Dr. Avital Livny

Biography

Avital Livny holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from Stanford University and an M.Phil. in Modern Middle Eastern Studies and M.Sc. in Comparative Politics Research from the University of Oxford. She earned her B.A. in Political Science, History, and Near Eastern Studies from Washington University in St. Louis. Livny has worked as a Policy Assistant at Legal Momentum and has held various academic positions, including Associate Professor at Illinois University and Visiting Faculty Fellow at Chapman University. Her research interests focus on the political landscape of the Middle East, particularly in relation to comparative politics and identity politics in Turkey. She is fluent in Hebrew and English, with good knowledge of Turkish and Modern Standard Arabic. Livny received the National Science Foundation award to support her project on integrating global diversity estimates using transparent methods, and her key publications include the book "Trust Islamic Advantage: Religious-Based Movements in the Turkey Muslim World," published by Cambridge University Press in 2020. Her research is also featured in the forthcoming Oxford Handbook on Politics in Muslim Societies and in journals such as the Journal of Politics and Public Opinion Quarterly.

Research Interests