Eva Ferron

Thesis title: Platform Authoritarianism: X under King Salman and Mohammed bin Salman

Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies

  • School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures

Contact details

Biography

Background

Eva Ferron (she/her) successfully defended her PhD in the Department of Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Edinburgh. Her research sits at the intersection of comparative political sociology, Middle East studies, and digital politics. She develops Platform Authoritarianism through an analysis of Saudi Arabia’s use of X (formerly Twitter) after the Arab Uprisings, focusing on Islamic authority and key intermediaries. Methodologically, she combines social network analysis with corpus-assisted and critical Arabic discourse analysis.

Eva completed an MSc in Middle Eastern Studies with Arabic at the University of Edinburgh before beginning her PhD, both funded through an ESRC 2+3 studentship. From 2014 to 2016, she was Scholar-in-Residence at the Council for British Research in the Levant (CBRL) Amman Institute in Jordan. She holds an MA in Near and Middle Eastern Studies (Politics) from SOAS University of London and a BA (Hons) in Economic and Social Studies from the University of Manchester, and has held research and policy roles in London local government and at the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office.

Qualifications

PhD, Islamic & Middle Eastern Studies — University of Edinburgh (2019–2025) Thesis (defended): Platform Authoritarianism: X under King Salman and Mohammed bin Salman

MSc, Middle Eastern Studies with Arabic — University of Edinburgh (2016–2018) ESRC 2+3 Pathway (Language-Based Area Studies): Arabic language and research training

MA, Near & Middle Eastern Studies — SOAS University of London (2011–2013) Dissertation: Twitter Activism in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain (2011–12)

BA (Hons), Economics & Social Sciences — University of Manchester (2004–2007)

Professional Recognition

Associate Fellow (AFHEA) — Advance HE (2024) Fellowship reference: PR306703

Methods and Skills Training

Programming for Data (J4YB35), SCQF Level 8 (8 credits) (2023) SQL and data methods

SQL Certificate — Codecademy (2023) Certificate ID: BA307464-F

Language Training

Modern Standard Arabic — Qasid Arabic Institute, Amman (2016–2017) Two intensive terms (~300 class hours)

Short Courses

Palestine Refugees and International Law — Refugee Studies Centre, University of Oxford (2016)

Previous grants held

  • University of Edinburgh — Student Experience Grant: Black History in the City walking tour (£400).

  • Economic & Social Research Council (ESRC): 2+3 Studentship, Language-Based Area Studies.

  • University of Edinburgh — Institute for Academic Development: Project Lead, Curriculum Decolonisation in IMES and Beyond (£1,000).

  • CDCS Training Grant (£1,500) — attended the Digital Methods Initiative (Trolls, Bots and Dictators, University of Amsterdam, July 2019) to develop and pilot novel methods for analysing contemporary platform manipulation.

  • SOAS University of London: Training Grant, Political Islam: Global & Local Manifestations and Challenges (£2,000).

  • European Union (host: University of Cambridge) — Academic research intervention evaluating UK de-radicalisation programmes and transferring findings to EU governments (€471,658).

  • Ferron, E. (28 November 2025). Invited discussant/respondent for “Reels of Agency: Women, Faith, and Power on Instagram in Saudi Arabia” (paper by Dr Hanaa Almoaibed). Centre for the Study of Islam in the Contemporary World, School of Social and Political Science, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.
  • Ferron, E. (21 November 2022). Seminar presentation: “Islamic Twitter in Salman’s Saudi Arabia.” IMES Seminar Series, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.
  • Data Carpentry Workshop (University of Edinburgh) — Instructor. Two-day training (spreadsheets/OpenRefine; introductory Python; analysis/visualisation; SQL), 4–5 June 2019, Edinburgh, UK.
  • Invited workshop: “Queering the Middle East”, University of Edinburgh (20 February 2019) (UG & PG audiences; supported by a Student Experience Grant), Edinburgh, UK.
  • Syrian Teenager Tutoring and Educational Programme (STTEPS) — Tutor/Translator (Arabic–English) and Education Volunteer (2017–2018) (programme recognised with the Principal’s Award; secured local government funding).
  • Hidāyah — Research Volunteer (2023) (contributed to research and analysis tasks).
  • Decolonising Wikipedia Network (DWN) — Contributing Editor (2022–2023) (content development and community editing).

 

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