Department of Political Science

Alsaadi, Salam

Dissertation:

The Survival of Minority-dominated Autocracies

Biography

Salam Alsaadi is a PhD candidate in the Department of Political Science and a recipient of the Joseph-Armand Bombardier Canada doctoral scholarship (2020-2023), and the 2020 Canada Graduate Scholarship to Honour Nelson Mandela.

His research focuses on authoritarian politics and democratization, with a focus on the Middle East and North Africa. In his dissertation, Salam examines the survival of minority-dominated autocracies, utilizing a mixed-methods approach.

Publications

Salam Alsaadi. “International Competitive Involvement During Democratic Transitions and State Repression.” Comparative Politics (2023).

Salam Alsaadi. “Russia’s Military Involvement in Syria: An Integrated Realist and Constructivist Approach”. The International Journal of Law, Humanities & Social Science”. October, 2017. Volume 1 – Issue 5.

Salam Alsaadi. “Changes in Syria’s Armed Opposition”, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. December, 2015.

Salam Alsaadi. “Russia’s Long-Term Aims in Syria”, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. October, 2015.

Salam Alsaadi. “Iran’s Stakes in Syria’s Economy”, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. June, 2015.

Research Interests

Authoritarian regimes, repression, military coups, democratization, civil wars and revolutions, protests, Middle East and North Africa

Previous Degrees

MA in Political Science, 2019 (University of Toronto).
BA in Political Science, 2017 (York University, Canada).
BA in in Economics, 2007 (Damascus University, Syria)

Teaching Experience

POLA01H3FL01: Social and political Revolutions (TA, 2021).
POLA02H3SL02: Challenges of Governance (TA, 2022).
POL101H1F: The Real World of Politics (TA, 2020- 2021).
POL101Y1Y: Democracy, Dictatorship, War and Peace (TA, 2019- 2020).