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AGS Ph.D. Candidate Khalid Al Jufairi was invited for the second year by his alma mater Georgetown University to give a guest lecture about his doctoral research as part of the university's Executive Master in Emergency Disaster Management. Khalid's doctoral research investigates and explores why the rise of fear-related xenophobia is endangering liberal democracy and its institutions, examining the peculiar relationship between liberal democracy and the increasing complexity in dealing with fear and ‘otherness’ in the case of France. "I am very honored that Georgetown School of Continuing Studies offered me the opportunity to give a guest lecture for a second year," said Khalid Al Jufairi. "It is a testimony that reflects the relevance of my doctoral research, and how I could contribute to the larger question of policy and policymaking when we talk about Islamophobia, marginalization of Muslims, and importantly the forces of radicalization that twist and distort Islam as a religion to fit the radical narrative."

Khalid's presentation took place on January 30th during the program's residency week in Paris, before a group of 23 students from various professional and academic backgrounds. The lecture was entitled "The Rise of Fear and the Polarizing Shifts in Left and Right Politics: Jihadism à la française" and focused more particularly on Muslim identity in France, the engagement of France's Right and Left politics with dealing with Islam as a religion and its Muslim community at large and with the rise of islamophobia in the aftermath of the 2015 attacks, namely Charlie Hebdo and November 13 shootings. "As my research has evolved since last year's discussion, the students this year were very interested in understanding how France's ideological spectrum views and deals with Islam and Muslim identity, underpinning in my analysis key intellectuals, namely Gilles Kepel and Olivier Roy."

Khalid Al Jufairi graduated in 2009 from Georgetown’s School of Foreign Service with an Bachelor’s degree in International Politics along with a Certificate in Regional and Arabic studies. After earning his M.A. in Cross-Cultural and Sustainability Management from the American University of Paris in 2016, he joined the American Graduate School in Paris to conduct his Ph.D. in International Relations and Diplomacy.