Fiona McCallum Guiney joined the School of International Relations in 2007 as a RCUK Academic Fellow in Religion and Politics. She was promoted to Lecturer in 2012, Senior Lecturer in 2018 and Professor in 2024.

Fiona is a member of the Arts and Humanities Research Council Peer Review College and was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts in 2024. She was the Director of the  University's Institute of Middle East, Central Asia and Caucasus Studies from 2019-2024.

She holds a MA(Hons) in Politics and Modern History (University of Edinburgh), MLitt in International Security Studies (University of St Andrews) and PhD in International Relations (University of St Andrews). 

Fiona's research focuses primarily on the political role of Christian communities in the contemporary Middle East. Taking an interdisciplinary approach, she employs qualitative methods with data gathered through interviews, focus groups and participant observation. She has conducted extensive fieldwork in the region, including Egypt, Lebanon, Israel/Palestine, Jordan and Syria, and in the UK.

Fona's research explores three interconnected themes:

• Group identity through the navigation and contestation of multiple identities of Middle Eastern Christian communities.
• The connection between legitimacy and religious leadership.
• Group interactions at the state-community and society-community levels both in the Middle East and diaspora. Interactions include state policies, societal attitudes, interfaith dialogue and violence.