“With the advent of the Arab revolts, everything changed and Turkey’s role and leverage in the region declined remarkably. It was important to analyse the reasons and conditions that led decision-makers in Ankara to change their strategy toward the Arab World.”

He received his Master’s degree in International Commercial Laws and Policies from Italy and earned his Bachelor’s degree in Economics and Political Science from Egypt. He still wanted to pursue a PhD and was looking for a minimum acceptable UK academic ranking before applying for a number of universities.

Fadi explained: “I decided to go with the first university that accepted my proposal. It was the University of Sunderland. After few months, I discovered that my choice was the right one for many reasons. First, the academic standard is very good and with the annual monitoring review meetings, the University keeps track of the academic development of the students.

“Second, the supervisors are highly qualified and they spare no effort to assist. Third is the structure of the PhD program itself that includes training, annual reviews, monthly meetings with supervisors and ongoing follow up process. One of the most enjoyable parts was the rich library and the ability to access other libraries in North East England.”

Despite the challenging topic Fadi is proud to say that the accomplishment of this research is an achievement by itself. He also credits Dr Geoffrey Nash for inspiring and encouraging him to go through all the challenges and difficulties he faced.

He explained: “A lot of challenges featured throughout the whole process. Yet, I believe that my work contributes to existing literature and adds a novel approach that can help academics, politicians and experts to understand how a successful policy and a power’s ascending role can be negatively altered, damaging what has been achieved over a period of time.”

Asked about his future plans, Dr Elhusseini said: “I think I will be focusing more on academic work, reading, writing and publishing and I will start with my dissertation, hoping to make it a book. I feel more confident and I know that my studies at the University of Sunderland provided me with a solid and very strong base that would definitely serve me better in this field.”