Aida Abbashar | Research Assistant

Aida is a Research Assistant on the project 'Understanding Barriers and Enablers to Women's Leadership in Sudan' and is a PhD candidate at Durham University.

Nour Albrzawi | 2022-23 Mohamed Al Fahim Scholar

Nour is the 2022-23 recipient of the Mohamed Al Fahim Scholarship. She is studying for a Master's in Anthropology and Development at LSE. 

Taif Alkhudary | Research Officer 

Taif is an Iraq-focused Research Officer at the Centre working on the project 'Managing Religious Diversity in the Middle East: Al Muhasasa Ta'ifia in Iraq, 2003-2018'.  

Dr Jinan Al-Habbal | Research Officer

Jinan is Principal Investigator on a collaborative project entitled Consociationalism and Civil Resistance in Lebanon. She is also a Fellow at the Centre for Syrian Studies at the University of St Andrews.

Afrah Al Matwari | Research Assistant 

Afrah is a Research Assistant on the project 'Managing Religious Diversity in the Middle East: Al Muhasasa Ta'ifia in Iraq, 2003-2018'.  

Abrar Alshammari | Research Assistant

Abrar is a researcher on the Kuwait Programme project 'Sustaining Kuwait in Unsustainable Times'.

Dr Arda Bilgen | Research Officer

Arda is a Research Officer at the LSE Middle East Centre, where he works on the project 'Surface Water Changes in the Euphrates-Tigris Basin since 1984 and their Governance Implications for Iraq'.

Seren Caglar | Research Assistant

Seren is a Research Assistant on the LSE Middle East Centre project 'The Lived Experience of Being Muslim among British Youth of Middle Eastern Origin'.

Iván Cano-Gomez | Research Assistant

Iván is Research Assistant on the project 'Global Identity in an Uncertain World: A Study of Social Attitudes at an International UAE University'.

Kanwal Tareq Hameed | Research Assistant

Kanwal is a researcher on the Kuwait Programme project 'Sustaining Kuwait in Unsustainable Times'.

Professor Steffen Hertog | Associate Professor

Steffen is Principal Investigator on the Kuwait Programme project 'The Social Safety Net in Kuwait'. He is also an Associate Professor in the Department of Government, LSE.

Kimia Talebi | Research Assistant

Kimia is a Research Assistant on the LSE Middle East Centre project 'The Lived Experience of Being Muslim among British Youth of Middle Eastern Origin'.

Dr Polly Withers | Research Officer

Polly is a Leverhulme Early Career Research Fellow at the LSE Middle East Centre, where she leads the project 'Neoliberal Visions: Gendering Consumer Culture and its Resistances in the Levant'.

Dr Hanaa Almoaibed | Visiting Fellow

Hanaa is a Fellow at the King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies. Her research explores the influence of social dynamics on work and education amongst youth in the GCC.

Professor Madawi Al Rasheed | Visiting Professor

Madawi was Professor of Anthropology of Religion at King’s College, London between 1994 and 2013. Previously, she was Prize Research Fellow at Nuffield College, Oxford.

Dr Ian Black | Visiting Senior Fellow

Ian is a former Middle East editor, diplomatic editor and European editor for the Guardian newspaper.

Dr Marouf Cabi | Visiting Fellow

Marouf's research focuses on modern Iran and its ethnic structure, Kurdish society in Iran, and social and political movements especially since WWII.

Dr Nicola Degli-Esposti | Visiting Fellow

Nicola is a Guest Teacher at the Department of Government, LSE and a Research Fellow at the University of Padua. He works on the political economy of the MENA region, nationalism, and China in the Middle East.

Dr Courtney Freer | Visiting Fellow

Courtney is Provost’s Postdoctoral Fellow at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. Her research focuses on domestic politics of the Gulf, with particular interest in Islamism and tribalism.

Professor Jeroen Gunning | Visiting Professor

Jeroen is a Visiting Professor at Aarhus University. His research focuses on political contestation in the Middle East, with a specific focus on the interplay between social movements, religion, electoral politics, repression, violence and structural change. 

Dr Athanasia Kalaitzi | Visiting Fellow

Athanasia's research focusses on the validity of the Export-Led Growth hypothesis in the GCC region and the causality between fuel-mining exports, re-exports and economic growth. Her work also looks at the effect of technology transfer on human capital and economic growth in the GCC countries. 

Dr Zeynep Kaya | Visiting Fellow

Zeynep is a Lecturer in International Relations at the University of Sheffield. Her main research areas involve borderlands, territoriality, conflict, peace, political legitimacy and gender in the Middle East. 

Professor Dina Matar | Visiting Professor

Dina is Director of the Centre for Global Media and Communications at SOAS. She works on the relationship between culture, communication and politics in the Middle East, with a special focus on Palestine, Lebanon and Syria.

Dr Ali Saeidi | Visiting Fellow

Ali is Associate Professor of Economic Sociology and Social Policy at the University of Tehran. His research focuses on Iran's contemporary business groups, with a specific focus on family business firms and their challenges.

Greg Shapland | Visiting Fellow

Greg is an independent researcher, writer and consultant on politics, security, resources and environment (including water) in the Middle East and North Africa.

Dr Spyros Sofos | Visiting Senior Fellow

Spyros is a Visiting Senior Fellow at the LSE Middle East Centre. His research explores the intersection of societal insecurity, identity and collective action, focussing on Turkish politics and society, nationalism and populism, urban citizenship, European Muslim identities and politics, and the theory of populism. 

Ahmed Tabaqchali | Visiting Fellow

Ahmed is Chief Strategist of the AFC Iraq Fund. His research focuses on Iraq’s economy and political economy, with a specific focus on the economic aspects of the relationship between the GoI and the KRG.

Veli Yadirgi | Visiting Fellow

Veli's research covers the political economy of development, colonialism and decolonisation; comparative politics of the Middle East; development issues facing emerging economies; sustainable development; and inequality. Since 2016, he has taught in the Department of Development Studies at SOAS.

Dr Omar Al-Ghazzi 

Omar is Assistant Professor at the Department of Media and Communications. He researches the reporting and representation of conflict, digital journalism and the politics of time and memory, focusing on the Middle East and North Africa.

Dr Walaa Alqaisiya

Walaa is a teaching fellow in gender, peace and security at the Department for Gender Studies. Her work weaves together queer studies, decolonial approaches and indigenous studies.

Dr Roham Alvandi 

Roham is Associate Professor of International History at LSE. His current research focuses on global human rights activism and the origins of the 1979 Iranian Revolution.

Professor Nigel Ashton

Nigel is Professor of International History at LSE. His main research surrounds the fields of contemporary Anglo-American relations and the international history of the Middle East.

Dr Lydia Assouad

Lydia is an Assistant Professor of International Development at LSE. Her research lies at the intersection of political economy, development economics and economic history, with a particular focus on the Middle East.

Dr Zeinab Azarbadegan

Zeinab is a British Academy Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of International History at LSE. Her current project examines the assertion of multiple sovereignties over the population of Ottoman Iraq.

Professor Martin W. Bauer

Martin is Professor of Social Psychology in the Department of Psychological and Behavioural Science at the LSE, and Co-PI on the Kuwait Programme project on science culture in Kuwait.

Dr Federica Bicchi 

Federica is Associate Professor of International Relations of Europe at LSE. Her research interest lies in EU foreign policy and external relations - especially as they relate to the Middle East and to the Mediterranean.

Dr Ryan Centner 

Ryan is Assistant Professor of Urban Geography at LSE. His research revolves around a core interest in urban transformation at the nexus of social, spatial, and economic change.

Professor John Chalcraft

John is Professor of Middle East History and Politics at the Department of Government. He works on history and politics ‘from below’ in the modern Middle East and North Africa.

Professor Ernestina Coast

Ernestina is Professor of Health and International Development at the Department of International Development at LSE. She is Co-PI on an MEC project looking at health in wars and conflicts.

Dr Joan Costa-i-Font 

Joan is Associate Professor (Reader) in Health Economics at the Department of Health Policy at LSE. He is PI on an MEC project exploring health inequality in the MENA region.

Dr Nuno F. da Cruz

Nuno is Assistant Professorial Research Fellow at LSE Cities. He is Co-PI on the Kuwait Programme project 'Governance of Spatial Change: Shaping Urban Policies and Investments in Kuwait'.

Dr Katerina Dalacoura

Katerina is Associate Professor in International Relations at LSE. Her latest research focuses on the role of culture and civilisation in International Relations with special reference to Turkey.

Dr Yazan Doughan

Yazan is Assistant Professor at the Department of Anthropology. He researches the question of social justice in contemporary postcolonial contexts, particularly in Jordan.

Professor George Gaskell

George is Emeritus Professor of Social Psychology and Research Methodology at the Department of Methodology at LSE.

Mazen Gharibah

Mazen is Research Associate at the Conflict and Civil Society Research Unit in the Department of International Development at LSE. His work focuses on the role of governance during and post conflict with a focus on Syria.

Alexandra Gomes

Alexandra is a Research Fellow at LSE Cities and is Co-PI on the Kuwait Programme project 'Public Space in Kuwait: From User Behaviour to Policy-making'.

Professor Yaprak Gürsoy

Yaprak is the Chair of Contemporary Turkish Studies at LSE. Her main areas of interest are Turkey’s relations with the West and the UK, and Turkish politics in comparison with Europe.

Professor Ellen Helsper

Ellen is Professor of Digital Inequalities at the Department of Media and Communications. She is a Co-PI on the Kuwait Programme project 'Evaluating Digital Skills and Tangible Outcomes in Kuwait'.

Dr Jennifer Jackson-Preece

Jennifer is Associate Professor in Nationalism at the European Institute and the Department of International Relations at LSE. She is PI on an MEC collaboration project with UAEU.

Dr Isabel Käser

Isabel is a Research Associate at the University of Bern. She leads the collaboration project, 'The Kurdistan Region of Iraq Post-ISIS: Youth, Art and Gender'.

Professor Naila Kabeer

Naila is Professor of Gender and Development at LSE. Her research interests include gender, poverty, and social exclusion, her research is mostly focused on South and South East Asia.

Dr Tiziana Leone

Tiziana is Associate Professor in Health and International Development at LSE. She is PI on an MEC collaboration project looking at health in wars and conflicts.

Dr Davide Luca 

Davide is an Assistant Professor in Applied Economics at Cambridge University. His research studies the politics of policy delivery and development at a local level.

Dr Sam Mejias

Sam is a Research Fellow at the Department of Media and Communications. He is a Co-PI on the Kuwait Programme project 'Empowering Democratic Citizenship through Education'.

Dr Souad Mohamed

Souad is Chief Executive Officer of IEL International. She is Principal Investigator of the LSE Middle East Centre project, 'Understanding Barriers and Enablers to Women’s Leadership Development in Sudan'.

Professor Susana Mourato 

Susana is Professor of Environmental Economics, Academic Director of LSE Summer School, and Associate of the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment.

Dr Dena Qaddumi

Dena is a Fellow in City Design and Social Science at the Department of Sociology at LSE. Her research focuses on the materialization of revolution in cities.

Dr Mohamed Saleh

Mohamed is Associate Professor of Economic History at LSE. His research is focused on the Economic History of the Middle East and North Africa.

Dr Sara Salem

Sara is Assistant Professor at the Department of Sociology. Her work explores the connections between postcolonial theory and Marxism, with special attention to the context of Egypt.

Dr Hakan Seckinelgin

Hakan is Associate Professor at the Department of Social Policy at LSE. His work focuses on both the epistemology and politics of international social policy.

Dr Nazanin Shahrokni

Nazanin is Assistant Professor of Gender and Globalisation at LSE. Her research interests include gender politics, feminist geography, and ethnographies of the state in Iran, the Middle East, and beyond.

Dr Deen Shariff Sharp

Deen is a Fellow in Human Geography at the Department of Geography and Environment at LSE. His research focuses on the political economy of urbanisation in the 'Middle East'.

Dr Jennifer Sheehy-Skeffington

Jennifer is Assistant Professor of Social Psychology at LSE. Her research investigates the psychological impact of experiencing low socioeconomic status at times of rising inequality.

Professor Hyun Bang Shin

Hyun is Professor of Geography and Urban Studies at LSE. He is PI on the Kuwait Programme project 'Asian Capital and the Rise of Smart Urbanism in Kuwait'.

Dr Ganga Shreedhar

Ganga is Assistant Professor at the Department of Psychological and Behavioural Science at LSE. She is interested in how, when and why people take action – or fail to – to address complex global environmental social dilemmas.

Dr Gagan Sood

Gagan is Assistant Professor at the Department of International History at LSE. His main research interests lie in the Middle East and South Asia between the 17th and 19th centuries.

Dr Swenja Surminski

Swenja is Deputy Director and Head of Adaptation Research at the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, LSE, and PI on a Kuwait Programme project on flood resilience in Kuwait.

Dr Miriam Tresh

Miriam is Assistant Professorial Lecturer at the Department of Psychological and Behavioural Science at LSE. Her research looks at public perceptions and the psychological impact of Covid-19 in Libya.

Dr Rim Turkmani

Rim is a Research Fellow at the Conflict and Civil Society Research Unit at LSE. She directs the Syria conflict research programme at the Unit.

Professor James Walters

Jim is a Professor in Practice in the Department of International Relations and leads the LSE Religion and Global Society research unit. He is active in interfaith dialogues across the Middle East and leads educational visits to Israel and Palestine that deepen students’ understanding of the religious dimensions of the conflict.

Dr Frederick Wojnarowski

Fred is a British Academy Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Department of Anthropology at LSE. Fred is interested in the political and economic anthropology and history of the Middle East and the eastern Mediterranean, especially Jordan.