Dr Alia Brahimi is an academic, analyst and commentator specialising in the politics of the Middle East. She is currently a Visiting Research Fellow at the Oxford University Changing Character of War Programme, at Pembroke College. She was previously a Research Fellow at the London School of Economics (2009-2013) and a Research Associate at the University of Oxford (2007-2009).

Alia read for her Master’s (MPhil) and PhD (DPhil) in International Relations at the University of Oxford, where she also completed her post-doctoral research. She is the author of Jihad and Just War in the War on Terror (OUP, 2010) as well as a number of academic articles on al-Qaeda's evolving ideology and strategy, Islamism, Libya and Syria. Alia is a regular contributor to Al Jazeera and appears frequently in the international media, most recently on BBC Radio 4’s The Today Programme, BBC Ten O’Clock News, Al Jazeera’s Inside Story, National Public Radio (USA) and BBC Newsnight.

Alia’s research is currently focused on al-Qaeda’s place in a changing region, the conflict in Syria, and the crisis in Mali. She provides bespoke political and security analysis for governments and the private sector.