Biography
Adham Saouli is Professor of International Relations and Middle East Politics in the School of International Relations.
Saouli has held a Post-Doctoral Research Fellowship at University College Dublin, a Lectureship in Politics and International Relations at the University of Edinburgh, and a visiting Professorship at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies. He is the founding editor ofÌý, a book series published by Edinburgh University Press.
He joined the University of StÌýÌÇÐÄlogo in 2014. Saouli was the School’s Director of Teaching (2020-23) and Director of Postgraduate Studies (2015-2018).
Saouli holds an MA degree in Political Studies from the American University of Beirut and PhD in International Relations from the University of StÌýÌÇÐÄlogo.
Teaching
- Foreign Policy Analysis and International Security (IR1006) -ÌýContributor
- Politics and State Formation in the Middle East (IR3301)
- Political Order and Violence (IR4601) - Senior Honours
- Political Order and Violence in the Middle East (IR5601) - Postgraduate Module
- Theory and Analysis (IR5501)—Postgraduate Module for the MECACS degree. Co-teacher.
- Research Methods in International Relations (IR5601) - Contributor, PhD Module
Research areas
Saouli’s interdisciplinary research spans the fields of International Relations, Comparative Politics, Political Theory, and Middle East politics. He is interested in the genesis and development of political actors—be they states, social movements, or individuals—and is fascinated by the dilemmas they encounter and the intended and unanticipated consequences of their behaviour.
Drawing on the intellectual tradition of Historical Sociology, Saouli’s research forms a dialogue between theory and empirical analysis, which is usually based on fieldwork in the Arab world and/or Arabic-languange sources. He has published on state formation, social movements, political ideas, and the politics and international relations of the Middle East. He has examined a range of cases, including Lebanon, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Syria, Hezbollah, and Hamas.Ìý
Saouli’s first book,Ìý, subsquently translated intoÌý, offered a conceptual and theoretical framework on the formation, deformation, and resilience of the territorial Arab state. His second book, explains Hezbollah’s genesis and socialisation over time and the tragic consequences it generated.
Saouli has also edited and co-edited several volumes, includingÌý and . His most recent publication is a co-edited textbook onÌý
Saouli's ‘ (Political Studies, 2015) was nominated for the Harrison Prize.
His current research is on the historical origins and contemporary political impact of the Arabo-Islamic concept of Fitna.
PhD supervision
- Polat JanÌýMohammad
Selected publications
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Saouli, A. (Editor) & Darwich, M. (Editor), 30 Sept 2026, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 452 p.
Research output: Book/Report › Book
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Saouli, A. (Editor), 2020, Oxford University Press.
Research output: Book/Report › Book
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Saouli, A. (Editor) & Hinnebusch, R. (Editor), 2019, Abingdon, Oxon, uK: Routledge Taylor & Francis Group. (Routledge-St ÌÇÐÄlogo Syrian Studies Series)
Research output: Book/Report › Book
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Saouli, A., Jan 2019, Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. 237 p.
Research output: Book/Report › Book
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Saouli, A., 2012, Routledge Taylor & Francis Group. (Routledge Studies in Middle Eastern Politics)
Research output: Book/Report › Book
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Open access
Burgis-Kasthala , M. & Saouli, A., 2022, In: Journal of Intervention and Statebuilding. 16, 1, p. 79-97 19 p.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Saouli, A., 2020, Unfulfilled Aspirations: Middle Power Politics in the Middle East . Saouli, A. (ed.). Oxford University Press
Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter
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Open access
Saouli, A., 12 Apr 2019, In: Studies in Ethnicity and Nationalism. 19, 1, p. 67-87
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Saouli, A., 2020, The Routledge Handbook to the Middle East and North Africa . Hinnebusch, R. & Gani, J. (eds.). Routledge Taylor & Francis Group
Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter
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Saouli, A., 2019, The War for Syria: Regional and International Dimensions of the Syrian Uprisings. Hinnebusch, R. & Saouli, A. (eds.).
Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter
Ìý