I am a PhD candidate in Islamic Studies specialising in the study of Sunni Islamist groups in Lebanon. Notably, my research explores the ideological and political evolution of contemporary Salafism, in the context of the northern city of Tripoli. In my work, I propose to adopt the concept of populism, considering the overlooked nexus between populism and religion, to investigate how religio-political populism relates to the ideological and social formation of Salafism.

My project is a continuation of my Master’s thesis where I explored the multiple crises affecting Lebanese Sunnism and the subsequent appeal of Sunni populism and Salafism within the context of Lebanese sectarian politics.

Advisors: Oliver Scharbrodt, Rola El-Husseini Dean, Hege Irene Markussen.

I hold a Bachelor’s Degree in International Relations from the University of Florence (with a thesis on how the failure of modern nationalism in the Middle East has led to the rise of Political Islam) and a Master’s Degree in Middle East and North Africa Politics from the University of Turin. I also worked as Junior Research Fellow in the Mediterranean, Middle East and Africa programme at IAI-Istituto Affari Internazionali.