Benedetta Berti is an expert on political violence, civil war and security — especially in the Middle East. She has spent a decade researching non-state armed groups — from terrorists to insurgents to militias — and works with governments and NGOs to offer new approaches for conflict resolution. In her book, Armed Political Organizations: From Conflict to Integration, Berti looks at Hezbollah, Hamas, the Irish Republican Army and other groups that have their roots in insurgency but moved into the political sphere. She offers surprising answers on why this happens and what it means.

Berti’s current projects include leading an effort to design new parameters for Israeli-Palestinian peace, and conducting a policy study on how to effectively deliver humanitarian aid to cut-off areas in Syria and Iraq. She recently completed a study on Gaza’s security infrastructure. And her writing has appeared in Foreign Policy and Foreign Affairs.