I am a sociologist (PhD, Université Paris-Diderot, 2011) and Research Associate at the Institut français du Proche-Orient (Ifpo) since 2004. I have over twenty years of research experience on political violence, radicalisation, armed groups, forced migration and civilian protection in Lebanon, Syria and Palestinian refugee settings.

Research leadership: Since August 2023 I have been Senior Research and Policy Advisor at the Beyond Compliance Consortium (War Child UK/FCDO), leading research on armed-group restraint and informal protection in northwest Syria, where I conduct regular fieldwork. From 2020 to 2023 I was Scientific Coordinator and Work Package leader of the H2020 PAVE project (FMSH), a multi-country EU consortium on violent extremism in the Balkans and MENA.

Publications: I have authored or co-edited four books, including Les luttes dans la marge (Presses de l’Ifpo, 2024) and Vulnerability and Resilience to Violent Extremism: An Actor-Centric Approach (Routledge, 2023, co-editor, open access). My peer-reviewed articles appear in International Sociology (2018), Global Policy (2017) and Journal des anthropologues (2016). I have also written policy reports for Geneva Call, Norwegian People’s Aid and the Arab Reform Initiative.

Mediation and policy: From 2018 to 2020 I was Political and Mediation Advisor at the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue (HD, Geneva), working on security and political mediation in Lebanon, including in Palestinian camps. I co-founded the Cedar Centre for Legal Studies in Beirut (2022), and I began my career as a social worker with UNRWA (2000–2004).

Academic engagement: Dahrendorf Visiting Fellow at the Hertie School, Berlin (2015–16); visiting researcher at the Chr. Michelsen Institute, Bergen (2014); lecturer in the sociology of radicalisation at the Lebanese American University (2017); member of the Arab Council for the Social Sciences.

Methods and languages: qualitative and mixed-methods research in hard-to-access, conflict-affected settings; negotiated access to armed actors and communities; and conversion of field evidence into donor- and policy-facing outputs. I work fluently in Arabic, French and English.