I completed my PhD in International Relations at the University of St Andrews in 2017. Building on this research, I published my first monograph in 2019, State and Tribes in Syria: Informal Alliances and Conflict Patterns. The book offers a multidisciplinary historical–sociological analysis of state–tribe relations from the end of the Ottoman era to the Syrian civil war, challenging classical IR theories that privilege formal institutions over informal authority. By examining the interaction between authoritarianism, Islamism, tribalism, and the cross-border ties that link Syrian tribes to Iraq, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia, the study provides new insights into the formation of legitimacy, mobilisation, and conflict in the Middle East. Previously, I taught politics and international relations at the universities of St Andrews, Leicester, and Edinburgh, and held research positions at the Central European University in Austria and Roskilde University in Denmark. 

I teach across political theory and International Relations, covering core concepts in global politics, debates about power and order, and the study of major global threats and security challenges. My teaching introduces students to foundational theories of IR, contemporary discussions of diplomacy, peacekeeping and conflict management, and the role of international organisations, states and non‑state actors in responding to crises. I also teach on activism and politics beyond formal state institutions, examining how social movements, networks and everyday practices shape global governance, and I supervise undergraduate and postgraduate dissertations in these areas.

I am a political scientist of the contemporary Middle East. My scholarship sits at the intersection of International Relations theory, identity studies, and the sociology of armed conflict, with a sustained focus on Syria as a site of both empirical inquiry and theoretical reflection.

My primary research agenda centres on the role of sub-state actors -- particularly tribal and ethno-religious communities -- in shaping conflict dynamics, state-society relations, and political order. My first monograph, State and Tribes in Syria: Informal Alliances and Conflict Patterns (Routledge, 2019), offers a multidisciplinary historical-sociological analysis of state-tribe relations from the end of the Ottoman era to the Syrian civil war. Drawing on fieldwork interviews with tribal members alongside sources in English, Arabic, and French, the book traces the policies of successive Syrian governments towards the Arab tribes and their responses, challenging classical IR theories that privilege formal institutions over informal authority structures. It argues that tribalism -- long neglected in favour of analyses centred on sectarianism or authoritarianism -- remains a crucial and under-studied axis of governance, conflict, and stability across the Middle East and North Africa.

My second book, Spoils of War in the Arab East: Reconditioning Society and Polity in Conflict (Bloomsbury, 2024), co-edited with Aziz al-Azmeh and Harout Akdedian, offers a critical intervention in post-conflict studies. Drawing on empirical research across Syria and Iraq, the volume challenges prevailing frameworks of reconciliation, transitional justice, and reconstruction by arguing that these countries are better understood as existing in a condition of conflict transformation rather than conflict termination. The book demonstrates that post-conflict planning consistently fails when it overlooks realities on the ground or relies on culturalist explanations and ancestral enmities, bringing together leading scholars to rethink the political, military, and social dynamics of the Arab East in the wake of war.

A growing thread in my current work concerns minority communities, collective memory, and mobilisation under authoritarian conditions. This is reflected in my ongoing Leverhulme/British Academy-funded project, Identity and Dissent: Exploring the Factors Behind the Druze Community's Political Shift in Syria (2025-2026), which investigates the underlying drivers of political realignment within the Druze community, with particular attention to identity formation, regional influences, and shifting allegiances. The project connects to wider questions about the fragmentation of authoritarian regimes, the emergence of new forms of dissent, and the long-term socio-political transformations set in motion by the Syrian uprising.

Methodologically, I am committed to interpretive and qualitative approaches -- including ethnographic fieldwork and oral history -- that centre the voices and lived experiences of communities often marginalised in mainstream IR accounts. A broader ambition of my scholarship is to provincialise conventional IR perspectives by foregrounding sub-state actors, everyday identities, and the social foundations of political power in the Arab world.

I welcome inquiries from prospective PhD students interested in Middle East politics, conflict studies, sectarianism, and identity-based mobilisation.

Identity and Dissent: Exploring the Factors Behind the Druze Community’s Political Shift in Syria', funded by a grant from The British Academy/Leverhulme, investigates the significant political shift within the Druze community of Sweida, Syria leading to their 2023 uprising before the fall of the Syrian regime. The research examines the internal and external factors driving this change, focusing on identity, governance, and security dynamics. The project aims to provide insights into minority group responses during conflicts, contributing to a deeper understanding of socio-political shifts in the Middle East.

Striking from the Margins: From Disintegration to Reconstitution of State and Religion in the Middle East (Central European University): The Carnegie-funded research project seeks to consider conditions arising in the unsteady and seemingly deadlocked condition of military and political stalemate that has emerged in the Arab East, specifically Syria and Iraq. As part of this project, I am working on my individual research project titled “State Devolution in Syria and Iraq: Tribal Auxiliaries in the Margins”. I am also co-editing a book titled “Reconstitution of Power and Authority in the Arab Mashriq:  Questioning Post-Conflict Scenarios” with Professor Aziz al-Azmeh and Dr Harout Akdedian.

I am open to supervising PhD students, particularly those interested in Middle East Politics and Conflict Studies.