Teaching
Politics in the Middle East 211
Department of Politics & International Relations
University of Oxford
Small group teaching of Politics, Philosophy, and Economics students in the Politics of the Middle East 211 course delivered by the Department of Politics & International Relations, Oxford and New College, Oxford. Topics covered by this course included legacies of empire and colonialism, the state and its institutions, political economy, political Islam, political participation, gender, protest and revolution, and migration and forced displacement over the course of Trinity Term 2022. Delivery included leading weekly discussions of each topic and assessment of student essays and written work.
Comparative Government 201
Department of Politics & International Relations
University of Oxford
Organise and deliver tutorials for the Comparative Government 201 course offered through the Department of Politics & International Relations, Oxford and St Catherine's College, Oxford. Topics covered by this course included constitutional norms, political parties and ideologies, comparative political jurisdictions, and regional social conditions over the course of Michaelmas Term 2021. Delivery included leading weekly discussions of each topic, student assessments, mentoring students, reviewing student essays, and final examination grading.
Undergraduate Admissions & Interviews
As part of my college roles, I help with annual undergraduate admissions review and interviews for prospective Philosophy, Politics, and Economics (PPE) students. I deeply enjoy the process of getting to engage with bright students who are interested in learning more about philosophy, politics, and economics in a challenging but supportive environment. These distinct fields are distinct but deeply interconnected and this is reflected in the design and nature of the program. As part of my college duties, I also assist with expanding access programs, including student visits from academies and other state-funded schools. If you are considering applying to study philosophy, politics, or economics and are looking for where to get started, please take a close look at the University of Oxford's resource guide and scholarships as you begin this process.
Research & Teaching
Teaching is informed and enhanced by ongoing research in relevant fields. My academic research examines how Jihadist-Salafist extremist groups behave in civil conflicts, especially as they consolidate their control over rival groups. It also considers how these groups establish so-called 'jihadist proto-states', or systems of local governance by violent Islamist actors, during and after consolidation. The majority of research on conflict and extremism considers how rebel groups fight against governments, but relatively little analysis has considered how rebel groups compete with each other. Intra-rebel conflict often accounts for more than half of the conflict events within civil wars and is important in understanding conflict trajectories and outcomes. Where the academic literature has considered inter-rebel conflict, it is often too narrowly focussed on fighting, ignoring a much broader typology of inter-rebel interactions which includes alliance-formation, poaching, bargaining, cooperating, and economic coordination. While nationalist rebels have received some attention within peace and conflict studies, the consolidation practices of Jihadist-Salafist groups remain almost entirely unstudied, despite the presence of such groups in more than 50% of active conflicts in the world. My research begins filling in some of these gaps in our understanding of inter-rebel competition by examining inter-rebel competition and consolidation within the Syrian Civil War. The Syrian Conflict, which began with hundreds of rival rebel groups has gradually narrowed to include only a few major factions, with Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) representing the largest and best organised. This research seeks to examine groups such as Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (Al-Nusra / HTS), Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIL / ISIS), Al-Shabaab (AS), and the Afghan Taliban (AT). To learn more about my research, please visit the projects and publications sections of the website.