Our guest for the show is Aaron Zelin, founder of the essential resource and website, jihadology.net. Aaron is a fellow at The Washington Institute, where his research focuses on how jihadist groups are adjusting to the new political environment in the era of Arab uprisings and Salafi politics in countries transitioning to democracy. He received his M.A. in Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies from Brandeis University; and a B.A. from Indiana University. We discuss how to study and understand countries at several steps removed, why learning languages is essential, and how he found a way to stand out from the crowd within policy circles.
