My research interests fall within the International Relations of the Middle East and are driven by the interaction of three themes: Religion and Legitimacy; Contested Sovereignty; and Political Violence. I am especially interested in the following areas:
Islam, the state and umma
'Soft power' security dilemmas
Gulf politics
Internal-external security dilemmas
Re-conceptualising sovereignty
Irredentist and secessionist movements
Gulf security
Hizballah
The Internet and 'cyber sovereignty'
Liberating Mosul is one thing – next comes the real challenge for Iraq
Apr 02, 2017 01:44 am UTC| Insights & Views
The battle to fully recapture Mosul from the Islamic State (IS) is in its final stages and it is rapidly intensifying. On March 17, 200 civilians were killed in airstrikes on western Mosul mounted by the US and the...
How to understand Syria's 'proxy war' – and who's fighting for whom
Sep 29, 2016 14:40 pm UTC| Insights & Views
As another attempted ceasefire falls apart, the destruction of the Syrian people and state goes on. The countrys economy has been annihilated, and the conflicts societal damage will take decades to repair. The need to stop...
Syria peace talks languish in the doldrums as fighting engulfs Aleppo
May 04, 2016 12:26 pm UTC| Insights & Views
The latest round of talks in Geneva have failed to curb a dramatic spiral of violence and the tragedy in Syria is deepening rapidly. A hard-won and admittedly imperfect ceasefire has been broken, resulting in hundreds of...
Meltdowns, crises and Islamic State: a terrible year in the Middle East
Dec 31, 2015 10:31 am UTC| Insights & Views
As we approach the fifth anniversary of the Arab Uprisings, its hard to remember the days of popular protests, of democratic revolutions and of dreams of a better future that rocked the Middle East in 2011. Nearly five...
Putin’s Russia: first arrests under new anti-LGBT laws mark new era of repression
Canada needs a national strategy for homeless refugee claimants