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Octavius is reading for a PhD in International Relations. His research examines the development and projection of identity and interests within and across Lebanon’s transnational communities. His broader research interests include Lebanese politics and the regional power and security dynamics of the Eastern Mediterranean, with a particular emphasis on actors such as Hezbollah and the states that support them, including Syria and Iran. He is supervised by Dr. Amanda Klekowski von Koppenfels.
He earned his MA in International Studies from Old Dominion University in the United States, where he served as a research and teaching assistant to Professor Simon Serfaty, and focused on French foreign policy. He has been a Visiting Scholar at the University of California, Berkeley (Center for African Studies), and a Visiting Researcher at Lebanese American University (Institute for Migration Studies) and SOAS, University of London (Centre for Migration and Diaspora Studies). He has extensive experience that includes NATO headquarters (Brussels), the National Security Education Program (Washington), and teaching International Relations and Comparative Politics at the College of William and Mary (Virginia).
He has also served as a consultant for civil-military relations at the Joint Forces Staff College, and has been active as an analyst or consultant for organizations in Pakistan, Belgium, Lebanon, Jordan, and the United States. During his time as a PhD Researcher at the University of Kent, he has been recruited by the U.S. Department of State and seconded to multiple missions of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).
Octavius has been a teaching assistant for Conflict and Security and Theories of Conflict and Violence. He is currently a teaching assistant for Theories of Migration, Integration and Citizenship.