The Atlantic Council’s Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East launched this spring a network of nonresident fellows. Based in the Middle East and North Africa, the network brings to the Council new perspectives and locally driven analysis on the processes of change and transition in the Arab world.
The Center currently has eight fellows representing a range of experience and expertise in the region—based in Egypt, Jordan, Libya, Tunisia, and Yemen—and is actively seeking new nonresidents.
The network allows the Hariri Center to tap into local knowledge on political, economic, and social trends through their reearch and writing, highlighted on the Center’s blogs, MENASource and EgyptSource, and other outreach. The network also provides an important opportunity to amplify new voices by hosting the fellows in Washington, DC to help inform the debate and discussion on critical issues that impact the prospects for political and economic change in the region.
The nonresident fellows will address a diverse range of themes including new political and social forces, economic conditions, constitutional and legal reform, security sector reform and transitional justice, and the role of external actors in the transitions.
To request an interview with a Hariri Center nonresident fellows, please contact Samia Yakub via press@AtlanticCouncil.org.
Rafat Al-Akhali (Yemen) is the cofounder and chairman of Resonate! Yemen, a nonprofit foundation that specializes in engaging youth in public policy in Yemen. His work focuses on Yemen’s transition process and the economic aspects of the Arab transitions.
Yussef Auf (Egypt) is a judge with the Egyptian judiciary since 2007. His work focuses on constitutional issues, Islamic Shari’a, elections, and judicial matters.
Bassem Bouguerra (Tunisia) is the founder of Tunisian Institutional Reform, an organization dedicated to security reform through improving the country’s police-citizen relationship. His work focuses on security sector reform, youth and civil society in Tunisia.
Mohamed El Dahshan (Egypt) is a regional economist at the African Development Bank where he works on issues related to investment, small and medium-sized enterprises, economic development, and regional integration.
Sarah El Sirgany (Egypt) is a Cairo-based journalist and TV producer. Her work focuses on media, civil society, and political reform.
Fadel Lamen (Libya) is the head of the preparatory committee of Libya’s National Dialogue and the president of the American Libyan Council. His work focuses on issues of democratic transition in Libya.
Ramzy Mardini (Iraq /Jordan) is an adjunct fellow at the Beirut-based Iraq Institute for Strategic Studies. He is the editor of two books, Volatile Landscape: Iraq and its Insurgent Movements and The Battle for Yemen: Al-Qaeda and the Struggle for Stability. Mardini’s work focuses on developments in Iraq and US policy toward Iraq.