I am Assistant Professor in Conflict Studies. My work explores the epistemic politics of authority and legitimacy in conflict-affected settings, specifically focusing on the transnational governance of forced displacement in the Eastern Mediterranean – with extensive experience in Lebanon, Palestine, and Syria. My recent research is on the politics of ignorance in migration diplomacy on Syrian refugee return. My work is funded by, among others, the Dutch Research Council, the European Commission, the Swiss Network for International Studies, and Yale University’s Center for Middle East Studies. I am a member of the editorial college of Migration Politics and have published over twenty articles in leading journals in the field of Migration and Conflict as well as a book – Hybrid Political Order and the Politics of Uncertainty: Refugee Governance in Lebanon – with Routledge. I also regularly appear in Dutch and international news media to comment on current affairs.

Publicaties: https://norastel.com/Work/journal-articles.html

• Strategic non-regulation as migration governance: https://scipost.org/MigPol.2.1.004
• EU engagement with contested refugee returns in Lebanon: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14650045.2022.2025779