Igor Cherstich holds a PhD in Social Anthropology from SOAS. Fluent in Arabic he has conducted extensive ethnographic research in Libya, focusing on Tribalism, Sufism, Salafism, pre and post-Qaddafi politics, Immigration. He has been consulted as expert on Libyan affairs by Universities (University of Leiden – Van Vollenhoven Institute), Press Agencies (Agence France Press- AFP), Organisations (Human Rights Watch), Newspapers (Corriere della Sera), Radio (Radio Svizzera), and Television (ABC Australia, Channel Four).He has authored a series of expert reports dealing with Libyan asylum seekers.
Dr. Igor Cherstich is a Social Anthropologist who holds a PhD from SOAS. His academic interests cover the Ethnography of North-Africa, Libya, Sufism, Salafism, Tribalism, Perception of the State and Politics.
Fluent in Arabic, Igor has conducted extensive ethnographic research in Western Libya, living in Tripoli and surrounding areas for a period of fifteen months between 2006 and 2008. Prior to this he has also collaborated with archaeological missions working in Eastern Libya between 2002 and 2004. Igor has visited Libya five times: his most recent visit in 2012 was conducted as an expert on Libyan affairs working for the University of Leiden.
Igor has been consulted as an expert of current Libyan affairs by Universities (University of Leiden – Van Vollenhoven Institute), Press Agencies (Agence France Press- AFP), Organisations (Human Rights Watch), Newspapers (Corriere della Sera), Radio (Radio Svizzera), and Television (ABC Australia, Channel Four). He has published on Libya producing academic journals, book chapters, magazines and newspaper articles, blog entries. He also acted as peer-reviewer for the “Journal of North-African Studies” and the “American Journal of Archaeology”.
In addition to his anthropological work he is a member of the archaeological mission of the Gabriele D’Annunzio University of Chieti in Eastern Libya. Igor has also taught courses on Sufism, Anthropological Theory and Anthropology of Islam in SOAS as well as in other London universities like the Agha Khan University of and the Institute for Ismaili Studies.
-Contributor to the report ‘ Affective Politics in Transitional North Africa: Feb 2014
Imagining the Future, Occasional Paper. Maria Frederika Malmstrom
(Ed.) Maria Lindback (Rapporteur). Alexandria: The Nordic Africa
Institute & Swedish Institute.
-Author of an Expert report on the Libyan Diaspora Nov 2013
In the UK (SCL Group)
-Author of an Expert report on Tribalism, Militias and Nov 2013
Perception of the State in Libya (SCL Group)
-I have contributed to the development of a report on the Aug 2013
factors of socio-political instability in post-Qaddafi Libya,
(SCL Group)
-Author of a Report on the attacks on Libyan Sufi shrines as July 2013
Part of the project “Protection of Places of Worship in Times
Of Conflict” (UNESCO – Al Khoee Foundation)
-Author of an Expert Report for an Asylum Seeking Case Oct 2012
Involving a Libyan Citizen (Rodney Oliver – Solicitor)
-Author of an expert report for an Asylum Seeking case involving Nov 2010
a Libyan citizen ( Fisher &Meredith LLP)
- Graphic and Bibliographic Documentation of the area of Nov 2008
HalegStawat (Libya) “Rehabilitation and Exploitation of
the Cultural Heritage of Libya” (Groma SRL).
. Chapters in Books
(Forthcoming) “The Body of the Colonel – Caricature and Incarnation in the Libyan Revolution”, In “The Political Aesthetics of Global Protest – the Arab Spring and Beyond”, P.Werbner& K. Spellman (Eds.), University of Edinburgh Press.
(2009) “Violent Dialogues between Mourners and Tombs: Disfiguring Cyrenean Cemeteries in Imperial Times” (with Luca Cherstich), in The Archaeology of Destruction, Racozky, L. (Ed.), 210 – 238. Cambridge Scholars Publishing: Newcastle.
. Edited Volumes
(Forthcoming) (with Matteo Capasso), “The Multiple Narratives of the Libyan Revolution”, Middle-East Critique, Special issue.
-Academic Articles
(Forthcoming), “Cigarettes, Tea and Deleuzian Laziness at the time of the Jamahiriyya”, In Arab Spring and the Politics of Affect, Ethos, Special Issue.
(Forthcoming) (with Matteo Capasso), “Introduction – Multiple Narratives”, In The Multiple Narratives of the Libyan Revolution, Middle East Critique, Special Issue.
(Forthcoming) “Libyan, Tribal, National”, In The Multiple Narratives of the Libyan Revolution, Middle East Critique, Special Issue.
(Forthcoming) “ Now I want the Law!” – Libyans seeking ‘Non-State Justice’ in the Hope of ‘State Justie’ (an Ethnographic take)”, In Law, Social Justice and Global Development
(2011) “Struggling for a Framework, Prolegomena to the study of the Libyan Issawiya”,In LibyanStudies, 42, 59- 68. Oxford: Society for Libyan Studies.
(2011) “Libya: Tribal War or Popular Revolution?” In The Middle-East in London, 7, 9, 7. London: London Middle-East Institute SOAS.
(2008) “Oroscopo e Astrologia come Ideologie Leggere nell’Europa Contemporanea”, In Studi Etno-Antropologici e Sociologici, 36, 35-43, Naples: S.e.a.s. Napoli, collana "Prisma".
(2008) “Invisible Rituals and Cyclical Trends in the tombs of HalegStawat”, In SOMA 2005, Symposium of Mediterranean Archaeology, L.Cherstich, O. Menozzi, D. Fossataro& M.L. Di Marzio (Eds), 121-128, Oxford: British Archaeological Review, International Series 1391.
(2006)“Il Vocabolario Archetipico di una disciplina Mitopoietica (Apologia di una terminologia meravigliosamente imprecisa)”, In Studi Etno-Antropologici e Sociologici, 34, 87-95, Naples: S.e.a.s. Napoli, collana "Prisma".
(2005) “Votive Niches in Funerary Architecture in Cyrenaica, Libya” (with E. di Valerio, M. Carinci, G. D’Addazio, A. Cinalli, F. Siciliano) In SOMA 2003, Symposium of MediterraneanArchaeology, J.Green, A.Kaldelis, A.Stellatov (Eds), 53-58, Oxford: BritishArchaeologicalReview; International Series 1391.
(2005)“Jalal Al-ahmad e Richard Burton: L’Esperienza Liminale di due pellegrini senza fede” InStudiEtno-Antropologici e Sociologici, 33, 90-97, Naples: S.e.a.s. Napoli, collana "Prisma".
. Newspapers and Blogs
(2013) “Brand’s Revolution has not happened yet”, In Huffington Post, 8th November
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/igor-cherstich/russell-brand_b_4227108…
(2013) “Perché oggi in Libia Nessuno rimpiange Gheddafi” (with Giuseppe Acconcia), In Linkiesta, 20th October 2013 http://www.linkiesta.it/morte-gheddafi
(2013) “Libia divisa: senza Gheddafi proliferano i Terroristi ? “ (with Giuseppe Acconcia), In Linkiesta, 12th October 2013 http://www.linchiesta.com/milizie-armate-libia?device=desktop
(2013) “Se le Brigate Armate dirigono anche il Traffico”, In il Manifesto, 12th June
(2013) “Parigi non e’ sempreParigi, per iSalafiti”, In Il Manifesto, 24th April
(2012) “Religious Violence in Libya, Who is to Blame?” In Huffington Post, 5th December
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/igor-cherstich/religious-violence-in-lib_…
(2012) “Persecution of Sufis in Libya is a relic of Qaddafi’s Stratagem”, In The National, 5th
December.
(2011) “Libya’s revolution: Tribe, Nations, Politics”, In Open Democracy , 3rd October.
http://www.opendemocracy.net/igor-cherstich/libyas-revolution-tribe-nat…
(2011)Da Tripoli a Benghasi il Rebus delle Tribu’, vera incognita del dopo –Gheddafi, In Il Corriere della Sera, 22ndJune.
(2011)Libyan Sanusis, Libyan Citizens, In Sufi News and Sufism World Report, 6th September
http://sufinews.blogspot.com/2011/09/libyan-sanusis-libyan-citizens.html
(2011)Qaddafi’s Corpse dispels the Illusions Conjured by his Rule, In The National, 24th October
(2011)Qaddafi Death Shows He Was just a Man, In Huffington Post, 26th October.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/igor-cherstich/qaddafi-dead_b_1033463.html
-Reviews
"Review of ‘Sufism and the 'Modern' in Islam", editeb by Martin Von Bruinessen and Julia Day Howell , In Contemporary Islam: doi: 10.1007/s11562-013-0285-4.
(2011) Response to Issandr El Amrani’s “Is there a Libya?”In The London Review of Books, 33, 14.
- Reports
(2014) et al. Affective Politics in Transitional North Africa: Imagining the Future, Occasional Paper. Maria Frederika Malmstrom (Ed.) Maria Lindback (Rapporteur). Alexandria: The Nordic Africa Institute & Swedish Institute.
. Touristic Guides
(2004) “Un Culto tra Polis e Chora: Il Santuario di Demetra e Kore a Wadi - Bel Gadir” In LaserpiciferaeCyrene – Viaggio nella Città del Silfio, 38, Pescara: Università Gabriele D’Annunzio.