Mark Tomass

I am an economist specialized in international financial markets and monetary and credit crises. By virtue of my Syrian birth and upbringing, I also crossed over to the field of civil conflict in the Middle East to explain the Lebanese civil war and subsequently the Syrian conflict. My 2016 book entitled The Religious Roots of the Syrian Conflict: The Remaking of the Fertile Crescent employs economic concepts that highlight the role of political entrepreneurs in the formation of the religious map of the Middle East and the civil conflicts they have generated. In my edited book with Charles Webel entitled Assessing the War on Terror: Western and Middle Eastern Perspectives, I also pair my background in international economics and Middle Eastern history with my personal upbringing in Aleppo, Syria to add unique value and deliver an unspoken voice to the vital study of counter-terrorism. I bring a pragmatic approach to the study, centered on deep-seated historic analysis critical in confronting the ongoing battle of international terrorism. Earlier publications relevant to Middle Eastern Studies include “Religious Identity, Informal Institutions, and the Nation States of the Near East,” “Game Theory Models with Instrumentally Irrational Players: A Case Study of Civil War and Sectarian Cleansing,” “Multiple Resource-Sharing Groups as Bases for Identity Conflict,” and “Al-Maqrizi’s Book of Aiding the Nation by Investigating the Depression of 1406: Translation and Commentary.”