 Dr. Aicha Lahlou attended Al-Akhawayn University from 1995 to 1997, and then transferred to Houston, Texas, where she attended the University of Houston and Rice University and completed her Ph. D in International Relations and received a Graduate Certificate in Women’s Studies. She is currently an adjunct professor in the Political Science Department of the University of Houston where she has taught several courses in the Politics of the Middle East and North Africa and the Politics of Developing Areas since August 2003. She has also coordinated several summer internships between the university and refugee organizations in Houston for students interested in immigration issues and laws. Her teaching and research areas of interest include international relations, women’s studies, the politics of developing countries, and the politics of the Middle East and North Africa in particular. Her doctoral dissertation, which is under review for publication, discusses the process of democratization and its interaction with Islamism in the Arab world and specifically in Morocco. It also discusses how international democracy promoters, the ruling elite and Islamists may establish some common ground to consolidate democracy and prevent a return to authoritarianism after the recent changes that many Arab countries have experienced.
Dr. Lahlou also currently works as an intelligence analyst for the Middle East and North Africa at Air Security International and is the founder of a consulting firm called Global Liaison Consultants, which offers cross-cultural training and consulting services to assist companies and organizations with building effective global human capital, and developing the strong liaisons that are necessary for the global economy. She has authored and presented several articles on Moroccan politics, especially on the Morocco-Polesario conflict, Islam and democracy, women’s issues and system transition.
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