Legitimacy and Citizenship in the Arab World
LSE Policy research projectDr Jinan Al-Habbal
Research Officer
Dr Jinan Al-Habbal is a research officer at LSE IDEAS at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). She holds a PhD in International Relations from the University of St Andrews. Her research examined how consociationalism in the Lebanese and Iraqi political systems hinders democratisation efforts. Dr Al-Habbal analysed the impact of sectarian power-sharing state institutions – namely the electoral system and army – and political leaders on promoting democracy in postwar Lebanon and Iraq.
She previously worked as a tutor of International Relations at the University of St Andrews. Dr Al-Habbal also has years of experience in political consulting and risk analysis, having served as an analyst for several organisations.

Key Publications:
- “Lebanon needs the rule of law, not the rule of sect,” LSE Conflict Research Programme Blog, December 18, 2019, https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/crp/2019/12/18/lebanon-needs-the-rule-of-law-not-the-rule-of-sect/.
- The Politics of Sectarianism in Postwar Lebanon (co-authored with Bassel F. Salloukh, Rabie Barakat, Lara W. Khattab, and Shoghig Mikaelian). London: Pluto Press, 2015.
Key Post
Lebanon needs the rule of law, not the rule of sect
By Dr Jinan Al-Habbal
One of our research strands is the examination of the lack of independence in the judiciary and its impact on hindering accountability and democracy in Lebanon. This research is led by Dr Jinan Al-Habbal who summarises her work in this blog.
This post is also available in: العربية (Arabic)