Robert is responsible for the Centre’s operations, fundraising and research activities. He oversees the events and publications programmes, research projects and public outreach. His main research interest is Kurdish politics, with particular focus on the Kurdish movements in Syria. He is Co-Editor of the Kurdish Studies Series, published by I.B. Tauris.

Robert joined the Centre when it opened in 2010. He was Manager and Research Fellow, Middle East and North Africa Programme, Chatham House, from 2001-2010. He held a Research Fellowship from the Leverhulme Trust from 2008-2010 and was an Honorary Fellow at the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies, University of Exeter, from 2008-2010. He served as Executive Director of the British Society for Middle Eastern Studies and Convenor of the Society’s annual conference from 2015-2019. He served as a Special Adviser to the Foreign Affairs Committee, House of Commons, in 2017-2018.