May Darwich, Ph.D.

may.darwich@durham.ac.uk

Durham University

Country: United Kingdom (England)

About Me:

I am an Assistant Professor in International Relations of the Middle East in the School of Government and International Affairs (SGIA) at Durham University, in the United Kingdom. Before joining Durham University, I held a Research Fellowship at GIGA German Institute of Global and Area Studies, within the IDCAR-Network ‘The International Diffusion and Cooperation of Authoritarian Regimes’ (2014-2016). My research attempts to bring Middle East cases to debates within IR theory while surmounting the challenge to the study of state behaviour in the Middle East through theoretical lenses. My research has appeared in internationally renowned journals, namely Foreign Policy Analysis, Journal of Global Security Studies, Democratization, Mediterranean Politics, Global Discourse and in volumes on the international relations of the Middle East.

Research Interests

Middle East & North African Politics

Military Intervention

Foreign Policy

Countries of Interest

Saudi Arabia

Syria

Egypt

My Research:

My research attempts to bring Middle East cases to debates within IR theory while surmounting the challenge to the study of state behaviour in the Middle East through theoretical lenses. My current research projects focus on regional military interventions in the Middle East, with a particular focus on the Saudi-led intervention in Yemen since 2015, the diffusion of sectarianism in not so sectarian societies in the Middle East, and the concept of 'shame' in international relations and its impact on state identity formation.