Wolfgang Mühlberger

Wolfgang Mühlberger is an expert with more than 20 years of professional experience in the MENA region in various functions, ranging from research, diplomacy and government relations to the private sector. In 2020, he joined the Finnish mediation organisation Martti Ahtisaari Peace Foundation, formerly CMI/Crisis Management Initiative, as Senior Advisor MENA & Strategy. He also implements projects for international organisations and foundations as an independent consultant based in Vienna.

 

From 2014 till 2020, he worked as a senior researcher on MENA affairs at FIIA, Helsinki, and previously at the Austrian Defence Academy. With more than 50 publications, his most recent includes an edited volume with Springer on Political Narratives in the Middle East and North Africa.

 

His research interests cover political transitions, Islamic movements/ Islamist organisations, and external players in the region (Russia). In the field of conflict studies and conflict resolution, he focuses on analytical methods and the conception of dialogue/mediation projects. His country expertise comprises in North Africa Tunisia, Libya, and Egypt, as well as Iraq, Lebanon, Israel/Palestine, and Syria in the Middle East.

 

Wolfgang Mühlberger holds two master’s degrees in Arabic and Islamic studies from the Orientalist faculty in Vienna, and in Economics/ Business Administration from the Vienna Business University. He studied Arabic in Morocco, Tunisia, Syria and Yemen. Besides his native German, he speaks fluent French and English, and has a good passive command of Arabic.

 

Recent publications:

  • "Iraq's Search for the Social Contract. An Approach to Promoting Social Cohesion Cohesion and State Resilience" for the German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS)
  • an analysis on the OSCE's cooperative approach to Middle East and North African security, ten years after the Arab Spring, for the Italian Istituto Affari Internazionali (IAI)

 

Contact: info[at]meia-research.org