Rasha Al Aqeedi

Senior Analyst and Program Head - Nonstate Actors - Human Security UnitRasha is a Senior Analyst and the Head of the Nonstate Actors program in the Human Security Unit at the Center for Global Policy. Prior to joining CGP, Rasha was the editor in charge of “Irfaa Sawtak”, a US-based platform that offers insights into post-conflict communities in Iraq and Syria through personal digital storytelling, essays, and photo collections.

Al-Aqeedi has served as a fellow researcher at Foreign Policy Research Institute and George Washington University's Program on Extremism. Before relocating to the United States, Rasha was on the editorial board at Al Mesbar Research and Studies Center in Dubai where she served as a researcher and security consultant.

Her commentary and publications focus on armed groups, radicalization, Middle Eastern geopolitics, and contemporary Iraqi politics and society. Her work has been featured in The Atlantic, The Independent, The National, The New York Times, and The American Interest.

She is an alum of the University of Mosul and holds a Masters of Arts in Translation and Linguistics.