Dr. Dounia Mahlouly, Founder
Dr. Dounia Mahlouly is a Senior Researcher and Lecturer at SOAS University of London. Her work focuses on the interplay between state and non-state actors' communication strategies in post-2011 North Africa (Egypt and the Maghreb). She completed her PhD at the University of Glasgow, in partnership with the American University in Cairo in 2015. Her PhD research (2015) examined how social media was incorporated into the campaigning strategy of leading political actors in post-revolutionary Tunisia and Egypt. She conducted her postdoctoral research at King's College London and taught as a Guest Lecturer for King’s College London, the European Institute for the Mediterranean, the University of Glasgow and SOAS expert briefings. She has led research projects/consultancies as a Principal Investigator.
Alaa Sayed El Daly, Communication Officer
Alaa Sayed El Daly, our Intern Communication Officer, is a postgraduate student at the American University in Cairo (AUC). She is currently enrolled in a joint masters program between AUC and Tübingen University in Germany, studying CMEPS (Comparative Middle East Politics and Society). As an undergraduate she studied History and minored in Arab and Islamic Civilizations at AUC. She is interested in gender related topics, Civil society and its impact on policymaking.
Emily Primmer Pyke, Communication Officer
Emily Primmer Pyke, our Intern Communication Officer, is in her final year of an undergrad degree in Arabic and Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Edinburgh. Her interests include the position of the Arabic script in Israel, jinn in contemporary Arab society and Arab feminisms. She has previously worked for the Centre for Turkey Studies in London. In the future, she hopes to complete a masters in Gender and Women’s studies in the Middle East
Shubhangi Singh, Fundraising Officer
Shubhangi Singh is a postgraduate student at SOAS, University of London. She is currently pursuing an MA in Middle Eastern Studies with Intensive Language (Arabic). She is interested in comparing and contrasting approaches to Human Rights and Islamic Law, to identify common grounds and conceptual differences between these two legal framework. She graduated from King’s College London with an MA in Conflict Resolution. Her focus has been on Conflict Transformation, learning and developing the pattern of co-existence in a divided society, especially in the Middle East. Shubhangi also has professional experience working as a journalist in India.
Dr. Haid Haid, Associate Member
Dr. Haid Haid is a Syrian columnist and a senior consulting research fellow with Chatham House Middle East and North Africa Programme. He is also a senior research fellow at the Department of War Studies, King’s College London where he focuses on Jihadist governance. Haid’s main research interests include security policies, governance, conflict resolution, and non-state actors. Previously, he was a programme manager on Syria and Iraq at the Heinrich Böll Stiftung-Middle East Office in Beirut. He also worked as a senior community services-protection assistant at UNHCR - Damascus. Haid holds a BA in Sociology, a post-graduate diploma in counselling, an MA in social development and another MA in conflict resolution at King's College, London.
Emadeddin Badi, Associate Member
Emadeddin Badi is a Libyan independent consultant and researcher that specializes in governance, post-conflict stabilization, hybrid security and peacebuilding. He currently works as an Advisor for Libya at the Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF), a Senior Analyst at the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime and is also a Non-resident Senior Fellow with the Middle East Program at the Atlantic Council, where he focuses primarily on U.S and European policies towards Libya. Previously, he was a Non-resident Scholar at the Counter-terrorism and Extremism Program at the Middle East Institute and a Policy Fellow at the European University Institute. He is fluent in English, French and Arabic.
Dr. Noha Atef, Associate Member
Noha Atef is a postdoctoral media researcher at SchoolComm Lab, Simon Fraser University. She has a professional background in the press, broadcast journalism, and online media. Noha obtained her PhD in Media from Birmingham City University in 2017, where she also worked for the Birmingham Centre for Media and Cultural Research (BCMCR). Ever since, she has been teaching for a number of universities in Egypt, both theoretical and hands-on modules. Noha’s postdoctoral research focuses on social media, the political economy of communication, media studies and recently she developed an interest in health communication.
Fatim-Zohra El Malki, Associate Member
Fatim-Zohra El Malki is a DPhil student at the University of Oxford. Her research focuses on criminal justice reform and the independence of the judiciary in the MENA region, with particular focus on Morocco. She was previously a visiting fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations in London and a researcher on Islam and Politics at the Atlantic Council’s Rafik Hariri Center in Washington DC. Fatim-Zohra holds Masters degrees in Arab Studies from Georgetown University’s Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service (2016) and in Security Studies from Queen's University of Belfast (2013). Fatim-Zohra’s work is featured in The National Interest, Sada Carnegie, TIMEP and Jadaliyya, among others.
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Dr. Dalia Ghanem, Contributor
Dr. Dalia Ghanem is a resident scholar at the Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut. She is an expert on Algeria. In addition, her work examines extremist violence, radicalization, jihadism, borders, gender, and civil-military relationships. She also focuses on the participation of women in jihadist groups as well as in Arab militaries. Ghanem has been a guest speaker on these issues in various conferences and a regular commentator in different Arab and international print and audio-visual media.
Inga Trauthig, Associate Member
Inga Kristina Trauthig is a Research Fellow and PhD candidate at the War Studies Department at King’s College London. Her research examines ideological adaptations and governance in contentious environments and conflict zones, with a focus on Libya. At King’s College, she convenes the MENA Research Group within the Institute of Middle Eastern Studies (IMES). Inga has conducted work with UN-organisations, NGOs and private companies that addressed root causes of civil strife as well as practical and ideological competition between state and non-state actors in the Middle East. In the past, she has been hosted by the MENA Hub of the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) in Tunis. She holds an MLitt in Middle East, Caucasus and Central Asian Security Studies from the University of St Andrews.
Kathya Berrada, Associate Member
Kathya Berrada is at the present Senior Program Manager at the Arab Center for Research. Her work focuses on institutional reforms, countering violent extremism and inclusive economic development and policies in Morocco, Tunisia, Mali and Turkey. She is the Senior Project Manager of the Averroes Academy for freedom and democracy and Morocco Country partner for the KIP, Gender gap index project implemented by a consortium of key organisations and led by the American University of Beirut. Her publications have been centered around Islamic reforms, countering violent extremism, the role of civil society actors and private sector in the post Arab spring era. Kathya’s work is based on achieving a more global understanding of the impacts of macro-policies on people’s lives at the community and micro-levels.
Inna Rudolf, Associate Member
Inna Rudolf is a Research Fellow at King’s College London’s Department of War Studies. She completed her master’s degree in political science and Islamic studies in 2012 at the University of Heidelberg, specialising in Conflict Resolution, Peace Building and Political Islam. During her studies, she headed the regional group on “Conflicts in the Middle East and Maghreb” at the Heidelberg Institute for International Conflict Research. In addition to her field work in Iraq, she has lived in Libya, Yemen, Egypt, Tunisia and Palestine.
Looking into the hybridisation of security sector governance, in her current research she focuses on the evolving relationship between the Iraqi state and the Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) as a state-sanctioned paramilitary umbrella.
Hossam Fazulla, Associate Member
Hossam Fazulla is a researcher from Cairo, based in London. Fazulla’s work focuses on the transectionality between media, art, & social justice. He acquired a Masters degree in Global Media from SOAS, University of London, besides a Masters in English/Arabic Literature and Translation from Cairo university. His previous experience includes working as a researcher/ program director for the Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression, Cairo, and a researcher for the European Union's MedCulture. Fazulla currently works as a Research Assistant at the University of Essex, Department of Literature, Film, and Theatre studies and as a researcher/producer for BBC, London.
Khadeja Ramali, Associate Member
Khadeja Ramali is an independent social media researcher who focuses on online spaces, culture, and political discourse in the MENA region.
Khadeja has worked with NGOs, research centres, and companies to look into Arabic language disinformation, social media monitoring in elections, information operations in the MENA region, foreign interference campaigns in North Africa with a specific focus on the Libyan online space.
Zine Labidine Ghebouli, Associate Member
Zine Labidine Ghebouli is an independent analyst and postgraduate student at the University of Glasgow where he specializes in Euro-Mediterranean affairs. He previously worked as a junior consultant at the Asfari Institute at the American University of Beirut. Zine is a graduate of the American University of Beirut and an alumni of the Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies. He is also a regular contributor to several think tanks and media channels on Algerian and MENA affairs. Zine focuses currently on political, social and security dynamics in the Mediterranean region.