The writer is Associate Professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. She is an expert in Middle East Studies with experience in policy-oriented think tanks in India. She has published several articles and contributes write-ups on the geopolitical and socioeconomic issues of the region frequently. Earlier she has worked as Research Fellow at the Indian Council of World Affairs, and was a research scholar at the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defense Studies and Analyses