Biography

I am a political scientist by training and an Arabist. My research interests include Sunni Islamism and sectarianism in Lebanon, Syria and Iraq, as well as the regional struggle between Iran and the Gulf monarchies. On the theoretical level, I engage with questions related to political and religious authority; patronage and clientelism and social movement theory.Currently, I am working on a book project based on my PhD thesis and co-editing a book on  civil-military relations in Lebanon (with Are J. Knudsen).Prior to joining the EUI, I was a senior lecturer in Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Oslo, Norway (2014-16). I obtained my PhD in political science from Sciences Po Paris in 2015. My thesis ‘From genesis to disintegration: the crisis of the political-religious field in Tripoli, Lebanon (1967-2011)’was supervised by Prof. Gilles Kepel. I have a master recherche in comparative politics (Sciences Po 2008) and a BA in International Studies (University of Oslo, 2005). I studied Arabic at the American University in Cairo (2005-6) and at the French Institute in Damascus (IFPO) (2006-7).I obtained the Michel Seurat prize in 2012 and had a Sciences Po doctoral scholarship 2008-2011. I have taught various Middle East courses (history, anthropology, political science) at Sciences Po Paris and at the University of Oslo and have supervised BA theses.