Research Focus

Areas of interest include the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, Gulf security, political Islam, transnational extremist networks, state and regime legitimacy, authoritarianism and democratization, civil society development and governmental capabilities.

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Research Staff

Michael C Hudson | ميشال هدسون Professor and Director, MEI meidir@nus.edu.sg Michael Hudson is Professor Emeritus of International Relations and Arab Studies at Georgetown University where he served as Director for many years. Hudson has edited and contributed to numerous books, including Middle East Dilemma: The Politics and Economics of Arab Integration (Columbia University Press/CCAS, 1999), The Palestinians: New Directions (CCAS, 1990), and Alternative Approaches to the Arab-Israeli Conflict (CCAS, 1984).

Robert Bianchi | روبرت بيانكى Visiting Research Professor meirrb@nus.edu.sg Robert Bianchi is a political scientist and an international lawyer with special interests in the Islamic World and China. He has taught at the University of Chicago, Nanjing University, Qatar University, the American University in Cairo, and the University of Pennsylvania. His most recent book, Guests of God: Pilgrimage and Politics in the Islamic World, examines the explosive growth of the hajj with particular attention to Turkey, Pakistan, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Nigeria. He is currently writing a book about China’s deepening connections with Islamic countries and their role in altering the balance of power regionally and globally.

Marie Duboc | ماري دوبوك Post Doctoral Research Fellow marieduboc@nus.edu.sg Marie Duboc’s research focuses on social movements and labor issues in the Middle East. Her doctoral dissertation, which researched labor protests and workers’ strikes in Egypt from 2004 to 2010, focused on channels that enable mobilization to take place despite the marginal involvement of political parties. Based on an ethnographic study of textile companies her research examined the role of the media, of gender dynamics, and of the nationalist narrative in shaping labor protests. She holds a PhD in sociology from the School of Advanced Social Science Studies (EHESS, France) and a MSc in comparative politics from the London School of Economics. During the academic year 2010-2011 she was an academic visitor at St Edmund Hall, Oxford University (Besse Scholarship). Her recent publications include “Egyptian Leftist Intellectuals’ Activism from the Margins: Overcoming the Mobilization/Demobilization Dichotomy” in J. Beinin and F. Vairel (eds.), Social Movements, Mobilization and Contestation in the Middle East and North Africa, and “La contestation sociale en Egypte depuis 2004: entre précarité et mobilisation locale”, published in Revue Tiers-Monde in 2011.

Faeza Abdurazak | فائزة عبدالرزاق Research Assistant faeza@nus.edu.sg Faeza Abdurazak holds a BA in Arabic Language and Literature (minoring in Islamic scholarship) from the International Islamic University Malaysia and an MSc in International Relations from Nanyang Technological University. Her research interest mainly lies in political Islam in Southeast Asia and the Middle East.