CMEC Director Charlotte Leslie talks to Dr Elisabeth Kendall, renowned arabist, academic, author and Mistress of Girton College, Cambridge, about Yemen - its history, recent past and current conflicts.
Dr Elisabeth Kendall is a leading scholar of Arabic and Islamic studies, currently Mistress of Girton College, Cambridge, and on the board of the University of Cambridge’s Centre for Geopolitics, and Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Sanaa Centre for Strategic Studies – a Yemeni think tank.
Her research focuses on contemporary jihadist movements, propaganda – including poetry and literature, and the cultural and political dynamics of the Middle East, with particular expertise in Yemen and the Arabian Peninsula.
She has provided expert analysis to the UN, NATO, and the British and US militaries.
She is a prolific writer and also spends significant time on the ground in Yemen and chairs a grassroots NGO, the Mahra Youth Unity Association, in eastern Yemen.