Dr Samer Anabtawi

Lecturer in Comparative Politics (he/him)
Room: 2.02, 36-38 Gordon Square
Email: s.anabtawi@ucl.ac.uk
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Biography

I am a Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in the UCL Department of Political Science and School of Public Policy. I received my PhD in comparative politics and quantitative methodology from George Washington University (GWU). I also hold an MA in international relations from the University of Chicago, an MA in political science from GWU, and a BSc in politics and economics from Illinois College. My work revolves around social movements and contentious politics in the Middle East and North Africa, and comparative LGBTIQ+ politics. In my service role, I oversee the affiliate (study abroad) programme in the department.

Research

My research is focused on the study of authoritarianism, contentious politics, domestic and transnational LGBTIQ+ movements, law and society, and Palestinian politics. I recently finished revising a book manuscript, co-authored with Nathan Brown, Steven Schaaf and Julian Waller, on the institutional autonomy of state institutions under authoritarian rule. At present, I am writing a book on LGBTIQ+ movements in the Arab region. The manuscript draws on a range of methodological approaches, such as survey experiments, fieldwork and online ethnography, to analyse how these movements frame LGBTQ rights claims and the impact their activism has on law and public opinion.

Publications

Book chapters

• Anabtawi, S. M. (2022) ‘Imagined Treason and Post–Lavender Scare Politics’, in H. Mylonas and S. Radnitz (eds.) Enemies Within: The Global Politics of Fifth Columns. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 220–247.

Journal articles

• Anabtawi, S. (2022) ‘Snatching Legal Victory: LGBTQ Rights Activism and Contestation in the Arab World’, Arab Law Quarterly.

Teaching

I currently teach two undergraduate modules titled ‘Democracy and Authoritarianism’ (POLS0002) and ‘LGBTIQ Politics’ (POLS0093). I also teach a postgraduate module titled ‘Qualitative Methods: Interviews, Observations and Mixed Methods’ (PUBL0010). While at GWU, I taught a number of courses related to comparative politics and the politics of the Middle East.