Department of Political Science

Omar holds a B.A. in Political Science from Truman State University and an LL.M. with Cum Laude honors in International Law and Human Rights from Tilburg University. In December 2014, he was awarded the Max van der Stoel Human Rights Award for best master’s thesis among seven universities in The Netherlands and Belgium. Since graduating, Omar has held research posts at Global Political Trends (GPoT) Center in Istanbul, Turkey; Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies (ACPSS) in Cairo, Egypt; and Tabah Foundation, also in Cairo, Egypt. He has worked with the Euro-Mediterranean Study Commission (EuroMeSCo), Clingendael Institute, Georgetown University, and University of Toronto on projects centering on the political instability, violent extremism, and irregular migration stemming from the Arab region since 2011. His research on these issues made him particularly interested in indigenous nation- and state-building in the Arab region.