Faculty Profile: Waleed Hazbun

Professor Waleed Hazbun

New to the Department of Political Studies and Public Administration is Professor Waleed Hazbun. A visiting professor from Johns Hopkins University, Hazbun is an American of Palestinian descent, who is spending one year at AUB. He earned his BA in political science from Princeton in 1990, before heading for MIT, where he received his PhD in the same field of study in 2002.

Hazbun says he has a deep interest in political science and foreign policy and adds that teaching politics gives him a greater grasp of politics. It also allows him to meet new people who can offer different insights into political issues. He has traveled to Tunisia and Jordan, as well as to Turkey and Syria, in order to pursue his political studies research.

Hazbun says that his parents actually met at AUB, and that his father Albert was the editor of Outlook. Hazbun believes that teaching political science in this part of the world that is directly affected by America's foreign policy offers a different perspective of teaching the subject. He explained that for a change he is actually witnessing the direct results of America's foreign policy, and not simply explaining it. Hazbun also has a keen interest in observing and studying how political situations and unrest can impact the tourist sector of a country.