Past Projects
Projects Ended 2025/26

ELEVATE: Early Career Researchers’ Initiative for Strengthening Women's Climate Resilience
Principal Investigators
Dr Sara Mehryar, LSE
Dr Akeel Abbas, MOJA

Class-based Mobilisation in Lebanon and Iraq: A Weapon Against Sectarianism?
Principal Investigator
Dr Anne Kirstine Rønn
Principals, Pupils and Parents: Understanding the politics of schooling in Saudi Arabia
Principal Investigator
Dr Hanaa Almoaibed
Incentivising Acceptability of Climate Change Mitigation Measures in the GCC
Principal Investigators
Dr Susana Mourato, LSE
Dr Davide Contu, CUD and Dr Ganga Shreedhar, LSE
Gendered Networks of Power: The parliamentary quota and women’s substantive political representation in Iraq
Principal Investigator
Taif Alkhudary
Global Identity in an Uncertain World: A Study of Social Attitudes at an International UAE University
Principal Investigators
Dr Jennifer Sheehy-Skeffington, LSE, Dr PJ Henry, NYU Abu Dhabi, Dr Tatiana Karabchuk, UAEU
Understanding Barriers and Enablers to Women's Leadership in Sudan
Principal Investigator
Dr Souad Mohamed, LSE
Can Social Protection Empower Women? Patriarchy, Economic Agency and Redistribution Policies in Egypt
Principal Investigators
Dr Naila Kabeer, LSE
Dr Hania Sholkamy, AUC

Researching the Quality of Employment in the Middle East
Principal Investigators
Professor Kirsten Sehnbruch, LSE, Dr Azhar Hussein, University of Sharjah and Dr Samer Atallah, American University in Cairo
The Climate Change Risk Reduction Trap: Low Carbon Spatial Economic Restructuring and Disaster Risk in Kuwait
Principal Investigator
Dr Swenja Surminski, Dr Viktor Rözer, Dr Sara Mehryar, LSE, Dr Mohammad M. Alsahli, KU
Consociationalism and Civil Resistance in Lebanon
Principal Investigator
Dr Jinan Al-Habbal, LSE
Greening Systems by Greening Religion: Eco-Islamic Values and Water-Energy-Nature Nexus Policies in Kuwait
Principal Investigator
Dr Ganga Shreedhar, Davide Contu, Patricia Freitag, Susana Mourato, LSE, Aseel Takshe, CUD
Urbanity in the Time of Pandemic: A Study of Infrastructures of Care in Palestine during the C-19 Crisis
Principal Investigators
Dr Haneen Naamneh, LSE, Dr Suzi Hall, LSE
Dr Abaher El-Sakka, Birzeit University
Palestinian Attitude Change in Response to Conflict in the Palestinian Territories
Principal Investigators
Dr Ben Groom, LSE
Dr Guy Burton, MBRSG
Dr Elisa Cavatorta, KCL
Arab News Futures
Principal Investigators
Dr Omar Al-Ghazzi, LSE
Dr Abeer Al-Najjar, AUS
Surveying Kuwaiti Worldviews to Promote Science Culture in Kuwait
Principal Investigators
Martin W. Bauer, LSE
Mohammad Sartawi, KU
Explaining the Middle Eastern Health Inequality Paradox
Principal Investigator
Dr Joan Cost-Font, LSE
Roads as Tools for (Dis)connecting Cities and Neighbourhoods: A Socio-Spatial Study of Abu Dhabi
Principal Investigators
Dr Alexandra Gomes, LSE
Dr Apostolos Kyriazis, ADU
Neoliberal Visions: Exploring Gendered Adverts and Identities in the Palestinian West Bank
Principal Investigators
Dr Polly Withers, LSE
Dr Rema Hammami, Birzeit University
Empowering Democratic Citizenship through Education
Principal Investigators:
Sam Mejias, LSE
Rania Al-Nakib, Gulf University of Science & Technology

Social Movements and Popular Mobilisation (SMPM) in the MENA
Research Network Lead
Prof John Chalcraft, LSE
Beyond Oil: Trade Diversification and Economic Growth in Kuwait
Principal Investigators
Athanasia Kalaitzi, LSE
Ahmad Al-Awadhi, Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research
Lebanon Unsettled
Principal Investigators
Dr Deen Sharp, LSE
Dr May Farhat, USEK
Breaking the Internal Combustion Engine Reign: A Mixed-Methods Study of Attitudes Towards Using and Purchasing Electric Vehicles in Kuwait
Principal Investigators
Andri Ottesen, Australian University Kuwait
The Kurdistan Region of Iraq Post-ISIS: Youth, Art and Gender
Principal Investigators
Dr Isbabel Käser, LSE
Dr Bayar M. Sevdeen, UKH
Houzan Mahmoud, Culture Project
Export Composition and Economic Growth in the UAE
Principal Investigators
Dr Athanasia Kalaitzi, LSE
Dr Samer Kherfi, AUS

Fragmentation of Peacemaking and Peacebuilding: Non-Western Dynamics of Peace and Transition Management
Principal Investigators
Dr Courtney Freer, Emory University
Dr Spyros A. Sofos, LSE
Mapping Memories of Resistance: The Untold Story of the Occupation of the Golan Heights
Principal Investigators
Dr Michael Mason, LSE
Dr Munir Fakher Eldin, BZU
Queer(y)ing Palestine's Future
Principal Investigator
Dr Walaa Alqaisiya, LSE

(Re)imagining Young Muslim Women? Comparing Public Responses to Ms Marvel in non-Muslim and Muslim Societies
Principal Investigators
Dr Jennifer Jackson-Preece, LSE
Dr Badreya Al-Jenaibi, UAEU
Preventing Statelessness among Migrants and Refugees in North Africa
Principal Investigators
Dr Bronwen Manby, LSE, Dr Usha Natarajan, AUC
Mohamed Khachani and Malika Benradi, AMERM
Re-Conceptualising Health in Wars and Conflicts: A New Focus on Deprivation and Suffering
Principal Investigators
Dr Tiziana Leone, LSE
Prof Rita Giacaman, Birzeit University
Bridging the Micro-Macro Divide in Approaches to the Middle East
Principal Investigators
Dr Aula Hariri, LSE
Dr Yuting Wang

Conflict Research Programme
Conflict Drivers within the KRI: The Role of Patronage Networks
Principal Investigators:
Zmkan Ali Saleem and Mac Skelton
Estimating the Burden of Diabetes in Kuwait
Principal Investigators:
Zlatko Nikoloski, LSE Health
Fahd Al-Mulla, Dasman Diabetes Institute
Egypt and Morocco's GVC Integration in a Changing Global Economy
Principal Investigators
Dr Shamel Azmeh, LSE
Dr Abeer Elshennawy, AUC
Identit(ies) and Heritage in the UAE: Examining the Roles of Kinship, Family and the State
Principal Investigators
Dr Courtney Freer, LSE
Dr Rima Sabban, Zayed University
Conflict Research Programme
The Political Economy of Economic Policy in Iraq
Principal Investigator:
Alexander Hamilton
Just Below the Horizon' Israeli – Gulf Relations and Changing Middle Eastern Politics
Principal Investigators
Dr Ian Black, LSE
Shedding Light on Yemen's Forgotten Crisis: A Nationally Representative Survey
Principal Investigators
Dr Valeria Cetorelli, LSE
Dr Antelak Almutawakel, Sana'a University
The Social Safety Net in Kuwait
Principal Investigator
Dr Steffen Hertog, LSE
Utilising Applied Behavioural Research to Execute Subsidy Reform in Kuwait
Principal Investigator
Dr Hessah Al-Ojayan, Kuwait University
Conflict Research Programme
Conflict, Gender and Violence in Iraq
Principal Investigator:
Zeynep Kaya, LSE Middle East Centre
Conflict Research Programme
Payroll Expansion and the Political Marketplace in Iraq
Principal Investigator:
Ali Al-Mawlawi
Conflict Research Programme
Reforming Legal Responses to Conflict-Related Sexual Violence in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region
Principal Investigator:
Güley Bor

Complexity of Humanitarian Response to Internal Displacement in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq
Principal Investigators
Dr Zeynep Kaya, LSE
Dr Deniz Gokalp, AUDConflict Research Programme
Moral Populism and Satellite Sectarianisation
Principal Investigator:
Jessica Watkins, LSE Middle East Centre
Building the ‘New Kuwait’: The Role of the Private Sector in the Post-Oil Economy
Principal Investigator
Dr Sophie Olver-Ellis
Conflict Research Programme
Public Authority and Iraq's Disputed Territories
Principal Investigator:
Mac Skelton
Qabila in the 21st Century: The Role of Tribes in the Domestic Politics of the Gulf
Principal Investigator
Dr Courtney Freer
Conflict Research Programme
'Pockets of Media Civicness' in a Conflictual Political Landscape: A Case Study of Iraqi Media
Principal Investigator
Dr Aida Al-Kaisy
Mortality and Health Survey among IDPs in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq
Principal Investigators
Professor Tim Dyson, LSE
Dr Nazar P. Shabila, Hawler Medical University
Examining Emirati Female Labour Force Participation and Entrepreneurship in the UAE
Principal Investigators
Dr Berkay Ozcan, LSE
Dr Gina Poncini & Dr Wifag Adnan, Zayed University
The Regulation of Palestinian Everyday Life
Principal Investigators
Professor Chetan Bhatt, LSE
Dr Mudar Kassis, Birzeit University

Conflict Research Programme
Reporting the Iraqi Federal Elections
Principal Investigator:
Christine van den Toorn
Spaces of Living: Urban Reflections of Kuwaiti Society
Principal Investigators
Sharifa Alshalfan, LSE Middle East Centre
Joaquín Pérez-Goicoechea, AGi Architects in Madrid
Documenting Yazidi Victims of ISIS
Principal Investigators
Dr Valeria Cetorelli, LSE Middle East Centre
Sareta Ashraph, LSE Middle East Centre
Resource Urbanism: Natural Resources, Urban Form and Infrastructure in the Case of Asia's Diverging City Models
Principal Investigators
Dr Philipp Rode, LSE Cities
Dr Alexandra Gomes, LSE Cities
Dr Muhammad Adeel, LSE Cities
Personalised Media and Participatory Culture
Principal Investigators
Dr Shakuntala Banaji, LSE Department of Media and Communications
Dr Mohammed Ibahrine, American University of Sharjah
Advancing Research and Teaching in Political Economy in the oPt
Principal Investigators
Dr Mandy Turner, LSE Middle East Centre
Dr Lourdes Habash, Birzeit University
Prevalence of Cardiocascular Risk Factors and Access to, Utilisation of and Satisfaction with Healthcare Services in Kuwait
Principal Investigator
Dr Zlatko Nikoloski, LSE Health and Social Care
The Impact of the Syrian Refugee Crisis on Arab Statehood
Principal Investigator
Dr Filippo Dionigi, LSE Middle East Centre
Examining Emirati Female Labour Force Participation and Entrepreneurship in the UAE
Principal Investigators
Dr Berkay Ozcan, LSE Department of Social Policy
Dr Gina Poncini, Khalifa University, Abu Dhabi
Dr Wifag Adnan, New York University Abu Dhabi

The Comparative Political Economy of the MENA Region
Principal Investigators
Dr Steffen Hertog, LSE Department of Government
Dr Ferdinand Eibl, LSE Middle East Centre
Policy Mobilities, International Aid and Planning: Regionalism and Refugee Policies in Lebanon
Principal Investigators
Dr Romola Sanyal, LSE Department of Geography
Dr Mona Harb, American University of Beirut
Dr Mona Fawaz, American University of Beirut
Ideas, Identity and Migration: Connectivity in Security and State Building in the GCC
Principal Investigators
Dr Karen Young, LSE Middle East Centre
Dr Robert Stewart, National Defense College in Abu Dhabi
Mapping Foreign Policy in the GCC: Resources, Recipients and Regional Effects
Principal Investigators
Professor Toby Dodge, LSE Middle East Centre
Dr Khalid Almezaini, Qatar University
Dr Line Khatib, American University of Sharjah
Arab National Media and Politics: Democracy Revisited
Principal Investigators
Dr Fatima El-Issawi, LSE Middle East Centre
Dr Bradley Freeman, American University in Dubai
Divine Politics: Saudi Islamist Mutations
Principal Investigator
Professor Madawi Al-Rasheed, LSE Middle East Centre

The Long-Term Challenges of Forced Migration: Perspectives from Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq
Principal Investigator
Dr Filippo Dionigi, LSE Middle East Centre
Analytical Support to Unpack Key Dimensions of GCC Politics, Economy and Foreign Policy for UNICEF
Principal Investigators
Dr Steffen Hertog, LSE Middle East Centre
Dr Courtney Freer, LSE Middle East Centre
Trust, Constitution and the Process of Subjectification among Tunisian Youth
Principal Investigators
Dr Aitemad Muhanna-Matar, LSE Middle East Centre
Dr James Sater, American University of Sharjah
The Palimpsest of Agrarian Change
Principal Investigators
Professor Martha Mundy, LSE Department of Anthropology
Professor Rami Zurayk, American University of Beirut
Capacity Building in International Relations Didactics: Addressing the Educational Gap in Tunisia
Principal Investigators
Dr Filippo Dionigi, LSE Middle East Centre
Dr Corinna Mullin, Tunis Business School, University of Tunis
Women’s Health in Occupied Palestinian Territory (oPt): Inclusion and Exclusion
Principal Investigators
Dr Ernestina Coast, LSE Department of Social Policy
Professor Rita Giacaman, Birzeit University

Understanding the Role of International Actors in Enhancing Women’s Rights after a Foreign Military Intervention
Principal Investigators
Dr Zeynep Kaya, LSE Middle East Centre
Dr Deniz Gokalp, American University in Dubai
Gentrification and Neighbourhood Change in Ras Beirut
Principal Investigators
Dr Fran Tonkiss, LSE Department of Sociology
Professor Cynthia Myntti, American University of Beirut
Women's Political Participation across the Arab Region
Principal Investigator
Dr Aitemad Muhanna-Matar, LSE Middle East Centre

Demographic Profile of GCC States: Labour Markets, Migration, and National Identity
Principal Investigator
Dr Kristian Coates Ulrichsen, LSE Kuwait Programme
Egypt in the Arab Spring: Multidisciplinary Research Perspectives
Principal Investigators
Dr Marco Pinfari, LSE Department of Government
Dr Ola El Khawaja, Cairo University
Transboundary Climate Security: Climate Vulnerability and Human Security in the Jordan River Basin
Principal Investigators
Dr Michael Mason, LSE Department of Geography and Environment
Dr Ziad Mimi, Birzeit University
LSE Academic Collaboration with the American University of Sharjah
Principal Investigators
Professor Fawaz Gerges, LSE Department of International Relations
Dr Mark Rush, American University of Sharjah