RL Hosts Dr. Nimah Mazaheri, 21st Annual Jarvis Lecture Speaker

Twenty years ago, Roxbury Latin began what has become one of its proudest traditions, the F. Washington Jarvis International Fund Lecture. The series of lectures is named for the man who for thirty years served as Roxbury Latin’s tenth Headmaster. The annual event has brought a variety of distinguished public servants and thinkers on foreign affairs, including former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates; homeland security advisor to President Obama, Lisa Monaco; and former Director of the CIA, John Brennan. On December 3, we welcomed Dr. Nimah Mazaheri, associate professor of political science at Tufts University, to Rousmaniere Hall.

Dr. Mazaheri’s research and teaching interests center on comparative politics and public policy, focusing on oil and energy politics, environmental studies, and the Middle East. In paying attention to headlines, today and in recent history, we know that the geopolitical realities of the Middle East are a significant force, not only in the global economy (as related to oil and energy), but also in the rippling effects that international tensions can seed. 

“Why is there such a lack of democracy in the Middle East?” Dr. Mazaheri asked to open his talk. The exploration and proposed explanation of this question was the main focus of his lecture. In his latest book, Hydrocarbon Citizens: How Oil Transformed People and Politics in the Middle East, he theorizes that the citizens of oil-rich countries are more pro-autocracy and not necessarily looking to exist in a democratic space. Dr. Mazaheri provided context to oil’s historical, economic, and geopolitical impact and explained the “Arab Spring,” when there was a push for democracy in the region to varying degrees of success, or lack thereof.

His explanation is contrary to the commonly accepted theory by most scholars, which is that the amount of money governments receive from oil allows them to basically “buy” autocracy. He argues, however, that the people of these countries actually prefer autocracy: “My book really argues that three reasons were critical to shaping the attitudes that people in oil-rich countries have today about their governments and their views on democracy,” he said. “One, the unpredictability of an oil-based economy; two, the fact that the benefits of oil are always indirect and need to occur through the activities of a government; and three, powerful feelings that  emerged from the critical oil nationalization era that saw people relying on the government to help them.” 

Dr. Mazaheri is the author of two books published with Oxford University Press: Hydrocarbon Citizens: How Oil Transformed People and Politics in the Middle East (2023) and Oil Booms and Business Busts: How Resource Wealth Hurts Entrepreneurs in the Developing World (2016). He earned his bachelor’s degree at the University of Dayton and his master’s and doctorate at the University of Washington. He subsequently held post-doctoral fellowships at Princeton University and Harvard University and worked at the World Bank before joining the faculty at Tufts.

Roxbury Latin offers its thanks—as always—to Jack and Margarita Hennessy for funding the annual opportunity for our boys to hear from such distinguished thinkers on world affairs over the years. Mr. Hennessy is a member of the Class of 1954 and a former member of Roxbury Latin’s Board of Trustees. Throughout their lives, both he and Mrs. Hennessy have represented an unusual engagement with other nations and cultures. Throughout their lives, too, they have generously provided philanthropic support so that others might come to know and appreciate various corners of our increasingly interconnected world.

Watch the entire Hall here.