Rabab El Mahdi

Rabab El Mahdi is an Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science at The American University in Cairo (AUC). She earned her PhD from McGill University, where her dissertation analyzed the impact of neo-liberal economic reconstruction on state-civil society dynamics in Egypt and Bolivia. Her research focuses on comparative political economy and development, with regional expertise in Latin America and the Middle East.

Her scholarly interests encompass:

• State-civil society relations and democratic transitions
• Social movements and resistance politics
• Political economy of social policy formulation
• Gender and women's movements
• Development paradigms in the Global South

Professor El Mahdi has received significant recognition including:

• Fellowships at Columbia University and University of Chicago
• Residency at the Rockefeller Bellagio Center
• Research funding from Carnegie Corporation and Rockefeller Brothers Foundation

She currently directs AUC's Alternative Policy Solutions (APS) research initiative and serves on governing boards including the Arab Political Science Network (APSN). Prior to AUC, she taught at Yale University and worked with UN agencies and NGOs.