An analyst and political scientist of the Muslim world, focusing on West relations, Egyptian politics, Arab affairs, European security policies, and political theory, Hellyer’s expertise is regularly consulted by various organizations in Europe, the United States, the Arab world, and Southeast Asia. As a nonpartisan specialist, Hellyer has often briefed at cabinet ministerial levels on issues pertaining to his specialties. During his tenure at the University of Warwick as a fellow, and then as a senior research fellow, Hellyer was appointed as deputy convener of the U.K. government’s taskforce for the 2005 London bombings. He served as the Foreign & Commonwealth Office’s (FCO) first economic and social research council fellow as part of the ‘Islam’ and ‘Counter-Terrorism’ teams with FCO security clearance, as a non-civil servant.
To professionalize political advisory, commercial research, and media services on the Muslim world, the Middle East and North Africa, and West relations, Hellyer founded the VC Group as a research consortium for consultants in North America, Europe, the Middle East and North Africa region, and Southeast Asia; its subject matter expertise is widely utilized by thought leaders in media, business, and other sectors. As part of his consultancy work, Hellyer has been appointed in a variety of capacities looking at Arab-West relations, including as a senior academic advisor for Soliya, the U.N. Alliance of Civilisations, and as director of strategic partnerships for Bassem Youssef, often referred to as the ‘Arab Jon Stewart’.
Hellyer, a United Nations global expert, previously served as the first Arab world-based senior practice consultant at Gallup, where he analyzed public opinion data in a variety of countries in the Arab world and the West. He is frequently featured in various international media, and has authored several hundred op-eds and media submissions for publications such as The Washington Post, Foreign Policy, The New York Times, The Guardian, The National (Abu Dhabi), and Daily News Egypt. He is regularly interviewed by international programs on CNN, BBC, and others.
Alongside his analytical career, Hellyer has had academic attachments at the University of Warwick, the American University in Cairo, and the Oxford Center for Islamic Studies at the University of Oxford. He was also appointed as a visiting professor at the Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, upon the recommendation of its chancellor, Her Royal Highness the Sultanah of the State of Johor. He’s authored several books and monographs, and has contributed more than 25 book chapters and journal articles to various academic and policy presses. Some of his more recent publications include “Muslims of Europe: the ‘Other’ Europeans” (Edinburgh University Press, 2009), “Engagement with the Muslim Community and Counter-Terrorism: British Lessons for the West” (The Brookings Institution, 2007), and “The Chance for Change in the Arab World: Egypt’s Uprising” (Chatham House, 2011). He is currently writing a book on the Egyptian revolutionary uprising of 2011 and its aftermath.
Hellyer received his bachelor’s from University of Sheffield School of Law and his master’s in international political economy at the University of Sheffield’s Department of Politics. He completed his multidisciplinary doctorate at the University of Warwick as an economic and social research council scholar.