Profile

Dr Alia Brahimi is a scholar of International Relations, with a specialisation in the Middle East and North Africa. She has held a number of academic positions, most recently as Visiting Fellow at the Oxford University Changing Character of War Programme, at Pembroke College. She was previously a Research Fellow at the London School of Economics (2009-2013) and a Research Associate at the University of Oxford (2007-2009).

Her current research interest is in normative theory, with a focus on mercenaries and their impact on international order. She is the writer, producer and host of the Atlantic Council's Guns for Hire podcast.

Alia also works as an advisor on political and security issues related to the Middle East, most recently leading a major anti-corruption media campaign focused on North Africa.
Alia read for her Master’s (MPhil) and PhD (DPhil) in International Relations at the University of Oxford, where she also completed her post-doctoral research. She is the author of Jihad and Just War in the War on Terror (OUP, 2010) as well as many academic articles and policy briefs on jihadist ideology, Libya, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and just war theory.    

While based at the London School of Economics, Alia established a Visiting Fellowship scheme between LSE and the University of Basrah. In addition, her research papers were the most downloaded from the LSE website two years running.

Alia is an experienced speaker, and has addressed a range of public, corporate and academic audiences, including at The Frontline Club, the UK Parliament, The V&A Museum, Windsor Castle, the York Festival of Ideas and the Royal Bank of Scotland. She has also served as an expert witness to the UK Parliament's Defence Select Committee.

Alia is regularly quoted by the international press and has written for a range of publications, including opinion columns for The Guardian, The Telegraph, Newswee and Foreign Policy, and analysis pieces for the International Institute for Strategic Studies (London), the Atlantic Council (Washington DC) and the Institut Francais des Relations Internationales (Paris), among many others. She makes regular appearances in the broadcast media, including on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, BBC Ten O’Clock News, Al Jazeera’s Inside Story, National Public Radio (USA) and BBC Newsnight.

Alia is also the founder of Plump'd, a UK-registered charity dedicated to fighting child hunger.