Mohamed Elgohari
Mohamed Elgohari
Graduate Teaching Assistant
AI and Society, Securitization of Sports, Law, Democratization, Social Movements, Middle East, Egypt
I am an Affiliate Faculty in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology. I received my PhD in Sociology in 2025. My dissertation, The Paradox of Legalism: The Instrumentalization of Law, the Militarization of Governance, and the Consolidation of Authoritarianism in Post-2011 Egypt, examines how legal and constitutional mechanisms have been used to consolidate authoritarian rule, institutionalize military power, and restructure state-society relations in contemporary Egypt.
My broader research sits at the intersection of political sociology, sociology of law, and Middle East politics. It focuses on authoritarian legalism, law and state power, civil-military relations, political repression, social movements, and democratization. My current research extends this agenda into the study of digital authoritarianism and AI governance, particularly the ways in which artificial intelligence, surveillance infrastructures, cybercrime legislation, and data-governance frameworks are becoming integrated into contemporary systems of authoritarian control across the Middle East and North Africa. I conceptualize this emerging relationship between legal authority and automated governance through my work on algorithmic legalism, which examines how law can authorize, normalize, and legitimize AI-enabled surveillance and intervention.
Alongside my academic work, I have extensive experience conducting policy-oriented research on political violence, authoritarian governance, human rights, and militant propaganda. From 2022 to 2024, I managed the Arabic Propaganda Analysis Team at the University of Chicago’s Project on Security and Threats (CPOST), where I led research on militant propaganda, developed primary-source datasets and analytical frameworks, and briefed U.S. and European policymakers. My research and public scholarship have appeared in venues including Arab Law Quarterly, Foreign Affairs, and other academic and policy publications.
Current Research
- Algorithmic Legalism
- Securitization of Sports in MENA
- Law and Authoritarianism
- Jihadist groups' propaganda
Selected Publications
- Are Palestinians Ready to Shed Hamas?
- Deconstructing the Relation between Law and Authoritarianism
- Egypt’s Ultras: No More Politics
- How Can We Understand Egypt's Ultras Groups (Arabic)
- The Rise of Populism in the United States (Arabic)
- Ultras and Power Struggle of Opposites (Arabic)
- The Struggle for the Public Sphere: The State versus Society
- The General Speaks Out
- A Path Leading to Failure
- Egyptian Christians and the Rise of Illiberal Democracy
- Egypt’s Generals Won’t Allow a Smooth Transition
Grants and Fellowships
- GSAS Teaching and Learning Program, New York University.
- Ford Foundation International Fellowship Program.
- Model American Congress exchange program, Washington DC.
Courses Taught
- Power, Politics, and Society
- Violence, Conflict, and Peace.
- Sociology of Religion (TA).
Education
- PhD in Sociology, George Mason University 2025
- MA in Comparative Politics, New York University 2013
- BA in Political Science, Cairo University 2002
Recent Presentations
- Arab Graduate Student Conference 2018
- 12th annual symposium of the Electoral Institute for Sustainable Democracy, South Africa.
- Egyptian Revolution Working Group, George Washington University.
- Middle East Studies Association (MESA), Washington DC.
- Middle East Dialogue Conference.
- Institute for Humane Studies, Academic Research Colloquium, George Mason University.
- St. Joseph College, New York City.
- City College, New York City.
- Arab-Turkish Congress of Social Science, Istanbul.
- Cultural Seasons in Egypt: Artistic Expression and Public Discourse, Egypt.