Ms. Maria Elizabeth Joseph, Programme Officer, leads the West Asia and Europe portfolio at Ananta Aspen Centre. She holds a Master’s degree in Middle Eastern Studies from Tel Aviv University and was a recipient of the Middle East Studies Thesis Grant for her comparative historical work on Iran’s policy towards the Baluch and Kurds. She writes on the Middle East and her chapter “The Arab Spring and Sunni Extremism among Sunni Minorities in Iran,” edited by MD. Muddassir Quamar in Politics of Change in Middle East and North Africa Since Arab Spring was published by Routledge in 2023. She has a working knowledge of Arabic and is currently studying Persian and Urdu.