Toby Dodge

Toby Dodge is a Professor of International Relations at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), serving as Kuwait Professor and Director of the Kuwait Programme at the Middle East Centre. He also acts as Iraq Research Director for the DFID-funded Conflict Research Programme (CRP). Previously, he directed the Middle East Centre from 2013 to 2018. His expertise focuses on the evolution of post-colonial states in the Middle East, particularly Iraq, analyzing state formation, coercive diplomacy, sanctions impacts, regime change, and civil war dynamics. Key research areas include the post-colonial Iraqi state, U.S. intervention strategies, and the application of counterinsurgency doctrines.

His research explores topics such as consociationalism’s role in state incoherence, the failure of peacebuilding in Iraq, and the political settlements shaping Middle Eastern states. Dodge’s work bridges academic analysis with policy-relevant insights, contributing to understanding contemporary conflicts and state-building challenges in the region.