Joseph Braude, founder and president of the Center for Peace Communications, studied Near Eastern Languages at Yale and Arabic and Islamic history at Princeton. He is fluent in Arabic, Hebrew, and Persian. Over the past 20 years, he has lived and worked in North Africa, the Levant, the Gulf states, and Iran. His most recent book is Reclamation: A Cultural Policy for Arab-Israeli Partnership (Washington Institute for Near East Policy, 2019).
In the United States, his articles have appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Los Angeles Times Sunday Magazine, The Atlantic, The American Interest, Foreign Policy, Glamour, Tablet, BookForum, The Fix, and Men’s Health, among other publications. In the Arab world, his articles have appeared in Al-Ittihad, Al-Majalla, Asharq Alawsat, Al-Arabiya, and Al-Ahdath al-Maghrebiya, among other publications. Joseph Braude also writes a weekly column in the pan-Arab magazine Majalla.
On the airwaves, Joseph Braude has contributed to Public Radio International’s America Abroad. He is a periodic commentator on NPR and PRI news programs, and the host of Eye on Arabia, a podcast in English. Since July 2010, his weekly commentary in Arabic, “Risalat New York” (“Letter from New York”), has aired nationally in Morocco on MED Radio. It is now available as a podcast. He makes guest appearances on leading pan-Arab TV networks, including Al-Arabiya and Rusya al-Yawm.
As Advisor to the Al-Mesbar Studies and Research Center in Dubai, Braude contributes research to its Arabic-language publications, and participates in a variety of strategic initiatives. As Strategic Advisor to America Abroad Media in Washington, he assists in content development and special projects in the Middle East and North Africa. He is Senior Fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute, and a contributing editor at Tablet magazine.
He has served as a consulting advisor to non-profit organizations, the U.S. government, and the private sector in the realms of Arab civil society engagement, strategic communications, and counterterrorism.
Braude’s most recent book, Reclamation, is the latest among four.
In his spare time, Joseph Braude enjoys working out, cooking, and playing piano and oud. He lives in New York.
In his forthcoming book, Braude argues for staunch American support for Arab liberalizing trends in a range of sector — to be accomplished in large part through a revival of American expeditionary diplomacy, both on the civil and government levels. He writes, “As the region remains a fulcrum of international security and the global economy, the question of how to strengthen local Arab efforts for positive change should become a long-term focus of American policy — especially for those who prioritize a reduction in military commitments overseas.” Expeditionary diplomats, Braude observes, “are network builders who identify an opportunity to promote positive change, foster a plan to do so, and bring together its component parts — only to move on to a new opportunity and a new set of local actors. In Arab societies atomized by government-induced paranoia and civil unrest, they can bring disparate local elements together that might not otherwise engage one another. They can meanwhile connect these Arab partners, typically isolated from the outside world as well, to resources and professional networks across the United States and beyond, forging transnational teams and organizing them for action.”
The Center for Peace Communications, which Braude leads, works through media, schools, and centers of spiritual and moral leadership in the Middle East and North Africa to roll back divisive ideologies and foster a mindset of inclusion and engagement. In its first major project, the Center facilitated the establishment of the Arab Council for Regional Integration, a pan-Arab movement devoted to promoting a spirit of partnership that knows no borders.
Broadcaster
In addition to writing books and publishing articles, Joseph Braude broadcasts his work internationally — both in English, on radio and television in the United States; and in Arabic, via networks in North Africa and the Middle East. Click here to subscribe to Joseph’s English-language podcast, Eye on Arabia, an entertaining roundup of reporting and opinion.
In the US, Braude is heard on Public Radio International’s America Abroad, for which he writes, narrates, and co-produces mini-documentaries on current affairs in the Arab world as well as the region’s history. In recent segments, he told the story of the rise of Islamist movements, spoke with senior White House advisors from three presidential administrations about the Iranian nuclear standoff, and profiled the most popular rock band in North Africa. He has also co-produced a series of programs for PRI’s Afropop Worldwide about the musical heritage of North Africa, African musical influence in the broader Arab region, and Islam’s complex relationship with music. As political crises unfold, Braude provides guest commentary on radio news magazines such as NPR’s All Things Considered, PRI’s Here and Now and The World, and the BBC World Service. He has also appeared on American television, including CNN, MSNBC, and FOX.
Meanwhile, Joseph Braude’s weekly radio segment in Arabic, “Risalat New York” (“Letter from New York”), has aired nationally on Morocco’s MED Radio network since July 2010. The program combines commentary and analysis with research and reporting from Arab countries and Western capitals. The broadcast has a weekly audience of 1.75 million inside Morocco and thousands via social media in Egypt, Algeria, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, and the Gulf. On television, Braude provides guests commentary in Arabic on the region’s most popular networks, including Al-Arabiya and Rusya al-Yawm.
His Arabic radio program, “Risalat New York,” is also available as a podcast; click here to subscribe. To view television appearances, check out Joseph’s YouTube channel.
Middle East Specialist
Underlying Joseph’s work is a lifelong commitment to the professional study of Arab societies, and to applying his expertise to projects that foster civil peace, security, and reform.
His career as a Middle East specialist began as a student of Near Eastern languages at Yale and Arabic and Islamic history and literature at Princeton. He held fellowships at the Center for Arabic Study Abroad at the American University in Cairo, the Deh Khoda Center for Persian Studies at the University of Tehran, and the Jum’a ‘l-Majid Center for Culture and Heritage in Dubai.
Over the past 16 years, he has served as a consulting advisor to non-profit organizations, government, and the private sector, in the realms of civil society engagement, strategic communications, and counterterrorism. Among his clients: the United States Agency for International Development, the US State Department’s Bureau of International Information Programs, Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, the National Strategy Information Center, and Pyramid Research.
Joseph Braude serves the Al-Mesbar Studies and Research Center in Dubai as Advisor. In that capacity, he contributes research papers to its Arabic-language “Monthly Book,” and supports the Center’s global outreach. He also serves America Abroad Media as its Strategic Advisor with respect to content development and other initiatives in the Middle East and North Africa. Working with the organization’s founder, Aaron Lobel, he supports its mission to “promote the free exchange of ideas, foster critical thinking, and empower self-governing citizens worldwide.”
As a Middle East specialist, Braude chooses work which he believes can serve to advance the causes of Arab civil society, the advancement and protection of women and minorities, security sector reform, the rule of law, free expression, and a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In his view, democratic elections in the Arab world do not on their own guarantee the advancement of these goals, but transitioning democracies can and must build the institutions that do. Meanwhile, the region’s autocratic governments can also be a force for good, as guarantors of security for their people as well as facilitators of civil society and incremental constitutional reform.
Joseph’s commitment to the Middle East is deeply personal. An Iraqi Jewish American, he has been in love with the Arabic language since he first heard it spoken as a child, identifies fervently with the Iraqi motherland, believes that the State of Israel has a right to endure in peace and security, and derives bliss from playing and singing Arabic music and cooking Middle Eastern cuisine. He feels that Jews and Muslims are natural allies and partners, and welcomes those who share this view into his circle of friends.
Joseph Braude is married to Ruth Franklin. They have two handsome step-children and a beautiful daughter together.
You can follow Joseph Braude on Twitter here and via Google Plus here. Friend him on Facebook here, or connect professionally via Linkedin here. To learn more about his recent and forthcoming books, visit the profile of Joseph Braude on the online book retailer Amazon.com. Biographical information and other content is also accessible via About.me and Quora.
