Authoritarianism and democracy

Gareth Stansfield

I have been a regular commentator and adviser on Middle East politics over the last decade, focusing in particular on the politics and political economy of Iraq, the Kurdish regions of the Middle East, dynamics of Gulf/Arabian peninsular security, and questions of post-conflict stabilization and nation/state building.

Lise Storm

Democracy and democratization; parties, party systems, and party system institutionalization. These are the topics at the core of my research agenda. Over the past few years, I have published, lectured and debated widely on issues relating to the state of democracy and the likelihood of democratic, political change in North Africa, but I also frequently cover cases outside the Arab world (Latin America, sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia), particularly when it comes to the study of political parties.

Alan Hassanian

My research discipline falls with Political Science. I look at historical and contemporary trends and evenest shaping the 20th and 21st centuries’ development of the state and society in Iran. With a particular focus on identity politics/politics from Iran's peripheral regions, such as the country’s Kurdish region (Rojhelat/Eastern Kurdistan). All together my research interests comprise contemporary Iranian and Kurdish politics, Kurdish nationalism and national movement, and environmental and cultural activism in Kurdistan

Irene Fernandez Molina

My research deals with international relations of the Global South, foreign policies of dependent and/or authoritarian states, the migration-foreign policy nexus (migration diplomacy), frozen conflicts, contested/unrecognised states and the international politics of recognition – with a regional focus on North Africa, as well as EU foreign policy and Euro-Mediterranean relations.

Sabiha Allouche

My research looks at the affective consequences of the securitisation of governance and the permanent war that subjects in the global south endure. More specifically, I focus on the instrumentalization of gender and sexuality and the sexualisation of racial difference in the Middle East has shaped relationships to the state, gendered subjectivity, mobility and futurity

Henry Jarrett

My research focuses on conflict management in divided societies under the consociational power sharing model. I am especially interested in the (actual and potential) impact of consociationalism on identity in societies where this method has been implemented and, in particular, whether the model has the ability to mitigate or change identities. The geographical focus of my research was initially on Northern Ireland, however I am increasingly drawn to consociational cases in the Middle East, namely Lebanon and Iraq.

Billie Brownlee

I work on social mobilisations, civil wars, political violence, digital activism, media studies and refugee crisis management. My area of expertise is Syria, Lebanon and the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

Ella Gao

I am interested in the politics of dictatorships, especially the usage of elections in these states. I am also interested in how social diversity (such as tribal diversity) affects the provision of government services.

Mick Dumper

Prof. Dumper’s research interests are the Permanent Status Issues of the Middle East peace process, the Arab-Israeli conflict, religious institutions in the Middle East and the urban politics of the Middle East.

Martin Thomas

I am currently working on the meanings and impacts of colonial disintegration, focusing primarily on the interactions between decolonisation and globalisation. I am especially interested in patterns of empire collapse and the nature and extent of political violence during contested decolonisation.

Adam Hanieh

My research focuses on the political economy of the Middle East, with a particular emphasis on the six states of the Gulf Cooperation Council. My work examines the role of the Gulf states within global capitalism; as well as the ways in which capital accumulation in the Gulf impacts wider issues of development in the Middle East, including inequality, poverty, and social polarisation.

Brieg Powel

My current research explores relations between human polities across the long term of human history, the way humans organise themselves politically, and how our understanding of the past is shaped by the biases of our present.

Jonathan Githens-Mazer

My research has two main focuses. I have an interest in theories of nationalism, particularly ethno-symbolic approaches to nationalism, and how nationalist movements constitute a sustained form of contentious politics. My latest research examines 'radicalisation', particularly in relation to myths, memories and symbols of the past.

Klejda Mulaj

Kledja studies political violence and postconflict rebuilding with particular reference on the violence of war against civilians, violent non-state actors, Western foreign policy rationales for intervention, transitional justice, nationalism, state building, and (challenges of) provision of security in the aftermath of violent conflict – primarily focusing on the Balkan region and the Middle East.