Mareike Transfeld holds a master in Political Science, Islamic Studies and Modern History with a specialization on the Middle East from the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg. She is currently Director of the Yemen Policy Center in Berlin and a PhD Student at the Berlin Graduate School Muslim Cultures and Societies. Previously, she was a research fellow at the German Institute for Security and Foreign Affairs in Berlin, and headed the Research Department of the Yemen Polling Center (YPC) in Sanaa.
In her PhD thesis, Mareike explores the boundaries of the Yemeni state as experienced by Yemeni youth through a digital anthropology of a community on Facebook. This topic ties together her interests in state-society relations, youth activism and digital media. Previously, she did research on opposition parties and elite change. As consultant for YPC, Transfeld has designed numerous projects on the livelihoods of Yemeni youth and the political and economic conditions for youth activism. She has conducted field research in Yemen, Malaysia, Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon.
Focus & topics:
Yemen, political transformation, authoritarianism, opposition parties and civil society, state-society relations, youth, media, digital media
