Hana AlWakeel

Hana AlWakeel is a political economy researcher at FLIA. Her work sits at the intersection of trade, regional integration and industrial policymaking, with a regional focus on Africa.

Hana holds an MSc in International Political Economy from the LSE, where she conducted a comparative study of the economic and institutional drivers shaping the divergent behaviour of African regional powers towards the EU Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs).

Previously, she worked as an assistant Research Consultant at the LSE Trade Policy Hub, advising representatives of the East African Community on the implications of re-opening negotiations with the European Union on the Economic Partnership Agreement. She has also contributed to a range of projects with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the United Nations University Institute for Natural Resources in Africa, the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), and the Africa Finance Corporation.

Grounded in a critical political economy perspective, Hana’s research interests increasingly engage with questions of inclusive economic transformation and green industrialisation in developing economies.

Region of interest: Africa and West Asia

Expertise: qualitative analysis, quantitative methods, trade in development, regional integration, and sustainable industrialisation.

Publications:

-AlWakeel, H. (2026). ‘Upgrading Africa’s industrial policy response for trade and sustainability’, Forum on Trade, Environment, & the SDGs (TESS).

-AlWakeel, H. and Luke, D. (2025). Why Industrial Policy-making Is the Key to Unlocking Gains From Industrial Policy. International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD). Trade and Sustainability Review.