Joe Macaron is currently a fellow at the Arab Center Washington D.C. and completing his Ph.D. at the University of Bath (U.K.). His research focuses on U.S. policy, international relations, and conflict analysis in the Middle East. A former journalist, he advised on public engagement in the Middle East in different capacities in the United Nations system. He also worked as a consultant for Forefront Activist, a human rights organization in New York, where he helped produce handbooks that educate human rights groups and individuals around the world about best practices in dealing with the media.