Emma Murphy

Professor Emma Murphy is a leading scholar in the School of Government and International Affairs at Durham University, holding the Chair of Political Economy. She is also a Senior Fellow in the Global Policy Institute and a member of the Institute for Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies.

Her research focuses on the political economy of the Middle East and North Africa, with particular emphasis on ICTs, youth policy, food security, economic liberalization, and Arab-Israeli relations. Recent work explores youth exclusion and inclusion in the MENA region, Africa, and Europe, and gendered transport systems in African cities.

Her publications (2025-2009) span gendered mobility practices, ICTs and democratization, economic reforms in Tunisia, and youth activism across the Mediterranean. She co-edits the journal Mediterranean Politics (IF 0.722) and has served on the HEFCE Research Excellence Framework Sub-Panel.

Honors:

• Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and Manufacturing (FRSA)
• Academician of the Academy of Social Sciences (ACSS)
• International Election Observer, Tunisia (2011)

Doctoral students supervised include Abdullah Al-Maani and Saleh Albulayhi. Her work intersects with social policy, gender studies, and urban mobility, with recent projects analyzing COVID-19 impacts on youth.