Recognition of Distinction 2023 for St Antony’s Fellow, Michael J. Willis

We are delighted to announce that St Antony’s Governing Body Fellow. Michael J. Willis has been included in the University of Oxford’s 2023 Recognition of Distinction Awards, which confers the title of full Professor and recognises distinguished contributions and excellent records in research and teaching, as well as service to the wider University.

Michael J. Willis is Professor of North African Politics and King Mohammed VI Fellow in Moroccan and Mediterranean Studies. His research interests focus on the politics, modern history, and international relations of the central Maghreb states (Algeria, Tunisia, and Morocco). Before joining St Antony’s in 2004, he taught politics at Al Akhawayn University in Ifrane, Morocco for seven years. Michael was Director of the Middle East Centre at St Antony’s from 2011-2014 and from 2021-2022, and is on sabbatical leave in Morocco for the academic year 2023-2024.

Michael’s publications include: 

Algeria: Politics and Society from the Dark Decade to the Hirak (Hurst, 2022)

Politics and Power in the Maghreb: Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco from Independence to the Arab Spring (Hurst and Oxford University Press, 2012)

The Islamist Challenge in Algeria: A Political History (Ithaca and New York University Press, 1997)

Civil Resistance in the Arab Spring: Triumphs and Disasters (Co-editor; Oxford University Press, 2015)