2011-2012 Postdoctoral Fellows
Dr. Michael Driessen
Dr. Michael Driessen obtained his Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Notre Dame, Indiana and holds a position as Assistant Professor of Political Science and International Affairs at John Cabot University in Rome, Italy, where he taught in the Fall of 2012. Prior to obtaining his Ph.D. at the University of Notre Dame, Dr. Driessen earned a BA in Philosophy, Fine Arts and Mathematics in 2002 at the University of Portland (OR) and received a Master’s degree in International Relations in 2005 at the University of Johns Hopkins (SAIS).
Dr. Driessen’s research interests include Islamic and Catholic political movements, democratization studies and the politics of Southern Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. He is the author of several published academic papers, including a recent article on religion-state arrangements in democracies in Politics and Religion as well as an article in Comparative Politics on public religion in Algeria. He has also written book and dataset reviews for journals, and has widely presented papers at academic conferences and academic research institutes.
While at the CIRS, Dr. Driessen is writing a book manuscript on “Religiously Friendly Democratization Processes” in the Mediterranean region that analyzes how religion-state arrangements help frame questions of religious and political identity in Muslim and Catholic societies. To find out more about his research, including links to recent papers and an occasional blog on religion and politics, visit Michael’s website at www.michaeldriessen.com.
Driessen’s recent publications include:
- Religion and Democratization: Framing Political and Religious identities in Muslim and Catholic Societies (2014, Oxford University Press).
- “Public Religion, Democracy and Islam: Examining the Moderation Thesis in Algeria,” Comparative Politics 44, no. 2 (2012): 171-89.
- “Religion, State and Democracy: analyzing two dimensions of church-state arrangements,” Politics and Religion 3, no. 1 (April 2010): 55-80.
Dr. Mari Luomi
Dr. Mari Luomi holds a Ph.D. in Middle Eastern Studies from Durham University, UK, and BSocSc and MSocSc degrees in Political Science and International Politics from the University of Helsinki. She has previously worked in various positions for the Middle East Project and the Programme in the International Politics of Natural Resources and the Environment of the Finnish Institute of International Affairs. She has functioned as the Vice President of the Finnish International Studies Association, and is a long-term board member and secretary of the Finnish-Qatari Association.
Dr. Luomi’s research focuses on the climate change-related responses of small Gulf monarchies, with a special emphasis on Qatar and the UAE (Abu Dhabi). Her broader fields of interest include the domestic and international politics and political economy of natural resources and environmental sustainability in the Gulf and the Middle East.
Dr. Luomi has published in a number of Finnish and international fora, ranging from journal articles and book chapters, through briefing papers, working papers and reports, to opinion-editorials. She has presented her research to a wide variety of audiences in Europe and the Gulf.
Among her recent publications are:
- The Gulf Monarchies and Climate Change: Abu Dhabi and Qatar in an Era of Natural Unsustainability (Oxford University Press/Hurst, 2012).
- “Green Growth in the Gulf.” Current Intelligence, Thesigers. 2012.
- “Middle East Food Security and Climate Change.” Current Intelligence, Thesigers. 2012.
- “Gulf of Interest: Why Oil Still Dominates Midde Eastern Climate Politics.” Journal of Arabian Studies 1, no. 2 (2011).
- “Food Security in the GCC.” Current Intelligence, Thesigers. 2011.
- “Abu Dhabi’s Alternative Energy Initiatives: Seizing Climate Change Opportunities.” Middle East Policy XVI, no. 4 (Winter 2009): 102-17.
- (Ed.) Managing Blue Gold: New Perspectives on Water Security in the Levantine Middle East. FIIA Report 25. Helsinki: The Finnish Institute of International Affairs, 2010.
- Climate or Oil Politics? Avoiding a Destabilising Resource Split in the Arab Middle East. FIIA Briefing Paper 58. Helsinki: The Finnish Institute of International Affairs, 2010.
Besides her research, Dr Luomi writes a professional blog for the Current Intelligence magazine, Emissions.