Middle East / North Africa Team
The Daily Brief is the work of unique interaction between three key communities:
- Region Heads -- senior academics at Oxford and other universities, who help identify key themes and frame questions that need answering;
- In-house professional staff, who are experts in their own right and ensure that coverage is of the highest standard and in line with clients' interests; and
- Network contributors, drawn from universities and think tanks around the world, who are commissioned to provide analysis on specific topics. We do not make our network contributors public.
In-house editorial staff
Penelope Grenfell
Editor, Middle East
Graduate of Churchill College, Cambridge (Social and Political Sciences) and St. Antony's College, Oxford (Modern Middle Eastern Studies). Previously worked in the third sector, including research posts focusing on the Middle East and North Africa.
Region Heads
Dr Robin Ostle
Fellow in Modern Arabic and Dean of St John's College, University of Oxford
Formerly Lecturer in Arabic at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, where he was for three years Chairman of the Middle East Centre. Principal academic interests are in modern Arabic literature and modern trends in Islam.
Dr Philip Robins
Lecturer in Politics, St Antony’s College, University of Oxford
Specialises in the domestic politics and international relations of the modern Middle East, in particular Iraq and the Gulf states. Former Head of the Middle East Programme at the Royal Institute of International Affairs, Chatham House. Also worked as a journalist for the BBC and The Guardian in the Middle East.
Mr. Roham Alvandi
College Lecturer in Politics, St Catherine's College, University of Oxford
Specialist in Iranian politics and foreign policy. A graduate of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and St Antony's College, Oxford, he served in the United Nations on the the Iraq desk in the Department of Political Affairs and the strategic planning staff in the Executive Office of the Secretary-General.
Dr Hakim Darbouche
Research Fellow, Oxford Institute for Energy Studies; Member of St Antony's College
Specialises in North African energy (with focus on natural gas), political economy and politics. Served as advisor on Mediterranean affairs to Brussels-based international organisation. Deputy editor of Mediterranean Politics. Publications have focused on North African gas markets, Euro-Med relations and the political economy of the Maghreb.
