How should the international community engage with Syria's leaders? We surveyed/interviewed rebel fighters/leaders before/after the fall of Damascus +100s of psychometric surveys/interviews. Most current data on "rebels" Here's what we learned about how to engage w/them 🧵

“No-strings-attached humanitarian aid and symbolic concessions can help Syrians replace Assad with a better system,” write Nafees Hamid, PhD, Nils Mallock, Broderick McDonald, and dr rahaf aldoughli. foreignaffairs.com/syria/right-wa…

Save the Date! Feb 25 at 10 AM ET (3 PM GMT) Orion Policy Institute, in collaboration with XCEPT Research, invites you to a live #webinar! Panelists: Broderick McDonald , Nafees Hamid, PhD, dr rahaf aldoughli, and Nils Mallock Moderator: Suat Cubukcu RSVP: orionpolicy.org/navigating-rel…

A lot of focus on the war rhetoric traded between #Hamas, #Israel and #Trump on the future of #Gaza. But what do #Palestinians in Gaza want? My latest piece for the Guardian adds insights from a new study last month + conversations with Gazans since. theguardian.com/commentisfree/…

🇸🇾 Join dr rahaf aldoughli, Nafees Hamid, PhD, Nils Mallock & Broderick McDonald as they share insights from their research surveying 100s of rebel fighters in Syria, in this War Studies webinar for XCEPT Research 👇 🗓️ Tues 11th March, 13:00-14:30 GMT 📍 Online kcl.ac.uk/events/towards…

🇸🇾 We're looking forward to hosting this XCEPT Research webinar next week, where dr rahaf aldoughli, Nafees Hamid, PhD, Nils Mallock & Broderick McDonald will talk about their research interviewing Syrian rebel fighters in the month's surrounding Assad's fall. 🎟️ kcl.ac.uk/events/towards…

So much has happened in Syria in the last few days. Join us today at 1pm GMT in our live webinar where we present findings from 100s of surveys and interviews with HTS/SNA and try to make sense of current events. W/ dr rahaf aldoughli Broderick McDonald Nils Mallock kcl.ac.uk/events/towards…

I had an amazing time doing fieldwork in Colombia. I met the leader of FARC, Timochenko, & ELN leaders in prison. Here’s Andrés Casas & I discussing his fantastic work heading up Neuropaz & us reflecting on our respective research. Please give it a lesson & share any thoughts.

We’ve been surveying and interviewing Syrian “rebel” fighters before and after the fall of Damscus. Check out our latest podcast on our findings!

Happy to see our XCEPT Research work on Syrian “rebel” fighters featured in WSJ. Special shout out to Broderick McDonald for making it happen. ICSR wsj.com/world/middle-e…

Want to know about an amazing psychometric tool we’ve developed for studying conflict that’s been deployed in Iraq, Lebanon, and South Sudan? Read about it below

Was happy to close out the Johanna Inness’s fantastic Syria conference with my XCEPT Research colleagues as we presented our survey and interview findings with Syrian rebel fighters. dr rahaf aldoughli Broderick McDonald Nils Mallock Michael Weiss

📢 Exciting news! Johanna Inness and Centre for Grand Strategy have merged to form a new hub within War Studies King's College London: the Centre for Statecraft & National Security (Centre for Statecraft & National Security) ➡️You can find more information here: csns.uk

Check out our latest blog from XCEPT Research!

🗓️ We are co-hosting an event with Protection Approaches on June 18th! Join us as we examine the changing role and capabilities of the FCDO and reflect on Labour’s first year of foreign policy with Kate Ferguson, Peter Ricketts and John Bew Read more & sign up here: icsr.info/2025/06/05/csn…

Very happy to be representing XCEPT Research and Centre for Statecraft & National Security at this important event (perhaps now more than ever).

We’re hiring! Come work as the project manager of XCEPT Research at King’s College London. XCEPT is an £6.03M FCDO-funded project at KCL that broadly examines the impact of trauma on pathways to peace and violence. We have data being collected with civilians and armed actors in