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Experts on countries of origin by country

Christian, Dr. Patrick James

The Expert is a psychoanalytical anthropologist of violent ethnic & cultural conflict in Eurasia, South Asia, Middle East, Central and South America, West Africa, North Africa and the Horn of Africa with experience working in military, diplomatic, and humanitarian interventions in intra-state violent conflicts.

Occupation: Psychoanalytical Anthropologist
Countries of expertise: Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Chad, Colombia, Djibouti, Ecuador, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guatemala, Honduras, Iran, Iraq, Kenya, Kuwait, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Nigeria, Peru, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Uganda, Western Sahara, Yemen

Fair, Carol

The Expert is a Professor in the Security Studies Program within Georgetown University’s Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service. She previously served as a senior political scientist with the RAND Corporation, a political officer with the United Nations Assistance Mission to Afghanistan in Kabul, and a senior research associate at the United States Institute of Peace.  Her most recent book is In Their Own Words: Understanding Lashkar-e-Tayyaba (Hurst/Oxford University Press, 2018/2019).  She has authored, co-authored and co-edited several books, including Fighting to the End: The Pakistan Army’s Way of War (Oxford University Press); Pakistan’s Enduring Challenges (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2015), Policing Insurgencies: Cops as Counterinsurgents (Oxford University Press, 2014); Political Islam and Governance in Bangladesh (Routledge, 2010); Treading on Hallowed Ground: Counterinsurgency Operations in Sacred Spaces (Oxford University Press, 2008); The Madrassah Challenge: Militancy and Religious Education in Pakistan (USIP, 2008), and The Cuisines of the Axis of Evil and Other Irritating States (Globe Pequot, 2008), among others. 

She is a member of Women in International Security, International Studies Association, American Political Science… Read more

Occupation: Professor
Countries of expertise: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Iran, Israel, Kyrgyzstan, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Thailand, Uzbekistan

Faruqi, Daanish

Dr. Daanish Faruqi is a Visiting Researcher at the Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding at the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University, Washington, D.C.  A scholar of migration and mobility in the Middle East and North Africa, he has leveraged his expertise both in academia and in international development. At Georgetown he researches democracy promotion and conflict resolution through transnational religious humanitarianism. Relying on fieldwork with transnational humanitarian NGOS immediately following the 2023 Syrian/Turkish earthquake, his latest writing deals with the viability of religious humanitarianism in effectively managing refugee crises. He has a forthcoming interview with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace on this project and its potential for peace building.

He completed his Ph.D. from Duke University, where he wrote his dissertation on the role of Syrian Sufi religious scholars in joining the 2011 uprising against Bashar al-Assad. Through several years of ethnographic and historical fieldwork in Morocco, Turkey, and Jordan, conducting hundreds of Arabic-language interviews, his work revealed the role of 19th century migration from North Africa to Damascus in informing contemporary… Read more

Occupation:
Countries of expertise: Algeria, Egypt, Gaza Strip, Israel, Jordan, Morocco, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United States of America, West Bank

Gabbay, Shaul

Dr. Shaul Gabbay completed a BA at Bar Ilan University and an MA at Tel-Aviv University. In 1991 he received a Presidential Fellowship from the U.S. to continue his studies. In 1995 he completed the PhD program at Columbia University in New York and received an invitation from the University of Chicago for a Post Doctoral program. In 1998 Dr. Gabbay returned to Israel to join the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology. Professor Gabbay joined the University of Denver as the Director of the Institute for the Study of Israel in the Middle East at the Josef Korbel School of International Studies in 2001- 2010.  He continued his research at DU as a Senior Scholar until 2015 when he was appointed Director of the Global Research Institute.

His areas of expertise include Middle East cultures and societal norms,   Middle East conflicts, and human rights issues existing in Muslim societies.  He is regularly cited and acts as a commentator in national and international media such as the Associated Press, CBS, NBC, FOX and MSNBC.

Occupation: Muslim World Expert
Countries of expertise: Afghanistan, Algeria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Djibouti, Egypt, Gaza Strip, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Libya, Malaysia, Mauritania, Mongolia, Morocco, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Tajikistan, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, West Bank, Yemen

Hafidh, Dr Hasan

The Expert is a Lecturer in Comparative Politics and International Relations of the Middle East. 

Occupation: Lecturer in Comparative Politics of the Middle East (Gulf Specialism), Expert of Islamic Countries
Countries of expertise: Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Occupied Palestinian Territories, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Yemen

Mehmood, Dr Maryyum

The Expert is an internationally renowned and award-winning academic and consultant specialising in violence against women and minorities, and racial and religious persecution in the South Asia and Muslim majority countries.

Occupation: Academic expert on gender-based violence, racial injustice, sectarian violence and religious persecution.
Countries of expertise: Afghanistan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, France, Germany, India, Kuwait, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States of America

Miles, Hugh

Expert on Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Libya, Qatar and UAE. Award-winning freelance journalist and author, presenter, producer and consultant specialising in the Middle East. Born in Jedda, Saudi Arabia and studied Arabic at Pembroke College, Oxford University.

Occupation: Author, Journalist and Consultant
Countries of expertise: Algeria, Egypt, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates

Nasr, Hatem

CEO and founder at Xsolutions Ltd, is an experienced advocate in the appellate court of Egypt. With over 12 years of practice, they specialize in various legal areas, including Egyptian Civil Law, human rights, domestic abuse, trade regulations, criminal law, and Sharea (Islamic Law). They collaborate closely with lawyers, judges, and the Ministry of Interior on national security and civil registration cases. Additionally, they provide reports related to human rights, asylum, gender violence, and political persecution.

Occupation: CEO and founder at Xsolutions Ltd
Countries of expertise: Egypt, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, United Arab Emirates

Ranjan, Rakesh

Dr Ranjan is a Sociologist specialising in responsible recruitment, migrant rights, and social policy advocacy across South Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Gulf with extensive experience in human rights, migration, and labor issues. Currently, serving as the South Asia Regional Coordinator for the Institute for Human Rights and Business, focusing on the Migrant Workers Programme and the Responsible Recruitment Register. As a Country of Origin Expert, provides in-depth reports on human rights challenges in multiple countries, including Bangladesh, India, and Nepal. Holds part-time roles as a Senior Research Fellow at both the International Institute for Migration and Development and the Global Research Forum on Diaspora and Transnationalism, contributing to project implementation and strategic development. Formerly an Assistant Professor at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, where key projects on labor migration were led. Proficient in various research methodologies and data analysis tools, with advanced skills in documentation, presentation, and video editing software. Committed to addressing complex human rights issues, including discrimination, trafficking, and safe migration practices.

Occupation: The expert is a sociologist specializing in responsible
recruitment, migrant rights, and social policy advocacy across
South Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Gulf. With over a decade
of experience, Dr. Ranjan excels in stakeholder management
and collaborates closely with governments, NGOs, and
international bodies to address critical issues such as fair
recruitment practices, workplace discrimination, and migrant
workers' rights.
Countries of expertise: Bangladesh, Brunei, India, Malaysia, Nepal, Qatar, Singapore

Vora, Neha

The Expert is Associate Professor of Anthropology in the Department of Anthropology & Sociology at Lafayette College. She received her PhD in anthropology from the University of California, Irvine.

Her areas of expertise include migration, citizenship, higher education, South Asian and Muslim diasporas, gender, labor, race, liberalism, political economy, and the state, in the Arabian Peninsula region and in the United States.

She is the author of Impossible Citizens: Dubai’s Indian Diaspora (Duke University Press, 2013) and Teach for Arabia: American Universities, Liberalism, and Transnational Qatar (Stanford University Press, 2018). She has also published a co-authored book with Ahmed Kanna and Amelie Le Renard, Beyond Exception: New Interpretations of the Arabian Peninsula (Cornell University Press, 2020).

Occupation: Associate Professor of Anthropology
Countries of expertise: Kuwait, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, United States of America