Kamaran M. Palani

An Associate Fellow at Al Sharq Strategic Research and a Lecturer in International Relations at Salahaddin University-Erbil. Palani is also a Research Fellow at the Middle East Research Institute. He is currently finalizing his PhD study at Leiden University.

Research Interests: Iraqi politics, regional Kurdish politics, de facto statehood in the international system, and violent extremism in the Middle East.

Tamer Badawi

Tamer Badawi is A PhD Student and Assistant Lecturer at the University of Kent researching politics and security with a focus on paramilitary groups in Iraq. He is an Associate Fellow with Al Sharq Strategic Research.

Thembisa Fakude

Fellow at Al Sharq Strategic Research in Istanbul, Turkey. Deputy Chairperson Common Action Forum, Madrid, Spain. Columnist Middle East Monitor London, United Kingdom. Member of the Board Mail and Guardian, Johannesburg, South Africa.

Amjad Atallah

Amjad Atallah is the CEO of Vortex International and was a legal advisor to the Palestinian negotiating team from 2000 to 2003. He was most recently the Editor-in-Chief for Al Jazeera America and the former Bureau Chief for Al Jazeera English in the America

Inga Kristina Trauthig

Inga Kristina Trauthig is a Research Fellow at the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation (ICSR) and PhD candidate at the War Studies Department at King’s College London. Her research focusses on non-state actors in the Middle East and North Africa, particularly Libya. At King’s College, she convenes the MENA Research Group within the Institute of Middle Eastern Studies (IMES). She also works on broader issues concerning violent extremism in Europe and the US. Inga has conducted work with UN-organisations, NGOs and private companies that addressed root causes of civil strife as well as practical and ideological competition between state and non-state actors in the Middle East. She holds an MLitt in Middle East, Caucasus and Central Asian Security Studies from the University of St Andrews in Scotland.

Betul Dogan Akkas 

Betul Dogan Akkas is a PhD candidate at joint degree program between Qatar University Gulf Studies Center and Durham University School of Government and International Affairs. She also received her MA degree with a thesis titled “Securitization of Qatari Foreign Policy” at Qatar University. Dogan Akkas completed her BA in International Relations at Bilkent University. Following her undergraduate studies, she conducted field research in Jenin, Palestine. Her research interests and publications include foreign policymaking, security strategies and social transformation of the Gulf Monarchies and Yemen.

Fırat Kimya

Fırat Kimya is an Associate Fellow at Al Sharq Strategic Research and a PhD Candidate in the department of Politics at the University of Virginia.  His research explores the formation of democratic institutions, particularly political parties, before and after democratic transition processes. Regionally, He is interested in Europe and MENA, utilizing a comparative approach to the study of democratization. His research interests include political parties, corruption and party finance, democratization in the MENA, social movements, European politics, and democratic consolidation.

M. Nurullah Gulec

M. Nurullah Gulec graduated from Bogazici University with bachelor’s degrees in Economics and Mathematics. Then, he completed his MPhil in Economics at the University of Oxford. He is now continuing his Ph.D. studies in Economics at Duke University. He is interested in industrial organization, development, and political economy.

Deniz Baran

Deniz Baran is a faculty member at Istanbul University’s International Law Department, and a lawyer registered to the Istanbul Bar Association, focusing on providing legal consultancy for foreign investors in Turkey and international investment arbitration cases. He is also contributing to Al Sharq Forum as its international law specialist. He is a PhD candidate in public international law at Istanbul University, where he also obtained his Bachelor’s and Master’s degree.

Baran used to coordinate the International Law Research Center (UHAM) which is affiliated to Fatih Sultan Mehmet University. He has previously conducted numerous international youth projects as Turkey&Balkans Regional Coordinator of Al Sharq Youth, the Chairman of Istanbul Youth Assembly Foreign Affairs Commission, the Turkish Delegate for Y20 2016 China Summit and the Deputy Chair of YCDC (Youth Commission of Diplomacy and Collaboration).

With a keen interest in media, he has taken up writing articles regarding international legal matters for various media outlets such as Middle East Eye, Perspektif Online and Anadolu Agency. He is currently a regular contributor to Al Jazeera where he publishes legal Op-Ed pieces on a monthly basis. 

Nicci Enchmarch

Nicola Enchmarch is the Managing Director of Al Sharq Forum in the United Kingdom. She has a wealth of commercial and Not for Profit experience acquired over 20+ years in business and management consultancy roles across multiple industry sectors within the UK, New Zealand, Europe and the MENA region. Nicola has experience working in multi-national and cross-functional environments from enterprise-wide to micro-level projects. Nicola holds a BRS in Environmental Studies and continues to maintain an active interest within this field.

Mercedes Bellavista

Throughout her professional life, Mercedes has performed several roles, such as manager`s assistant, executive secretary, as well as project manager and worked with international companies, consulting firms and foundations in Spain, Switzerland, the United States and the United Kingdom. With an excellent ability to assess any situation, Mercedes provides a personalized approach and a smooth and easy communication style, and has the ability to adapt to a wide variety of environments and cultures

Her current roles in Al Sharq Forum Geneva: Executive Secretary and Project Manager

Yaser Sayed Omar

Administrative Director at Al Sharq Forum. Yaser has a +10 years Experience in the field of Management, Human Development, and Nonprofit Organizations. He also co-founded a number of civil society organizations working to provide support in the fields of education, charity, and human rights. He is a blogger and writer in many websites, including Huffington Post Arabi.

Mohammad Affan

Mohammad Affan is the acting director of Al Sharq Strategic Research, the coordinator of Al Sharq Program on Political Islam, and the managing director of Al Sharq Academia. A medical doctor by training, he holds a Ph.D. from the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies, University of Exeter. Also, he obtained his MA degree in Comparative Politics at the American University of Cairo. His thesis was published in Arabic as a book titled: ‘Wahhabism and the Brotherhood: The Conflict on the Concept of the State and the Legitimacy of Power.’ In addition, he holds a post-graduate diploma in Civil Society and Human Rights from Cairo University, a diploma in Political Research and Studies from the Institute of Arab Research and Studies, and a diploma in Islamic Studies from The Higher Institute for Islamic Studies, Cairo. His research interests include Islamism and democratization in MENA region.

Sinan Hatahet

Sinan Hatahet is a Senior Associate Fellow at Al Sharq Strategic Research. He is currently a consultant working with a number of think tanks on Syria.He previously worked as the executive director of the Syrian National Coalition (SNC) media office since its establishment in late 2012 until September 2014.

Research Interest: Governance and local councils, anti-radicalization, Islamism, the Kurdish National Movement, and the new regional order in the Middle East.

Mehmet Emin Cengiz

Rawan Hammoud

Rawan Hammoud is a research assistant at Al Sharq Strategic Research Center. She holds an MA from New York University and a BA from the American University of Beirut. Her work focuses primarily on the socio-political transformations in the aftermath of the Arab uprisings. 

Osama El-Mourabit

Osama El-Mourabit is a research assistant and program coordinator at Al Sharq Forum. He holds a MA in International Relations from the University of Humboldt-Berlin with a thesis on « the EU discourse towards the Southern Mediterranean: from the EMP to the ENP », and he is currently doing his PhD in Area Studies at the Middle East Technical University.

He has previously worked in various institutions, with research experiences at the Policy Center for the New South, the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP), and the Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research (SETA). His research focus includes the Global and Regional Power Competition in the Middle East, Identity and Foreign Policy, and the Soft Power theory.

Jawad Abazeed

Jawad Abazeed is the information specialist at Al Sharq Forum. He was the Community Coordinator for Al Sharq Youth Network from 2015 to 2016. He studied accounting at the University of Science and Technology in Yemen. Previously, he worked in accounting and operation management, and was an IT instructor.

Leen Hariri

Firdaous Amri

Executive Secretary at Al Sharq Forum. She completed her undergraduate program in History department at Istanbul Sehir University. Firdaous has been actively working in many NGO’s in Turkey and was member of Istanbul Cosmopolitan Municipality Youth Assembly. She took part in organizing several youth conferences and social activities, Turk Arab Youth Congress (TAYC) and Ramadan Tent 2014 and 2015.

Beshr Abdulhadi