Dr Alia Brahimi specialises in the politics of the Middle East and North Africa. She has held several academic positions, at the London School of Economics and the University of Oxford, where she read for her Master’s degree, PhD and post-doctorate.  Alia’s work has appeared in many specialist journals and edited volumes, as well as in newspapers and magazines for a wider audience.  

She is currently leading a project on women in Arab armed forces for the Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center, with funding from the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office. 

Doaa’ Elnakhala is a researcher for the project on women in Arab armed forces. She is also research analyst for the program on Civil-Military Relations in Arab States at the Malcolm H. Kerr-Carnegie Middle East Center.