Claire Spencer is Senior Research Fellow in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Programme and Second Century Initiative at the foreign policy institute Chatham House. In this role, she works with the Director on new initiatives. Prior to this she was Head of the MENA Programme at Chatham House for 8 years, which she expanded significantly, having previously served as Head of Policy for the Middle East and Central Asia for the development agency Christian Aid. Until 2001, she was Deputy Director of the Centre for Defence Studies at King's College, University of London. Dr. Spencer is a member of a number of advisory boards and associations relating to the MENA region, and has acted as an expert witness on Algeria, North Africa and the Sahel region in a number of legal proceedings and British parliamentary enquiries. Her core research interests are in the changing dynamics of the Mediterranean region, with a particular focus on the geopolitics of economic change and the socio-cultural dimensions of regional political developments. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (FRSA). Dr. Spencer received her B.Sc. in politics from Bristol University and her Ph.D. from the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London.