Dr Nicolai Due-Gundersen is Lecturer for the United Nations after four years living in the Middle East, including Jordan, Turkey and Kuwait. He is author of The Privatization of Warfare (Cambridge: Intersentia), which discusses mercenaries in Iraq. Much of his research focuses on non-democratic and other types of political legitimacy. He is frequently in media, including Al Jazeera, CGTN and China Radio International. His articles are published by Middle East Eye, Open Democracy, The Conversation and International Policy Digest.