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Zakhirova Co-Authors Book on Climate Change

FOR MORE INFORMATION:
DR. LEILA ZAKHIROVA, associate professor of Political Science
218.299.4823
CANDACE HARMON, Media Relations
charmon1@cord.edu 

CONCORDIA PROFESSOR CO-AUTHORS BOOK ON CLIMATE CHANGE

Dr. Leila Zakhirova, associate professor of political science at Concordia, has published a book on the role of climate change in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). The book “Climate Change in the Middle East and North Africa: 15,000 Years of Crises, Setbacks, and Adaptation” by Zakhirova and co-author William R. Thompson, Distinguished and Rogers Professor Emeritus at Indiana University, was published by Routledge in July 2021.

The book examines the impact of repeated episodes of climate change over the past 15,000 years in a region that is currently home to over a half billion people. In the past, each episode had major effects on societal functioning, sometimes leading to systemic breakdowns and collapse. Zakhirova and Thompson suggest that the current bout of climate change could be even more catastrophic due to high population numbers in MENA with no place in the region for survivors to seek refuge in order to escape environmental deterioration.  If temperature increases exceed 3-4 degrees Celsius, they conclude, much of the region may simply cease to be habitable at some point in this century.

Zakhirova is currently working on a book examining the link between global warming and population growth prospects in the Muslim world.

Zakhirova and Thompson also collaborated on another book “Racing to the Top: How Energy Fuels Systemic Leadership in World Politics” released by Oxford University Press in 2019.

More info: Zakhirova Co-Authors Book on Climate Change | Concordia College

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