Dr. Vincent Durac lectures in Middle East Politics, Politics of Development and Terrorism and Political Violence in the UCD School of Politics and International Relations. His research is focused on a number of aspects of contemporary Middle East Politics, including political reform, the role of civil society the impact of external actors in the region, and Yemeni political dynamics. He is a visiting lecturer in Middle East Politics in Bethlehem University in Palestine. He is a Council member of the Council of the British Society for Middle Eastern Studies (BRISMES), of the European Association for Middle Eastern Studies (EURAMES), and of Friends of Bethlehem University in Ireland (FBUI).