Armin Messager is a political science researcher and journalist specialising in political and social movements, sectarian dynamics and state power in the Middle East, with a particular focus on Iran, Iraq and its Kurdistan region, and Syria. He has worked across journalism, academia and the NGO sector, contributing analyses in both French and English. His research explores the intersection of governance, ideology and conflict, particularly in peripheral areas. Armin has conducted extensive fieldwork, including in Iraqi Kurdistan, where he studied the rise of Salafism and land conflicts in post-war contexts.