Jason Pack is a researcher of Middle Eastern and World History based in the UK. His academic work is situated at the boundaries of diplomatic, transnational, and bureaucratic history. Since 2008, he has worked in Tripoli, London, and Washington promoting academic, commercial, and diplomatic exchanges between Libya and the West. His articles have appeared in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Foreign Policy, The Atlantic, and The Guardian. He is also a frequent commentator on the BBC and Al Jazeera English. He has addressed the House of Commons on the pressing danger Libya’s militias pose to the country’s stability and constitutional transition. He has advised NATO and its member states on the need to formulate unified multilateral policies towards Libya focused on capacity building in the security, governance, and economic sectors. He believes the Libyan government must stop the spiral of “appeasement” that it has been mired in since the fall of Qadhafi. Currently a doctoral student and researcher at Cambridge University, he holds an M.St. in Global and Imperial history from St. Antony’s College, Oxford University. His doctoral research focuses on the strategic, diplomatic, and institutional factors that shaped the British Military Administration of Libya from 1942 to 1951. He has lived seven years in Middle Eastern countries including: Egypt, Iraq, Libya, Morocco, Lebanon, Oman, and Syria (where he was a Fulbright Fellow from 2004-5). He reads and speaks Arabic and French. He is a world class tournament backgammon player; In 2014, he won the Superjackpot at the Nordic Open (Backgammon’s most competitive tournament), and came in second in the Nordic Open Doubles and the London Open Professionals’ Tournament — where the field included the top three players in the world and all of the UK’s top players. In 2013, he was British Open of Backgammon champion. His hobbies include tennis, skiing, cricket, and blind wine tasting.

History

19th-21st Centuries

Arab Studies

Arab-Israeli Conflict

Foreign Relations

Middle East/Near East Studies

State Formation

Libya

Syria

Arab States

Maghreb

All Middle East

Palestine

British Military Administration Of Libya (1942-51)

2011 Libya Uprisings

Arab Spring/Current Arab Politics

Arabic (advanced)

French (intermediate)

Hebrew (advanced)