Nadje Al-Ali

Nadje Al-Ali is the Robert Family Professor of International Studies and Professor of Anthropology and Middle East Studies at Brown University, affiliated with the Watson Institute of International & Public Affairs. She holds a concurrent position as a Professorial Research Associate at SOAS University of London. Her research focuses on feminist activism, gendered mobilization, and transnational movements across Iraq, Egypt, Lebanon, Turkey, and the Kurdish political sphere. Al-Ali's work bridges academia and activism through her involvement with feminist organizations and advisory roles for journals like kohl: a journal of body and gender research.

Her academic background includes extensive fieldwork on Middle Eastern gender dynamics, with particular attention to post-conflict societies and diaspora communities. Key research areas include: gender governance frameworks, transnational feminist networks, refugee experiences, and the intersection of secularism/religious identity in state policies.

Al-Ali has authored/co-authored influential books such as What Kind of Liberation? (2009) and Resisting Far-Right Politics (2024), which explore feminist responses to occupation and authoritarianism. Her 2014 award-winning co-edited volume We are Iraqis examines cultural resistance during wartime. Current projects emphasize comparative analyses of far-right movements in the Middle East and Europe through queer feminist frameworks.

She has received prestigious recognition including the 2014 Arab-American Book Prize and has held visiting fellowships at institutions including the University of Edinburgh. Al-Ali's transnational collaborations include co-directing research initiatives on gender and migration, while maintaining advisory roles in both academic and grassroots organizations.