Dareen Khalifa is a Senior Analyst at the International Crisis Group working on security, conflict, politics, and governance in Syria. Dareen has 13 years of experience working on the Middle East, with a particular focus on sub-state armed group dynamics, local governance, and civil society. She has worked on the Syria conflict in a number of roles since 2013, most recently with the Center for Humanitarian Dialogue (HD), regularly traveling to Iraq and Syria to engage with various civilian and armed actors on initiatives to mitigate conflict. Dareen has an MA in Human Rights and Public Policy from University College London.