Haian Dukhan received his BA in English Literature from Al-Ba'th university in Syria in 2003. He worked with the Syrian Ministry of Agriculture, the Syrian Ministry of Tourism, Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in Syria for several years. Having obtained an MA in International Development from the University of East Anglia, his current research interests deal with with tribal political systems and social and political exclusion of tribal people in Syria, with fieldwork experience in Palmyra (a world heritage city in Syria). He is currently studying for a PhD in International Relations at the University of St Andrews/Centre for Syrian Studies.