Biography

Dima Hussain is a researcher in law at the European University Institute where she is expected to complete her PhD in law. Her thesis, ‘Tribal Laws and Legal Pluralism in Syria: Societal Justice Beyond Legal Centralism,’ is interdisciplinary in the field of legal anthropology. The thesis examines tribal law in Syria and its resilience in a complete cycle of governance, from pre-state to a failed state passing by various forms of central state and other non-state governing actors. It further analyses how tribal law interacts with state law and shari‘a law in a legal pluralistic sphere. Dima has a Master of Laws in Comparative, European, and International Laws from the European University Institute. Her first Master of Laws was in American Law and was obtained from Syracuse University in New York in the United States and her Bachelor of Laws is from Damascus University in Syria.

As a Max Weber Fellow, Dima will focus on working on a book manuscript that builds on her Ph.D. thesis research and conclusions. The book explores two central topics: tribal law’s interaction with state law since the 19th century, and tribal law’s interaction with shari‘a law after the 2011 Syrian Uprising. Employing scholarly arguments derived from legal pluralism theory, the project will explore tribal law in historical and contemporary Syria.