
One of the six research projects funded by FBA studies the functioning of local self-government bodies in wartime in Ukraine.
Research within FBA's areas of expertise, the Middle East
Abdalhadi Alijla is a senior researcher at the Department for Conflict Prevention and Peacebuilding. At FBA, he works with research promotion within FBA's areas of expertise.
He has extensive experience of policy-oriented research from the Middle East, Europe and the Western Balkans. His research focuses on trust in public institutions and between individuals in divided societies and how armed non-governmental actors negotiate power and legitimacy in society.
He has previously worked as a senior researcher at the EU Regional Maddad Fund for Syrian crisis in Lebanon, with a focus on social cohesion. He has also worked for many international NGOs in the Middle East and Europe, such as Transparency International, Adyan Foundation, International Alert, GiZ, and the United Nations Volunteer Programme.
He is the author of “Trust in Divided Societies” by Bloomsbury Academics. He was a post-doctoral fellow at the Orient Institute in Beirut (OIB). Since 2021, he is an associate researcher in the Varieties of Democracy Institute at the University of Gothenburg, as well as for SEPAD, sectarianism, proxies and de-sectorisation, at Lancaster University and for the Center for Social Sciences and Actions in Beirut, Lebanon.
He holds a PhD in political science from the University of Milan, a master's degree in political science from Zeppelin University, and a bachelor's degree from Al-Azhar University in Gaza. Click here to see a list of Abdalhadi's publications.
Research within FBA's areas of expertise | the Middle East | social capital | social cohesion and conflict | conflict analysis | negotiation with non-governmental armed actors
Colombia, peace-building and mediation
Colombia, ELN, FN peace operations and inclusion issues
Afghanistan, Western Balkans, Africa, Preventive Diplomacy
Conflict prevention and peacebuilding | Security sector reform
Inclusive peace processes
Women, peace and security
Afghanistan
State-building and human security
FBA's work in Africa
Democracy and governance, leadership and cooperation in peace operations
Ukraine, international peace operations and civil-military cooperation
Head of Research
The Democratic Republic of the Congo
Western Balkans
Palestine and state-building
Multilateral Cooperation | Liberia
The African Union and peace operations
Civilian crisis management and international deployments
Myanmar, peace and democracy building
Sustainable peacebuilding | support to peace processes
Latin America and disarmament of ex-combatants
Election observation
Iraq and Palestine
Mozambique, dialogue, reconciliation, and peace processes
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The assessment process for FBA’s Research Grants 2025 has been completed. Six policy-relevant research projects have been awarded funding. The selected projects concern, inter alia, local self-governance in Ukraine during the full-scale Russian invasion, the Colombian population’s view of the peace process, coalition building in authoritarian regimes, and sieges carried out by non-state armed groups.
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