Kamaran Palani is the Principal Investigator of the Iraq PeaceRep programme at the ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳ Middle East Centre. Kamaran also conducts research on the drivers of conflict and state fragmentation in Iraq.
His research broadly focuses on de facto statehood, power-sharing, and dynamics of peace and conflict, with a specific focus on Iraq. Kamaran's work also explores a range of interconnected themes, including the prevention of violent extremism, internal displacement, the roles of youth and civil society, educational initiatives, and the situation of ethno-religious minorities in Iraq. Kamaran has published his research in journals such as Territory, Politics, Governance; International Peacekeeping; Third World Quarterly; Ethnopolitics; British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies; and International Migration. He is also the author of the book Kurdistan’s De Facto Statehood: A New Explanatory Framework (Routledge, 2022).
He obtained his MA in Global Security from Keele University, UK, in 2014, and completed his PhD at Leiden University in the Netherlands in 2021.