Role
Dr Imad El-Anis is an Associate Professor in International Relations and the Director of the Centre for Policy, Citizenship, and Society. He is an internationally-recognised specialist in the international relations and international political economy of the Middle East and North Africa, having authored and edited seven books, 15 peer-reviewed journal articles and four book chapters along with numerous reports. Dr El-Anis’ research is particularly important because it addresses pressing issues such as regional cooperation, economic development, and security in a region that is often characterised by conflict and instability. His work on economic integration and political cooperation in the MENA, for example, explores the potential for regional projects to foster stability and development.
Dr El-Anis is passionate about education and has teaching responsibilities at undergraduate and postgraduate levels in the Department of Social and Political Sciences, and also supervises and examines PhD candidates. He is the module leader for the following undergraduate and postgraduate modules:
- The International Relations of the Middle East and North Africa (final year undergraduate)
- International Relations Theory (postgraduate)
He also teaches on a range of modules in the following areas: International Political Economy, Foreign Policy and International Security.
Along with teaching responsibilities and related administrative roles, Dr El-Anis is also a member of a number of School and university-wide committees, including the School of Social Sciences' Research and Innovation Committee, the Department of Social and Political Sciences' Research Committee, and NTU's Africa and Middle East Network steering group.
Career overview
Dr El-Anis has a BA (Hons) degree in International Relations (Nottingham Trent University, 2003), an MA in International Political Economy (University of Sheffield, 2005), a PhD in International Political Economy (Nottingham Trent University, 2008) and a PGCHE (Nottingham Trent University, 2009). He has taught in higher education for over twenty years and is a fellow of the British Higher Education Academy and a member of the following associations:
- The International Studies Association
- The British International Studies Association
- The British Society for Middle Eastern Studies
- The Council for British Research in the Levant
He appears regularly in major British and international media (including BBC News, Aljazeera, Channel 4 News, the British Press Association, Reuters, The Times, The Independent, The Guardian) commenting on Middle Eastern affairs.
Dr El-Anis has also made significant contributions to policy-making through his external consultancy work. He has worked as an Advisor to the COP-28 Presidency team at the 2023 UN Climate Change Conference, providing expert insights on climate change policies, and national interests and strategies. Additionally, he has consulted ambassadors for the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) and the Jordanian government, offering his expertise on Middle Eastern affairs and broader international relations. Dr El-Anis has also collaborated with the Jordanian Ministry of Environment and the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) to train civil servants in Jordan in carbon literacy, enhancing their understanding and capabilities in addressing climate change challenges.
Dr El-Anis is a passionate educator and has supervised academic research at undergraduate and postgraduate levels including in the following areas: the international relations of the Middle East and North Africa; International Political Economy; multilateral and bilateral trade liberalisation; globalisation; international institutions; crisis management; conflict resolution; and International Relations theory.
He has previously supervised 18 PhD candidates to completion for the following projects:
- 2024, The Political Economy of Energy Security and Nuclear Energy Proliferation in the Middle East.
- 2024, Using Multi-Level Governance to Explain the Migration Policy of Finland During the Migration Crisis.
- 2024,Understanding Climate Change Narratives in Central Asia: Power Dynamics in Vulnerable States.
- 2020, Food Security Resilience in Post-Conflict Libya.
- 2019, A Critical Investigation of Power and Ideology in the Special Tribunal for Lebanon.
- 2019, Inside Outside: The role of the Maghreb in migratory routes to Southern Europe.
- 2019, The Long Road Back from Camelot: The Minerva Initiative and the United States Quest for Lasting Peace.
- 2018, The Influence of US Foreign Aid on Jordan’s Foreign Policy Making.
- 2018, An Assessment of the Economic and Political Impacts of the Agadir Agreement: Promoting peace and stability in the Middle East and North Africa.
- 2016, The Impact of Globalisation on the Libyan Oil and Gas Sectors.
- 2016, Interrogating Frustration-Aggression from Environmental Degradation in the Niger Delta Conflict.
- 2016, Constructing a Tacit Alliance: The political economy of Iranian-Chinese relations.
- 2015, The Role of the Central Bank of Libya in an Era of Globalisation.
- 2015, National and International Crisis Management: A case study of Darfur.
- 2015 The United States Variable in the Security of the Persian/Arabian Gulf from 2000-2012.
- 2014, Libya and Britain: A Study of the History of British-Libyan Relations 1969-1979.
- 2013, A Critical Evaluation of the Securitization Process of EU-Russian Energy Relations: Actors, audiences and consequence.
- 2009, US-Jordanian Relations in the 2000s.
Dr El-Anis currently supervises the following PhD candidates:
- Hala Al-Hamawi - The Discrepancy Between Climate Ambition and Climate Finance Flows: The Case of Jordan.
- Ali Al-Otaibi - Mediation in the foreign policy arsenal of a small state: the Qatar case study, 1995-2021.
- Moe Hafez - A New Diplomatic Tool: Special Economic Zones and Regionalism in the Middle East.
- Haneeq Ahmed - Beyond Sustainable Development: Rethinking Strategies for Managing Antimicrobial Resistance in the Context of Global Health Systems and Pandemic Preparedness and Resilience.
And he has also acted as an Examiner for the following 16 PhD projects:
- Exploring the Nuances of the British Anti-Islam Populist Radical Right: Who Expresses Support for Them and Why? Nottingham Trent University, 26th January 2024.
- Online Activism in Iraq. Nottingham Trent University, 16th December 2020.
- Penetration Through Fragmentation: A Model for Authoritarian Resilience in the Middle East: The Case of Syria. The University of Durham, 22nd July 2020.
- The Role of the Private Sector in Countering Terrorism, a Corporate Social Responsibility Analysis. Manchester Metropolitan University, 19th March 2019.
- Vision 2020 and the Private Sector: An analysis of late rentier development strategy in Oman. University of Durham, 10th September 2018.
- The Disputed Areas from Powder Keg to Stability: The case of Kirkuk – applying territorial separation, University of Nottingham, 8th March 2018.
- The Impacts of Social Networks on Saudi Arabian Media and Society, and Their Implications for Professional Journalism, Nottingham Trent University, 19th January 2018.
- The GCC Common Market and the Internationalisation of SMEs: The case of Oman. King’s College London, 23rd November 2017.
- A History of Saudi Foreign Policy – From Reaction to Proactivity. University of East Anglia, 29th August 2017.
- The Politics of the International Law of Conflict Management: A case study of the India-Bangladesh land border dispute. Nottingham Trent University, 8th May 2017.
- China’s Relations with the Arab Gulf Monarchies: Three case studies. University of Leicester, 16th December 2016.
- Saudi Arabia and Communism During the Cold War: King Faisal’s foreign policy to the Soviet Union 1962-1975. University of Durham, 6th December 2016.
- The Role of Renewable Energy Options in Easing Energy Security Concerns in Saudi Arabia. Nottingham Trent University, 24th November 2016.
- The Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood: From Participation to Boycott. University of East Anglia, 13th July 2015.
- US Trade Policy in the Middle East: A comparative analysis between Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan. King’s College London, 10th December 2014.
- The Impact of the Collapse of the Soviet Union on Libyan Foreign Policy Between 1991-2003. Nottingham Trent University, 10th September 2014.
Dr El-Anis has secured funding for his research projects, including the following:
- July 2023, Council for British Research in the Levant, Project Grant. Value: £9,800. Project title: Climate change adaptation and resilience-building in refugee communities in Jordan.
- November 2022, Climate Social Science Network, Seed Corn Grant. Value: $17,248. Project title: Communicating climate change in a resource poor country: the case study of Jordan.
Research areas
Dr El-Anis' research focuses on several aspects of the international relations and political economy of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).
His research on economic integration and political cooperation in the MENA examines the relationships between institutions, infrastructure, economic integration and political cooperation, and the obstacles to these. Dr El-Anis's work contributes to theoretical debates on the potential for economic integration to foster stability and development in the region.
In the realm of energy security and nuclear energy proliferation, Dr El-Anis investigates the critical issues surrounding the energy needs of small and resource-poor states in particular, and the implications of nuclear energy development on security and foreign affairs. His research contributes to theoretical discussions on small states and how they seek to address the challenges and opportunities presented by the pursuit of energy security.
Dr El-Anis also focuses on freshwater scarcity and its impact on foreign policy decisions. His studies analyse how the scarcity of freshwater resources influences diplomatic relations and policy-making in the Middle East, highlighting the geopolitical significance of water security. this work has informed theoretical debates related to the relationship between freshwater scarcity and cross-border cooperation and conflict.
His research on economic neoliberalism and public dissent delves into the relationship between neoliberal economic policies and the resulting public reactions in MENA countries. Dr El-Anis examines how economic reforms and austerity measures can lead to social unrest and political change, especially in small authoritarian states, and offers a critique of contemporary neoliberal theory and policy-making.
In the area of climate change mitigation and adaptation policies, Dr El-Anis studies the strategies and policies adopted by Jordan to address the impacts of climate change. His work emphasizes the importance of sustainable practices, international cooperation and multi-stakeholder dialogue in mitigating climate-related challenges. Dr El-Anis' key theoretical contribution in this work lies in the development of climate change rentieirism as a new theoretical concept.
External activity
Dr El-Anis is also a reviewer for Oxford University Press, I. B. Tauris, Routledge, Palgrave Macmillan, Wiley Blackwell, the University of Michigan Press, Sage, Democratization, and Political Studies Review.
Sponsors and collaborators
Current and previous sponsors include:
- The Climate Social Science Network
- The Council for British Research in the Levant
- The International Studies Association
- The British International Studies Association
- The European International Studies Association
Current and previous collaborators include:
- Professor Mehran Kamrava, Georgetown University, Qatar
- Professor Adham Saouli, Doha Institute of Graduate Studies, Qatar
- Professor Ashraf Mishrif, Sultan Qaboos University, Oman
- Professor P. R. Kumaraswamy, Jawaharlal Nehru University, India
- Professor Lloyd Pettiford, Independent Researcher, UK
- Dr Marianna Poberezhskaya, NTU, UK
- Dr May Darwich, the University of Birmingham
- Dr Emel Parlar Dal, Marmara University, Türkiye
- Dr Christopher Farrands, NTU, UK
- Dr Roy Smith, NTU, UK
- Dr Mohammed Al-Khraisha, the University of Jordan, Jordan
- Dr Tarik Tell, the American University of Beirut, Lebanon
- Dr Islam Mofakarul, University of Greenwich, UK
- Dr Angelo Bisignano, the University of Nice, France
- Dr Rashd Swesi, NTU, UK
- Dr Ali Sen, Inonu University, Türkiye
- Dr Tarik Oumazzane, the University of Nottingham, UK
- Dr Ashraf Hamed, Al-Khoms University, Libya
- Dr Olga Khrushcheva, Manchester Metropolitan, UK
- Dr Selahhadin Bakan, Inonu University, Türkiye
- Dr Natasha Underhill, University of Cork, Republic of Ireland
- Dr Sahra Joharchi, NTU, UK
- Dr Jan Nathrath, Indepenent Researcher, Germany
- Dr Shun Watanabe, the University of Oxford
- Dr Wisam Hazimeh, the University of Jordan, Jordan
Press expertise
- Politics and international relations of the Middle East and North Africa
- International security
- Political and economic affairs in Jordan
Dr El-Anis has been interviewed by, and has written pieces for, UK and international media outlets in the following formats: Print, Online, TV and Radio formats. In particular, he is able to comment on the politics and international relations of the Middle East and North Africa, especially issues related to security, conflicts and foreign policy.
UN Sustainable Development Goals
I am deeply committed to the sustainable and peaceful development of all communities in the Middle East and North Africa, and my research reflects this.



