About the Author
Jane Kinninmont is a political analyst and economist who specializes in the Middle East. Since 2018 she has been head of programmes at The Elders, an independent group of global leaders founded by Nelson Mandela to work for peace and human rights. Previously, she was senior research fellow and deputy head of the Middle East and North Africa Programme at Chatham House, where she developed and led projects on issues including the dynamics of change in Gulf countries, the political economy of the Arab uprisings, post-invasion Iraq, the politics of sectarianism, and trends in regional geopolitics. Before that, she worked as a political analyst and economic forecaster specializing in the Middle East and Africa, with roles including associate director for the Middle East and Africa at the Economist Group, senior editor/economist at the Economist Intelligence Unit, and managing editor for the Middle East and Africa at Business Monitor International.
Jane has provided strategic advice for a wide variety of governments and companies, and has written for The Economist, the Financial Times, the Guardian, Prospect, Newsweek, the BBC and many others. She has a BA from Oxford University and an MSc from the University of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies.
For the avoidance of doubt, it should be noted that this paper represents the author’s research and analysis, and not the views of The Elders.