Personal profile

Research interests

I am a lecturer in Social and Policy Sciences, and the Director of Studies for the BSc International Development with Economics (IDwE)'. I am also the pathway lead for the interdisciplinary pathway 'Global Challenges and Transformations".

My work focuses on the politics of development, social protection, labour market policy, the governance of migration and refugees between the Middle East and Europe. As part of this I have collaborated with international, national and local organisations including the ILO, WFP, the (German) Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the German Institute for Development Evaluation (DEval), GIZ, Tamkeen (Jordan), and ASAM (Turkey).

My research and teaching is interdisciplinary in nature. It is grounded in ethnographic approaches to policy and governance as well as in-depth qualitative research. Most of my empirical research to date has focused on Jordan. More recently, I have also conducted research on and in Turkey, the UK and Germany. 

One strand of my work focuses on the politics of poverty alleviation and local, rural development interventions in Jordan. Besides this, I have concentrated on the governance of the Syrian presence in Jordan and other states in the region, and particularly on policies that seek to address refugees as labour market participants. This has included looking at the role of donors in promoting these policies, the contradictions they encounter, and the manifold effects they have on the ground. My most recent projects have sought to analyse (Syrian and Jordanian) women's economic participation in Jordan, and the many politcal-economic, institutional and social obstacles they face in trying to make a living; social and labour protection for refugee, migrant and local workers in the garment industry in Jordan and Turkey. I am also currently part of a research project analysing and improving refugee- and asylum seeking students' experience in higher education in the UK.

I am interested in supervising PhDs that deal with refugee governance; humanitarian interventions; displacement, migration and labour; social protection and the politics of development in the Middle East and elsewhere.

Other responsibilities

My drop-in student hours are Tuesdays, 1:30 - 2:30 pm during term time (I won't be holding my office hour on Oct 29th)

If you need to see me at another time during the week I am happy to arrange a Teams meeting. 

Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals

In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):

  • SDG 1 - No Poverty
  • SDG 5 - Gender Equality
  • SDG 8 - Decent Work and Economic Growth
  • SDG 10 - Reduced Inequalities

Education/Academic qualification

Political Science, Doctor of Philosophy, Freie Universität Berlin

Political Science, Master of Arts, Freie Universität Berlin

Middle East Politics, Master of Science, School of Oriental and African Studies

Keywords

  • migration governance
  • development
  • refugees
  • Arab world
  • donors
  • humanitarianism
  • Jordan

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Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years

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