Zeidon Alkinani
Nonresident Fellow
Bio
Zeidon Alkinani is a Nonresident Fellow at the Middle East Council on Global Affairs.
He is a Middle East political analyst specializing in Iraq, the Gulf, and the Levant. His research focuses on identity politics, non-state actors, democratization, and state-building dynamics across the region.
Alkinani is the Founding Director of the Arab Perspectives Institute and previously served as a Lecturer at Georgetown University in Qatar and the University of Aberdeen. He holds a PhD in Politics and International Relations from the University of Aberdeen.
He leads strategic initiatives in the education and innovation-focused non-profit sector across Qatar and the wider MENA region and is a regular commentator on Middle East affairs. Alkinani has authored more than 50 publications and is the author of a forthcoming Routledge book on ingroup rivalries in consociational democracies, focusing on post-2003 Iraq.
contact fellowResearch Areas
- Iraqi Politics and Governance
- Regional Geopolitics
- Identity Politics and Sectarianism
- State-Building and Democratization
Countries of Focus
- Iraq
- GCC States
- Syria
- Lebanon
Other Areas of Interest
- Non-State Actors
- Conflict and Post-Conflict Governance
- Political Reform and Institution Building
Education
- Ph.D., Politics and International Relations, University of Aberdeen, 2024.
- M.Sc., International Public Policy, University College London (UCL), 2017.
- B.A., Politics and International Relations, University of Westminster, 2016.