Omran Omer Ali

Assistant Professor

Dr. Omran Omer Ali is the Director of the Center for Peace and Conflict Resolution Studies (CPCRS) and an Assistant Professor of International Relations at the University of Duhok. He holds a PhD in Politics from the University of Glasgow, alongside two master's degrees in human rights and global politics, and political science. His academic expertise spans International Relations, peace and conflict studies, U.S. strategy in the Middle East (with a particular focus on Iran), and EU external policies. Dr. Ali is widely published in international and regional journals, including Political Geography, Middle East Policy, and the British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies. His research addresses themes of social cohesion and peacebuilding, demographic change, international interventions, EU–Iran relations, and U.S. strategy in the Middle East. Furthermore, he co-led the internationally collaborative LASER PULSE project (2022–2024), examining post-ISIS recovery in Northern Iraq through lenses of livelihoods, identity, social cohesion, and peacebuilding, in partnership with Purdue University, Notre Dame University, Indiana University, Coventry University, and SIPRI. In 2025, he served as Main Researcher for a UNDP-funded project on Local Peace Committees and community mediation, producing evidence-based recommendations to strengthen conflict resolution, IDP reintegration, and institutionalized peace mechanisms in post-IS Iraq. As Director of CPCRS, Dr. Ali leads interdisciplinary, policy-oriented research that bridges academic knowledge with practical peacebuilding. Through CPCRS, he works closely with local communities, government institutions, civil society, and international partners to advance social cohesion, democratic governance, and sustainable peace in the Kurdistan Region, Iraq, and the wider Middle East. His leadership is grounded in empathy, critical thinking, and cross-cultural engagement, aiming to position CPCRS as a trusted regional hub for evidence-based policy, dialogue, and conflict transformation.