Dr Malaka Shwaikh

Dr Malaka Shwaikh

Lecturer

Researcher profile

Phone
+44 (0)1334 46 1773
Email
mmbs1@st-andrews.ac.uk

 

Biography

Malaka joined the School of International Relations in January 2020. She was awarded her PhD in Middle East Politics, with no corrections, from the University of Exeter in 2019.

Malaka has previously taught at the University of Leeds and the University of Exeter. She has gained her Master’s from the University of Sheffield in Global Politics and Law (2014) and has a diploma in Peace Studies and Counter Extremism from Adyan Institute in Lebanon (2016). She was recently awarded a fellowship at the American Political Science Association (APSA) and has multilingual skills in Arabic, Persian and Hebrew.

Her research primarily focuses on critical prison studies, with a particular emphasis on the dynamics surrounding prison hunger strikes. She provides a comprehensive typology that categorises the various forms and motivations behind these hunger strikes, while also analysing the factors that influence their outcomes. By examining hunger strikes in diverse global contexts, her work refines theories of resistance and integrates feminist perspectives on embodiment and subjection, thereby addressing a gender studies angle that is often overlooked in resistance literature. Geographically, her expertise is particularly strongest in the Arab region, where she has examined topics such as oral history in Palestine, refugee challenges, peacebuilding efforts, and issues of displacement.

She has conducted multidisciplinary research in the Levant (especially Palestine, Jordan, and Lebanon), North Africa (especially Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco), the Gulf region (especially Qatar), Turkey, South Africa, Britain, and Northern Ireland.

Fellowship

  • Aurora Leadership Program Fellow (2024-5)
  • Fellow at the Institute for Qualitative and Multi-Method Research (IQMR) (2023)
  • Fellow in Women and Politics, the American Political Science Association (2019)

Qualifications

  • BA in English, Palestine (Islamic University of Gaza)
  • Diploma in Literature, Palestine (Islamic University of Gaza)
  • MA in Global Politics and Law, UK (Sheffield University)
  • Diploma in Peace Studies and Counter Extremism, Lebanon (Adyan Institute)
  • PhD in Middle East Politics, UK (Exeter University)

Professional membership

  • American Political Science Association
  • The British Society for Middle Eastern Studies (BRISMES) [also BRISMES Council member]

Seminars and conferences

Since joining St Andrews in January 2020, Malaka has traveled extensively across the globe, visiting regions from Australia to Africa, Asia, Europe, and North America. Throughout her journeys, she has engaged with a wide array of audiences, including academics, policymakers, students, activists, and the general public, to discuss her research, share valuable insights, and foster meaningful dialogue.

Teaching

PhD supervision

  • Abdulla Al-Kalisy
  • Anezka Ferreira

Selected publications

 

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