Sansom Milton is Senior Research Fellow at the Center for Conflict and Humanitarian Studies in Doha. His research focuses on conflict mediation, post-conflict recovery, and higher education in crisis settings, drawing on extensive fieldwork and practitioner engagement across the Arab region.

• 1. Introduction; 2. Theoretical Foundations; 3. Higher Education, Development, and Conflict in the Arab Region; 4. Iraq: Academia under Occupation; 5. Libya: Higher Education through Uprising, War, and Transition; 6. Syria: Higher Education at War and the Post-Assad Landscape; 7. Yemen: Survival amidst the World's Worst Humanitarian Crisis; 8. The Gaza Strip: From Universities under Siege to Scholasticide; 9. Strategic Pillars of Higher Education in the Arab Region; Reference List; Index.

'Sansom Milton documents the extraordinary resilience of the universities of the Arab world, reminding us that even in bitter conflict and devastating war, from Iraq, Libya, Syria, Yemen and Gaza, the thirst for knowledge is unquenchable and the value of education incalculable. While rebuilding and recovery may seem like distant goals, the message here is heartening and it deserves a wide and attentive audience.' Lisa Anderson, Former President of the American University in Cairo