Manuel Almeida is a PhD candidate and teaching assistant at the London School of Economics and Political Science, Department of International Relations. His research focuses on failed states and the policy responses to them by Western powers and international organizations. He also works as a journalist and is the contributing editor of the English edition of The Majalla (www.majalla.com/en <http://www.majalla.com/en> ), a magazine of politics and current affairs in the Middle East.