Samer Abboud

Samer N. Abboud is an assistant professor of International Studies at Arcadia University and a visiting scholar at the Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut. He completed his doctorate in 2008 at the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies at Exeter University, where he conducted research on the political economy of marketization in Syria. His current research focuses on capital flight from Syria during the revolution.

Syria beyond the Battlefield

[caption id="attachment_55245553" align="alignnone" width="620"] A banker carries a load of money as he walks past an image of the Syrian president,…

19 July 2011

Editor's Pick

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Libyan National Army Deputy Commander Saddam Haftar, and Trump advisor Massad Boulos in Washington on 29 June, 2026.

@US_SrAdvisorAF/X

Politics

US plan for Libya: unification or management of division?

26 June 2026

A US envoy wants the institutions of western Libya to accommodate the son of an eastern warlord as Libyan president. Is this another doomed effort to unite the feuding factions, or could it work?

Areig Elhag

Dave Murray

Science & Technology

More than a game: a look inside the mind of a football fan

30 June 2026

As the FIFA World Cup 2026 shows, identity, belonging, and tension combine to make football fandom unlike any other sport. So, what is going on in fans' brains?

Alaa Emara

A fighter loyal to Sudan's army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan holds up a weapon backdropped by the minaret of a mosque, during a graduation ceremony in the southeastern Gedaref state on 27 May 2024.

AFP

Politics

The quiet push to finally end Sudan's civil war

29 June 2026

External actors and some domestic parties are believed to be working behind the scenes towards a settlement. Why now?

Shawgi Abdelazim

Chinese President Xi Jinping stands in the centre of the hall during the China-Africa forum at the Great Hall of the People in central Beijing, on 5 September 2024.

AFP

Business & Economy

China doubles down on Africa with its zero-tariff policy

01 July 2026

Beijing's duty-free access for African exports promises mutual economic gains, but more importantly, it deepens its strategic influence across the continent

Rabia Abdul Salam