Mireille Rebeiz

I am the Resident Director of Dickinson College in New Zealand & Associate Professor of Politics at the University of Otago.

I earned two doctoral degrees: PhD in Francophone Studies from Florida State University and SJD in International Law from Penn State Dickinson Law. I have a master’s degree in International Law and Human Rights from Université de Rouen in France, and a bachelor’s degree in Law from Saint Joseph University in Lebanon. My research is interdisciplinary and focuses on the Middle East and North Africa. Some of the topics I research and teach include: international law & terrorism, issues of statehood and borders disputes, armed conflicts, State, and Non-State actors, colonial & post-colonial relations in the Francophone world, and women’s rights in the Middle East.

My second book "Hezbollah in International Law" was recently published with Edinburgh University Press (2026); it examines the legal status of Hezbollah as a State or non-State actor in armed conflict (with Israel and in Syria). The book also studies Hezbollah's unlawful activities in Lebanon since 1982 and State responsibility.

My first book, "Gendering Civil War. Francophone Women’s Writing in Lebanon", for which I earned the AAUW American Fellowship, appeared with Edinburgh University Press in 2022. Nominated for the John Leonard Prize, this book examines French-language narratives published between the 1970s and the present day by Lebanese women authors writing on the Lebanese civil war of 1975-1991.

My most recent book, "Peacekeepers. U.S Marines in Lebanon from 1982-1984," focuses on the Beirut barracks bombing of 1983 that killed 241 American servicemembers and 58 French parachutists. Currently under review, this book examines U.S deployments to Lebanon (1958, 1982-1984), U.S-Lebanon relations, and the link between Beirut 1983 and the 9/11 attacks on American soil.

In addition to my books, I published several book chapters and peer-reviewed articles in French and English in national and international journals.

I have given numerous public talks and podcast interviews, and I am a media commentator with frequent appearances on NPR, Voice of America, Business Insider, Newsweek, France 24, TRT World, BBC Arabic, BBC News, ABC Australia, and Newzroom Afrika. I am a regular contributor to several news outlets including The Conversation.

I speak three languages: Arabic/Levantine Dialect, French, and English.

I am a proud American Red Cross volunteer and instructor of International Humanitarian Law "Even War Has Rules."