Dr Omar Imady is currently a Senior Fellow at the Centre for Syrian Studies at the University of St Andrews. He brings a professional, scholarly, and intimate personal perspective to his analysis of the modern politics and history of Syria.

His scholarship is internationally based as reflected by the subject of this book. After completing his PhD in Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Pennsylvania, he went on to work at the United Nations Development Programme in Damascus, and subsequently as Associate Professor and Academic Dean at the New York Institute of Technology in Amman. In 2013, he joined the Centre for Syrian Studies at the University of St Andrews as Deputy Director, Research Fellow, and Managing Editor of the journal Syria Studies.

Imady has authored and co-authored a number of works, including: Historical Dictionary of Syria (Fourth Edition) (2021); Syria at War: Eight Years On (2020); The Syrian Uprising: Domestic Origins and Early Trajectory (2018) as well as several articles in peer reviewed journals, along with extensive blogging and media appearances.