Dr. Maha Abdelrahman

Before joining the Centre of Development Studies at the University of Cambridge in 2007, Dr Abdelrahman worked as an Associate Professor of Sociology at the American University in Cairo. She has carried out consultancies for international development organisations such as UNICEF, OXFAM NOVIB and DANIDA. She is a member of the editorial boards of Cairo Papers in Social Science and Development and Change.

Dr Abdelrahman's research interests cover a wide range of aspects of the sociology and politics of development including state-civil society relations and social movements both at the global level and within the context of the Middle East. Her recent research focuses on critiquing the increasing role of behavioural psychology and AI in various fields of development including labour and refugees as well as in general debates on happiness and well-being.

Dr Abdelrahman is the coordinator for the core paper on Sociology and Politics of Development (Paper 3) for the MPhil in Development Studies. She supervises MPhil and PhD students in the Centre of Development Studies and the Department of Politics and International Relations (POLIS).