Biography

Jana Jabbour is a PhD in Political Science and International Relations, expert in Middle East politics and contemporary Turkey. She has published extensively about the balance of power in the Middle East and the politics of regional powers, and has an acclaimed book about Turkey’s foreign policy in the Middle East under the rule of the Justice and Development party, published in Paris and titled La Turquie: l’invention d’une diplomatie émergente [Turkey: The Invention of an Emerging Diplomacy] (CNRS Editions, 2017).

Dr Jabbour is Associate Fellow at the American University of Beirut (AUB)'s Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs (IFI), and professor of political science and international relations at Sciences Po Paris. She has been a Visiting Professor at renowned universities, including Sapienza University of Rome, Ca’Foscari University (Venice), the New York University of Abu Dhabi, and the National University of Singapore.

As expert of the Middle East/North Africa (MENA) region and of contemporary Turkey, Jana is invited to offer policy advice for European governments. She regularly takes part in hearings at the EU commission, the EU Parliament, the French Senate, and the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs. She is also a regular guest speaker at various international media outlets, including FRANCE24, TRT World, BBC, TVE, RFI, and CNBC, where she offers her expertise and opinion on Middle East dynamics and Turkish politics.

Expertise

international affairs
communication and media relations
political economy
policy analysis
advocacy

Area of Expertise

Middle East

Turkey

Consulting & Advisory services

Dr Jabbour currently acts as Senior Consultant for Alcove Advisors, a UAE-based management consulting firm specializing in the cultural industries, social impact sector, and international development.

Prior to that, Jana acted as a Security Risk Analyst for the Forensic/Business Intelligence & Due Diligence department of Control Risks (London) and Deloitte Corporate Finance Limited (Dubai). In this role, she conducted integrity due diligence investigations (IDD) on high-profile companies and businessmen in the MENA region, for clients based in the US, Europe, and the Gulf region. The investigations and background checks focused on issues of corruption, fraud, bribery and organized crime; negative professional reputation of a company’s principals, and hidden political relationships, business and political interests of the company’s principals. Following the Arab uprisings, Jana was involved in projects of asset-tracing of toppled Arab leaders; she carried out investigations and drafted reports for Arab transitional governments offering recommendations and advice on asset recovery.

Media and Communication

From 2017 to 2020, Dr Jabbour acted as Communication and Public Information Officer for the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), in its regional office in Beirut. In this position, she led UNESCO Beirut’s communication and outreach strategy in the Arab region, acting as the media focal point for UNESCO in Lebanon and leading UNESCO’s communication activities about SDGs.

Media and Communication

Dr. Jabbour is co-founder and shareholder of SAMAR MEDIA, an online TV dedicated to the Arab world. SAMAR MEDIA produces and broadcasts videos on the web that provide thorough analysis of societal dynamics at work in the Arab region, and that promote exceptional individuals and projects from the region. SAMAR has reached one million viewers and subscribers worldwide, and its video series were broadcasted on Al Jazeera, France 24, and the websites of The Guardian and El Pais.

Community Service

Having joined Rotary International in 2015, Jana is founding member of Rotary Club of Tripoli Cosmopolis. She served as the club’s President between 2017 and 2018 and acts now as Chair of its Administration Committee. Under her presidency, the club implemented various community service projects in Tripoli, North Lebanon, including a peace-building project in which public school students in Tripoli were trained on mediation and conflict-resolution, and acquired key skills in communication and negotiation in conflict settings.

Holding a dual citizenship, French and Lebanese, Dr. Jabbour currently spends her time between Paris, Beirut, Istanbul, and Riyadh.

In addition to her PhD, she holds a dual MSc in International Political Economy and International Security from the London School of Economics (LSE) and Sciences Po Paris; and a dual BA in Political Science from Johns Hopkins University and Sciences Po Paris.

She is fluent in five languages: Arabic - English - French - Spanish - Turkish.