Dr. Basileus Zeno is a Sessional Assistant Professor in the Department of Politics at York University. He is also a MESA Global Academy Fellow (2021-2023). His work has combined research, advocacy and policy work on political violence, refugees and forced migration, security, human rights, religion, cultural heritage, and interpretive, decolonizing methodologies. He received his Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst in 2021. Following that, he was awarded Karl Loewenstein Fellowship in Political Science at Amherst College. Zeno also holds a B.A. (2006) in Archaeology and Museum Studies and an M.A. (2011) in Classical and Islamic Archaeology from Damascus University (Syria), and an M.A. (2015) in Political Science and International Relations from Ohio University (USA).

Zeno’s writing has been published in academic as well as public-facing outlets, including Nations and Nationalism, Middle East Law and Governance, Digest of Middle East Studies, and The Washington Post. His article on the sectarianization of the Syrian uprising was awarded the 2023 “Best APSA Paper” from the American Political Science Association (APSA) MENA Politics section. A peer-reviewed version of this paper has been published in Nations and Nationalism and was awarded the 2022 Most Outstanding Article Prize on Syria last Fall at the Middle East Studies Association (MESA) Annual Meeting.
Additionally, Zeno received grants from major international institutions, including the Open Society Foundations, Carnegie Corporation of New York, and London School of Economics and Political Science. He has been invited by academic and public institutions as a writer and speaker on issues related to Syria and refugees. He presented his work at academic institutions such as the University of Chicago, UCLA, Wesleyan University, Ohio University, Hampshire College, Mount Holyoke College, Smith College, Harvard University, Duke University, Wellesley College, and numerous other places.

Basileus is strongly committed to public engagement and serves as a co-editor of the Syria Page at Jadaliyya, an independent, critical ezine produced by the Arab Studies Institute; and a founding member of Security in Context, a project challenging dominant paradigms and practices that seeks to produce and disseminate new thinking about (in)security, geopolitics, and global political economy. He also worked as a consultant on policy projects with several international organizations, including The Carter Center’s Conflict Resolution Program; the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (UN-ESCWA); Legitimacy and Citizenship in the Arab World project at The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE); Syrian Center for Policy Research (SCPR) and KnowWar Project; and American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Maine and the Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project (ILAP).

Research Interests

• Best APSA Paper, The American Political Science Association (APSA), The Middle East and North Africa Politics (MENA) Section. - 2023
• Clinical Legal Education Association (CLEA) Award for Excellence in a Public Interest Case or Project (collective award) - 2022
• Most Outstanding Article Prize (Syrian Studies Association) at the 2022 Middle East Studies Association Annual Meeting - 2022
• Karl Loewenstein Fellowship in Political Science (Amherst College) - 2021-2022
• Middle East Studies Association (MESA) Global Academy Scholarship - 2021-2023
• Project on Middle East Political Science (POMEPS) Virtual Research Workshop - 2022
• London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE): Awarded two grants to contribute research papers for the Legitimacy & Citizenship in the Arab World project at the Conflict and Civil Society Research Unit (CCSRU). - 2020-2022
• APSA's MENA Research Development Group (RDG) - 2019
• The Institute for Qualitative and Multi-Method Research (IQMR) - 2019
• Best Graduate Student Paper in Religion and International Relations Award from the International Studies Association (ISA) - 2019
• The Civil Society Scholar Award (CSSA) of the Open Society Foundations - 2017
• Nominated for the Distinguished Teaching Award, University of Massachusetts Amherst. (This campus-wide honor is the only student-initiated award on campus.) - 2016-2017-2018
• Outstanding Master of Arts Scholar, Ohio University, Political Science Department, Athens, Ohio, USA - 2015
• Jenkins King Memorial Scholarship, Ohio University, Political Science Department, Athens, Ohio, USA Scholarship awarded to the student winner in an essay contest that deals with US foreign policy or international relations - 2014
• Graduate Fellowship at the Institut français du Proche-Orient (IFPO), Damascus, Syria - 2007-2012

Current Courses

Dr. Basileus Zeno is a Sessional Assistant Professor in the Department of Politics at York University. He is also a MESA Global Academy Fellow (2021-2023). His work has combined research, advocacy and policy work on political violence, refugees and forced migration, security, human rights, religion, cultural heritage, and interpretive, decolonizing methodologies. He received his Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst in 2021. Following that, he was awarded Karl Loewenstein Fellowship in Political Science at Amherst College. Zeno also holds a B.A. (2006) in Archaeology and Museum Studies and an M.A. (2011) in Classical and Islamic Archaeology from Damascus University (Syria), and an M.A. (2015) in Political Science and International Relations from Ohio University (USA).

Zeno’s writing has been published in academic as well as public-facing outlets, including Nations and Nationalism, Middle East Law and Governance, Digest of Middle East Studies, and The Washington Post. His article on the sectarianization of the Syrian uprising was awarded the 2023 “Best APSA Paper” from the American Political Science Association (APSA) MENA Politics section. A peer-reviewed version of this paper has been published in Nations and Nationalism and was awarded the 2022 Most Outstanding Article Prize on Syria last Fall at the Middle East Studies Association (MESA) Annual Meeting.
Additionally, Zeno received grants from major international institutions, including the Open Society Foundations, Carnegie Corporation of New York, and London School of Economics and Political Science. He has been invited by academic and public institutions as a writer and speaker on issues related to Syria and refugees. He presented his work at academic institutions such as the University of Chicago, UCLA, Wesleyan University, Ohio University, Hampshire College, Mount Holyoke College, Smith College, Harvard University, Duke University, Wellesley College, and numerous other places.

Basileus is strongly committed to public engagement and serves as a co-editor of the Syria Page at Jadaliyya, an independent, critical ezine produced by the Arab Studies Institute; and a founding member of Security in Context, a project challenging dominant paradigms and practices that seeks to produce and disseminate new thinking about (in)security, geopolitics, and global political economy. He also worked as a consultant on policy projects with several international organizations, including The Carter Center’s Conflict Resolution Program; the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (UN-ESCWA); Legitimacy and Citizenship in the Arab World project at The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE); Syrian Center for Policy Research (SCPR) and KnowWar Project; and American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Maine and the Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project (ILAP).

Degrees

Research Interests

Awards

• Best APSA Paper, The American Political Science Association (APSA), The Middle East and North Africa Politics (MENA) Section. - 2023
• Clinical Legal Education Association (CLEA) Award for Excellence in a Public Interest Case or Project (collective award) - 2022
• Most Outstanding Article Prize (Syrian Studies Association) at the 2022 Middle East Studies Association Annual Meeting - 2022
• Karl Loewenstein Fellowship in Political Science (Amherst College) - 2021-2022
• Middle East Studies Association (MESA) Global Academy Scholarship - 2021-2023
• Project on Middle East Political Science (POMEPS) Virtual Research Workshop - 2022
• London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE): Awarded two grants to contribute research papers for the Legitimacy & Citizenship in the Arab World project at the Conflict and Civil Society Research Unit (CCSRU). - 2020-2022
• APSA's MENA Research Development Group (RDG) - 2019
• The Institute for Qualitative and Multi-Method Research (IQMR) - 2019
• Best Graduate Student Paper in Religion and International Relations Award from the International Studies Association (ISA) - 2019
• The Civil Society Scholar Award (CSSA) of the Open Society Foundations - 2017
• Nominated for the Distinguished Teaching Award, University of Massachusetts Amherst. (This campus-wide honor is the only student-initiated award on campus.) - 2016-2017-2018
• Outstanding Master of Arts Scholar, Ohio University, Political Science Department, Athens, Ohio, USA - 2015
• Jenkins King Memorial Scholarship, Ohio University, Political Science Department, Athens, Ohio, USA Scholarship awarded to the student winner in an essay contest that deals with US foreign policy or international relations - 2014
• Graduate Fellowship at the Institut français du Proche-Orient (IFPO), Damascus, Syria - 2007-2012

Current Courses