Zakaria Al Shmaly is a Nonresident Fellow at TIMEP focusing on EU-Syria relations. His mandate examines how Europe’s evolving diplomatic, economic, and political engagement with Syria is impacting the country’s governance, accountability, and reconstruction outcomes. He is currently also a Teaching Fellow in European Studies at Maastricht University. Zakaria is a cofounder of the Change for Syria network, a grassroots initiative promoting participation in Syria’s political, civic, and cultural spheres. He represents the network in consultations on Syria by various EU bodies. He is also a cofounder and co-host of the Syria Spectrum podcast, that focuses on policy relevant analysis on Syrian affairs. Zakaria previously served as a Research Analyst at Carnegie Europe, and worked with the European Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs. He has also held positions with the International NGO Safety Organisation and the Norwegian Refugee Council, supporting humanitarian and protection work in Syria and the region. His writing spans from think tank, advocacy, and academic publications as well as novels and fiction. Zakaria holds a BA in Liberal Arts and Sciences from University College Freiburg and an MA from the European University Institute’s School of Transnational Governance. He was previously a Dahrendorf Fellow at the University of Oxford and a PhD Fellow at the United Nations University (UNU-MERIT).