Dr Simon Mabon will work with the Committee which has this week launched its inquiry into transformations of power in the Middle East and their implications for UK foreign policy.

The 12-strong Committee, chaired by Lord Howell of Guilford, includes former Home Secretary Lord Reid, Baroness Coussins, Lord Grocott and Lord Inglewood.

Over the past ten years, the Middle East has experienced significant political, economic and social change, including sometimes violent upheavals.

Centres and sources of power have shifted dramatically. Major implications follow for both the policy of the UK and its and relationship with the region, which demand extensive re-appraisal. The Committee will examine the transformation of power in the region during its inquiry.

Dr Mabon’s research focuses on the International Relations of the Middle East with emphasis on religion and legitimacy, contested sovereignty and political violence.

He is a regular contributor to in-depth television and radio interviews across global networks and has reached a phenomenal number of people.

During these interviews, Dr Mabon, who works for the University’s Politics, Philosophy and Religion Department, provided valued opinion and thought on the crisis in Syria and the wider political situation in the Middle East – providing expert comment and researched evidence to drive the debate and inform the general public.

He is considered the ‘go to’ expert on Syria, IS and the Middle East by many broadcast journalists both in the UK and overseas.