Dler Awsman is a Yazidi scholar and sociologist specializing in minority protection, political economy, and the dynamics of fragile states in the Middle East.

Awsman is a PhD student in Sociology at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK). His research examines the relationship between democracy, violence, and inequality in post-2003 Iraq, with broader interests in Middle Eastern geopolitical and religious dynamics, minority social movements, and the political economy of conflict-affected societies. This includes research and analysis on Yezidi affairs, minority security, and post-conflict governance.

Originally from northern Iraq, Awsman brings both lived experience as a Yezidi genocide survivor and academic training to his work on vulnerable communities in the Middle East. Prior to his doctoral studies, he earned an International Baccalaureate from the United World College of the Adriatic in Italy, completed a BA in International Political Economy at the College of Idaho, and an MA in sociology at UTK. Having lived and studied across three continents, he works across multiple linguistic and cultural contexts.

His master’s thesis, Democracy in the Margins: The Case of Iraq as an External Critique of Liberal Democracy, analyzes Iraq’s post-2003 political and economic transformation. He is also conducting ongoing research on Yezidi collective mobilization in response to post-2003 Iraqi politics and the 2014 Yezidi Genocide perpetrated by ISIS. Awsman’s current writings focus on policy-relevant insight on minority protection, regional stability, and pathways toward durable peace in the Middle East.