Dr. Victor Kattan
Senior Research Fellow, NUS Middle East Institute

Victor Kattan is a Senior Research Fellow at the Middle East Institute of the National University of Singapore, where he is completing a book on the Reagan administration, the Arab-Israeli conflict, and the ideological origins of the “war on terrorism”. Before he moved to the Middle East Institute, Victor was a Post-doctoral Fellow at the Faculty of Law where he was also the convener for the course on the use of force in international law. Before Victor moved to Singapore, he was a legal adviser to the Government of Palestine in Ramallah on secondment from the United Nations Development Program in Jerusalem. Previously, Victor taught international law to Masters students at the Centre for International Studies and Diplomacy at the University of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies, where he completed his doctorate. Victor has acted as a consultant for the European Council on Foreign Relations, the Oxford Research Group, and a number of governments. He has lectured extensively overseas and taken parts in workshops organized by the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross. Victor is the author of numerous articles on various aspects of international law and is the author of the critically acclaimed book From Coexistence to Conquest: International Law and the Origins of the Arab-Israeli Conflict 1891-1949 (London: Pluto Press, 2009) and editor of The Palestine Question in International Law (London: The British Institute of International and Comparative Law, 2008).

Prof. Toby Dodge
Academic Visitor, NUS Middle East Institute and Director, Middle East Centre, London School of Economics and Political Science

Toby Dodge is the Kuwait Professor and Director of the Middle East Centre at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE).  He is also a professor in the International Relations Department at LSE.  Professor Dodge’s research focuses on the evolution of the post-colonial state in the international system. The main focus of this work on the developing world is the state in the Middle East, specifically Iraq. His current research project is titled ‘Understanding the Iraqi state over the longue durée: ideational, institutional and coercive paths to state building’. Situated within the discipline of Historical Sociology and the comparative study of nationalism and political identity, it examines the interaction between the Iraqi state and society, gauging the effect that the institutional capacity and legitimacy of the state has had on the different ideological movements trying to shape Iraqi identity.

Professor Dodge is the author of a number of articles, papers and books on Iraq and the wider region.  These include Iraq; from war to a new authoritarianism (2013), Iraq’s future; the aftermath of regime change, (2005), Inventing Iraq: the failure of nation building and a history denied, (2003). In addition he has published articles in The Washington Post, Le Monde Diplomatique, The Times, The Guardian, The Observer, and The Independent on Sunday.

Dr. Fanar Haddad
Senior Research Fellow, NUS Middle East Institute

Fanar Haddad is a Senior Research Fellow at the Middle East Institute, National University of Singapore. He previously lectured in modern Middle Eastern history at the University of Exeter and, most recently, at Queen Mary, University of London. Prior to obtaining his PhD, Haddad was a Research Analyst at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office where he worked on North Africa. He has since published widely on issues relating to historic and contemporary Iraq. His main research topics are identity, historical memory, nationalism, communal conflict and minority politics. He is the author of Sectarianism in Iraq: Antagonistic Visions of Unity (London/New York: Hurst/Columbia University Press, 2011). His research at the MEI will focus on historical memory and narratives of state in the Middle East.