Reinoud Leenders

Dr. Reinoud Leenders is a Reader (Associate Professor) in International Politics and Middle East Studies at King's College London, Department of War Studies, within the Faculty of Social Science & Public Policy. His academic career combines extensive field experience in the Middle East since the early 1990s with rigorous scholarly research on authoritarian governance, corruption, armed conflict, and refugee issues.

• MA and PhD from the School of Oriental and African Studies, London University
• Former Middle East analyst for the International Crisis Group based in Beirut (2002-2005)
• Previously worked for the University of Amsterdam

Leenders' research focuses on Middle East politics generally, with particular expertise in Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq. His work examines authoritarian governance mechanisms, corruption networks, the political economy of conflict, refugee dynamics, and social movement theory. His scholarship bridges academic theory with policy relevance, addressing how authoritarian regimes adapt and survive amid popular challenges.

His extensive publication record includes the award-winning Spoils of Truce: Corruption and State-Building in Postwar Lebanon (Cornell University Press, 2012) and co-edited Middle East Authoritarianisms: Governance, Contestation, and Regime Resilience in Syria and Iran (Stanford University Press, 2013). His recent scholarly output shows increasing focus on transnational corruption networks, the governance of non-state armed groups, and the political economy of reconstruction in war-torn societies.

As principal investigator, Leenders leads the Gerda Henkel Foundation-funded project 'Shadows of Hierarchy,' examining how states manage non-state armed groups in Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan. His research methodology combines intensive fieldwork with comparative political science theory.

Leenders regularly provides expert policy advice to foreign ministries, international NGOs, law enforcement agencies, and private companies. His consultancy work includes expert witness testimonies for international courts prosecuting war crimes and providing research for organizations including USAID, the Dutch Police, and the International Centre for Investment Disputes.

At King's College London, he teaches BA courses on Conflict and Security in the Middle East and North Africa and MA courses on International Politics of the Middle East. He supervises PhD students working on topics related to his expertise in Middle Eastern politics and conflict.