Professor Sharan Grewal. Professor Grewal was awarded both his MA and PhD in Politics from Princeton University and graduated summa cum laude from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service with a Certificate in Arab Studies in 2013. Professor Grewal is also a visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution.
Much of Professor Grewal’s research focuses on democratization, security studies, political Islam in the Arab world and is currently working on a book tying those three together. In Soldiers of Democracy: Military Legacies and Democratic Transitions in Egypt and Tunisia, Grewal explores the countries’ contrasting experiences with democracy. He seeks to answer this central question: why did the Egyptian military overthrow its democratic transition while its Tunisian counterpart did not?
Within his research about political Islam specifically, Grewal explores who supports Islamist parties, how the mixing of religion and politics affects compromise, and what leads to political moderation among Islamists. These and other explorations have seen Grewal’s research published in Comparative Politics, the Journal of Conflict Resolution, and International Organization, while two are forthcoming in the American Journal of Political Science and International Studies Quarterly.
He cited his time studying abroad in Egypt during the Arab Spring as one characterized by excitement and optimism, but uncertainty. That interest extended beyond his time in Egypt, and he continued to study and learn about
This fall, Professor Grewal is teaching the seminar, “Political Islam.” The class revolves around the rise of Islamist movements in the contemporary Middle East, focusing on why tend to win elections and how they govern once in power.
As for what drew him to William & Mary in the first place, Professor Grewal described the beauty of the campus and the small-town feeling Williamsburg offers were two of the primary factors alongside the ability of the students.
Professor Grewal has been blown away by his students’ enthusiasm and knowledge, and is eager keep diving into the material in his seminar class. He’s also looking forward to working with student research assistants on his own research projects about the 2019 Tunisian elections.
A link to Professor Grewal’s website can be found here.
