Experts on countries of origin by country

Robin Llewellyn is a natural communicator with a gift for amplifying marginalized voices. With over a decade of experience as a journalist and media strategist, he has not only reported on human rights abuses but actively helped shape narratives for indigenous and environmental defenders. His cross-cultural communication, creative storytelling, and policy-savvy writing make him a powerful bridge between communities and decision-makers. Robin doesn’t just tell stories, he helps people be heard. He would be a valuable addition to any team seeking clarity, compassion, and compelling communication.

Dr. Logvinenko is an expert in autocratization, democracy, and rule-of-law institutions. He is a tenured Associate Professor of Diplomacy & World Affairs at Occidental College. His research and commentary have been published in highly regarded academic journals such as Communist and Post-Communist Studies, Democratization, European Journal of Politics and Gender, Europe-Asia Studies, and Russian Politics, among others. I have also contributed to popular publications such as The Washington Post. His first book, Global Finance and Local Control: Corruption and Wealth in Contemporary Russia, was published by Cornell University Press in 2021 and received the co-winner of the 2023 Best Book Award given by the International Political Economy section of the International Studies Association. He holds a doctorate in Government from Cornell University and has taught at Wellesley College, the Cornell-in-Washington Program, the Harriman Institute at Columbia University, and the Monterey Institute for International Studies. As a native of Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, he studied Physics and Mathematics at Lyceum #61.

Alina Ionita is a dynamic expert in economic diplomacy and public affairs, known for building commercial bridges between Northern and Eastern Europe. Her multifaceted roles in embassies, consultancy, and government have made her a trusted partner in advancing bilateral cooperation. She brings valuable linguistic fluency and cross- sectoral knowledge, with a proven record in project management and policy advisory. Alina is ideally positioned to enhance any initiative requiring multicultural negotiation, policy intelligence, and commercial strategy.

Marilisa Lorusso is a regular contributor to Osservatorio Balcani Caucaso Transeuropa, an Italian think tank and online magazine with approximately 5,000 daily views.

She has been deployed by the Italian Foreign Ministry as an expert for post-war civilian monitoring missions in Georgia. Additionally, she has served in a non-diplomatic capacity at the Geneva International Discussions on the Georgian peace settlement while based at the European Union Council in Brussels.

Candace Lukasik is Assistant Professor of Religion and Faculty Affiliate in Anthropology and Middle Eastern Cultures at Mississippi State University. Her research explores religion and the transnational politics of violence, migration, race, and indigeneity in the Middle East, specifically Egypt and Iraq, and its US diasporas. She was previously a Faculty Leave Fellow at the Crown Center for Middle East Studies at Brandeis University, an AAUW American Postdoctoral Research Leave Fellow, Affiliate Faculty Member in the Department of Anthropology at University at Buffalo, and Postdoctoral Research Associate at the John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics at Washington University in St. Louis. She received her PhD in Sociocultural Anthropology from the University of California, Berkeley. 

Her first book, Martyrs and Migrants: Coptic Christians and the Persecution Politics of US Empire (NYU Press, 2025) examines how American theopolitical imaginaries of global Christian persecution have remapped Coptic collective memory of martyrdom in migration. Drawing on continuing fieldwork with Assyrians in Detroit and northern Iraq, her second book project, Somewhere Else: Political Ecologies and Indigenous Sovereignty in Global Assyria… Read more

Daryna Lysyk is a well-rounded legal practitioner and country expert on Ukraine with extensive cross-sectoral experience in international law, refugee protection, and human rights. Her professional background bridges high-level legal research at one of Ukraine’s most respected law firms with hands-on support for refugees navigating asylum and immigration systems in the UK. As an immigration advisor and project coordinator, she has authored comprehensive handbooks, delivered multilingual trainings, and ensured accessible legal guidance for displaced Ukrainians. Her credibility is grounded in legal accuracy, cultural sensitivity, and responsiveness to complex humanitarian contexts, particularly since the escalation of the war in Ukraine. With her legal fluency in three languages and a proven ability to communicate legal nuance across borders, Daryna is exceptionally positioned to contribute expert reports, risk analyses, and country assessments for legal teams, NGOs, and international protection agencies.

Dr. Frédérick Madore is a Research Fellow at the Leibniz-Zentrum Moderner Orient (ZMO) in Germany, where he specializes in the study of Muslim societies and religious movements in francophone West Africa. Through extensive fieldwork in Côte d'Ivoire, Benin, Togo, and Burkina Faso, he has developed deep expertise in understanding how religious communities navigate social and political change. His research includes contributions to the Islam West Africa Collection (IWAC), an open-access database documenting Islam in West Africa.

His book on religious activism at universities in Togo and Benin examines the transformation of campus life through faith-based organizations since the 1970s. Previously, he held positions as a Banting Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Florida and as a Part-Time Professor at the University of Ottawa. Dr. Madore has published extensively on Muslim societies and religious movements, including two monographs, an edited volume, and numerous peer-reviewed articles. His research offers new insights into the dynamics of Islam and religious movements in contemporary West Africa.

Saqeb Mahbub is a UK-educated Barrister, independent judicial reform consultant and part-time Lecturer at North South University based in Bangladesh. Besides legal practice, the expert is regularly consulted by international organisations such as UNDP, UNHCR and USAID. He has conducted research, advisory and consultancy work in Bangladesh on the formal and informal justice systems, freedom of speech and other political rights, anti-corruption, violence against women, minority rights, etc. Saqeb Mahbub has produced expert reports for UK and US courts and tribunals covering the following topics:
(i) Political situation in Bangladesh (including in-depth analysis of all the political parties (BNP, Jamaat, etc), senior and local leaders of opposition parties);
(ii) The criminal justice system; 
(iii) Laws curtailing free speech, state attitude towards opposition;
(iii) Judicial independence;
(iv) Freedom of speech; 
(v) Extra judicial killings;
(vi) Enforced disappearances;
(vii) Police Harassment; 
(viii) Ghost and False cases;
(ix) Persecution of human rights defenders; 
(x) Persecution of LGBTQ community members; 
(xi) Persecution of religious minorities and violent extremism;… Read more

Jeehan Mahmood is a trusted human rights and governance expert whose deep experience spans transitional justice, peacebuilding, and institutional reform in fragile and conflict-affected settings. Her commitment to inclusive dialogue, survivor- centered approaches, and policy reform has supported meaningful change in the Maldives and across the region. Jeehan’s ability to bridge community perspectives with national policy frameworks makes her an invaluable partner for governments, donors, and international organizations seeking sustainable peace and democratic resilience. She brings not only technical knowledge but a strong moral commitment and local credibility that inspire trust and deliver results even in the most sensitive contexts.

Dr. Basem Mahmud is a Syrian-Spanish sociologist specializing in emotions, forced migration, and post-conflict recovery, with deep expertise in Syria’s social and cultural contexts. Born and raised in Syria, his lived experience enriches his academic and applied research, providing nuanced understanding of the challenges faced by displaced populations. He holds a PhD in Sociology, supported by a DAAD fellowship, and was awarded the prestigious Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowship for postdoctoral research on refugee labor and structural inequalities in the global economy. His work bridges academic research and practical field applications through partnerships with international organizations, civil society, and research institutes. He focuses on key issues such as transitional justice, civic engagement, community resilience, victim-centered documentation, and social reconstruction in Syria and similar post-conflict settings. Fluent in Arabic, English, and Spanish, Dr. Basem Mahmud combines advanced qualitative and mixed-methods research skills with deep contextual knowledge. He is committed to collaborating on evidence-based projects that foster social transformation and sustainable recovery. Clients can expect strategic research insights, expert project leadership,… Read more

Dr. Allysha C. Maragh-Bass is a clinical trials scientist, educator, and board-certified health and wellness coach. She has expertise in HIV prevention and adolescent health primarily in Black and Brown Communities globally. Dr. Maragh-Bass has 20 years of research experience in HIV/AIDS, substance use, qualitative, and quantitative methods in clinical, translational and community-based research and programs. She navigates seamlessly between international development spaces and academia and has experience in over 10 countries working in global public health and development with funding from NIH, CDC, USAID, and others. Domestically, she has worked in health care settings from primary care to surgery and with individuals marginalized by race, sexual orientation/gender identity, and/or disability. In addition to her nonprofit-based role, Dr. Maragh-Bass is also a highly experienced lecturer and educator, who has held adjunct faculty positions for 15+ years. 

I have studied, worked and lived in Kenya and Tanzania since 2008, with research consulting firms, think tanks and non-profits. This experience in policy research spaces lends itself to my teaching on health policy at LSHTM. I also worked as a research consultant for UZIKWASA, a civil society organisation in Pangani, Tanzania engaging communities in developing grassroots leadership capacity for GVP prevention. With a background in political theory, my main research focus at LSHTM is on community engagement in gender violence prevention and emergent disease outbreaks. I work closely with PAVE, a collaborative group studying the Politics and Anthropology of Violence & Epidemics.

Kimberly Marten is a professor of political science at Barnard College, Columbia University, specializing in international relations, international security, environmental politics, and Russia. She is a faculty member and executive committee member of Columbia’s Harriman Institute for Russian, Eurasian and East European Studies, and Saltzman Institute of War and Peace Studies. Her recent publications have analyzed Russia’s Wagner Group “private” military company (she was honored to testify before Congress on that topic in 2020 and 2022), Russian activities in Latin America (she was honored to testify before Congress on that topic in 2022); Russian activities in Africa; Russia/NATO relations and the Russian reaction to NATO enlargement; and the politics of the changing Arctic. 

She has written four books, including Engaging the Enemy: Organization Theory and Soviet Military Innovation (Princeton, 1993), which received the Marshall Shulman Prize, and Warlords: Strong-Arm Brokers in Weak States (Cornell, 2012). The Council on Foreign Relations commissioned her special report, Reducing Tensions between Russia and NATO (2017). In addition to over 30 academic journal articles and book chapters, she has written more than 50 policy analyses in publications including the… Read more

Elise Massicard is a permanent senior research fellow at the French National Center for Scientific Research / Centre d’Etudes Internationales, Paris. From 2010 to 2014, she was a research fellow at the French Institute of Anatolian Studies in Istanbul. She was a visiting fellow at the University of California at Berkeley (2009), at Northwestern University (2019) and Université Libre de Bruxelles (2021). Her research focuses on the political sociology of contemporary Turkey, especially state-society relations, sociology of the state, party politics, social movements, identity politics, and informal politics. She has authored The Alevis in Turkey and Europe: Identity and Managing Territorial Diversity (Routledge, 2012) and more recently, Street-level Governing. Negotiating the State in Urban Turkey (Stanford University Press, 2022). She has co-edited with Nicole Watts Negotiating Political Power in Turkey: Breaking up the Party (Routledge, 2012); and with Marc Aymes and Benjamin Gourisse, Order and Compromise. Government Practices in Turkey from the Late Ottoman Empire to the Early 21st Century (Brill, 2015). She has published extensively in academic journals. She is Editor-in-Chief of the refereed journal Critique Internationale. She is a founding member and a board member of… Read more

Shubh Mathur writes about nationalism, minorities, borderlands, counterinsurgency, human rights and environmental ethics. She has conducted fieldwork in India and Kashmir, focusing on state and state-supported violence. Her latest research looks at the history of Indian state violence against religious and ethnic minority groups.

She is the author of two books — The Human Toll of the Kashmir Conflict: Grief and Courage in a South Asian Borderland and The Everyday Life of Hindu Nationalism, and has co-edited a volume on Kashmir after 2019. She is currently working on a comparative history of Indian counterinsurgency since 1947.

Mathur has provided translation and community support services to asylum seekers in the New York - New Jersey area.

Meghan McCormack has over a decade of international development experience, with expertise spanning international human rights law, project design and implementation, and democratic governance.

During her eight years living and working in Kyrgyzstan, Meghan travelled across the country to research informal dispute resolution in un-demarcated border zones, led the design and implementation of numerous country-wide studies on human rights norms and beliefs, trained domestic lawyers on international human rights law, and founded her own CSO to represent disadvantaged households in court. In Kosovo, she has led the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Mission in Kosovo portfolios to enhance parliamentary democracy, electoral processes, and decentralised local governance — contributing to Kosovo’s successful parliamentary and electoral reforms in 2022 and 2023, respectively. As an independent consultant, her work has spanned Central Asia and the Balkans, encompassing monitoring and evaluation reports, grant proposals and project documents, legislative drafting, and qualitative research for UNDP, UNICEF, UN Women, USAID, Tetra Tech, and Search for Common Ground, among other organisations.

Meghan holds a J.D. from… Read more

Melyn McKay (Ph.D.) is a research anthropologist specialising in religious nationalist movements, ethics, conflict and peace building. Amongst her former and current clients: the World Bank, WFP, UNICEF, UNDP, UNOPS, EU, FCDO, USAID, DANIDA, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and numerous International NGOs. Melyn's academic interests focus on Myanmar, the far right, and religious nationalism in Asia. She has also advised and/or overseen research in Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, China, Thailand, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, South Sudan, Burundi, Ghana, and Guatemala. 

Kristen McLean is an Assistant Professor in the International Studies Program at the College of Charleston. She received her B.A. and Master of Public Health (M.P.H.) from Emory University and her Ph.D. in Anthropology from Yale University. Her academic areas of specialization include medical anthropology and global health. Over the past ten years she has been engaged in academic and international development work on issues related to youth, gender, mental health, and medical humanitarianism. Her work is primarily situated in Sierra Leone, where she has been conducting research since 2013. 

Dr. McNeal is an anthropologist with specialization in Caribbean ethnology and Atlantic cultural history and a long-term focus on Trinidad and Tobago. His first book — “Trance and Modernity in the Southern Caribbean: African and Hindu Popular Religions in Trinidad & Tobago” (2011, 2nd ed. 2015) — is a comparative historical ethnography of African and Hindu traditions of trance performance and spirit mediumship in the southern Caribbean, as well as the postcolonial politics of race, religion, diaspora, nationalism and multiculturalism. He has also reconstructed the history and cultural politics of Indo-Trinidadian mortuary ritual, “Death and the Problem of Orthopraxy in Caribbean Hinduism: Reconsidering the Politics and Poetics of Indo-Trinidadian Mortuary Ritual,” which is the subject of my first documentary film project. 

He is currently completing a book on men, sexuality, queer globalization and the politics of citizenship in TT, entitled “Queering the Citizen: Dispatches from Trinidad and Tobago,” in relation to which he has also conducted research in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands and published several papers on queer and trans refugeeism and the political economy of Caribbean asylum-seeking in Europe. He is also working on a third book project on… Read more