{"id":5008,"date":"2026-05-13T15:10:14","date_gmt":"2026-05-13T19:10:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/oge.mit.edu\/msrp\/?post_type=profiles&#038;p=5008"},"modified":"2026-08-10T10:28:04","modified_gmt":"2026-08-10T14:28:04","slug":"aamina-al-yahia","status":"publish","type":"profiles","link":"https:\/\/oge.mit.edu\/msrp\/profiles\/aamina-al-yahia\/","title":{"rendered":"Aamina Al-Yahia"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-nowrap is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-8f761849 wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"400\" height=\"599\" src=\"https:\/\/oge.mit.edu\/msrp\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/Al-Yahida-Aamina.jpg\" alt=\"by Corban Swain\" class=\"wp-image-5570\" style=\"width:144px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/oge.mit.edu\/msrp\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/Al-Yahida-Aamina.jpg 400w, https:\/\/oge.mit.edu\/msrp\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/Al-Yahida-Aamina-200x300.jpg 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>University of Florida<\/strong><br>Faculty Advisor: Prof. Mai Hassan<br>Research Supervisor: Richard Nielson<br>Department: Political Science<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"400\" height=\"599\" src=\"https:\/\/oge.mit.edu\/msrp\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/Al-Yahida-Aamina.jpg\" alt=\"by Corban Swain\" class=\"wp-image-5570\" style=\"width:144px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/oge.mit.edu\/msrp\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/Al-Yahida-Aamina.jpg 400w, https:\/\/oge.mit.edu\/msrp\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/Al-Yahida-Aamina-200x300.jpg 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">by Corban Swain<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:0px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Biography<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Aamina Al-Yahia is in her last year at the University of Florida, studying Anthropology<br>and Philosophy, Politics, and Economics. She is interested in the law as a means of establishing<br>transitional justice. Through her studies, Aamina has discovered a passion for political theory and<br>contrasting that with people\u2019s lived experiences. She hopes to translate this into a career in law<br>and governance by pursuing a J.D. To gain experience in the field, she has interned in the Turkish<br>Senate and is currently a Political Science Research Intern at MIT. Outside her studies and work,<br>she enjoys reading, calligraphy, visiting art museums, traveling, and spending time in Florida\u2019s<br>beautiful outdoors. She enjoys entering new spaces and learning from others\u2019 perspectives,<br>allowing her to learn from those around her and foster understanding in new spaces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\"><br><strong>Trust, Transition, and Participation: Civic Engagement Among Syrian University<br>Students in Post-Assad Syria<\/strong><br>Aamina Al-Yahia1, Dr. Mai Hassan2<br>1Department of Anthropology, University of Florida<br>2Department of Political Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\"><br>Following the collapse of the Assad regime, Syria faces the challenge of rebuilding political<br>institutions capable of fostering legitimacy, accountability, and public participation. While<br>much attention has focused on elite decision-making, the attitudes of young Syrians who will<br>play a central role in shaping the country&#8217;s future remain understudied. This study investigates<br>how Syrian university students perceive civic and political engagement during the country&#8217;s<br>post-authoritarian transition and examines the factors influencing their willingness to<br>participate in rebuilding public life. Drawing on theories of civic participation and democratic<br>transition, the project explores how trust in emerging institutions, perceptions of political<br>efficacy, and conceptions of citizenship shape students&#8217; engagement. Using a mixed-methods<br>design, the study combines surveys with semi-structured interviews conducted with university<br>students across Syria to capture both broad trends and individual experiences. By centering<br>the perspectives of Syrian youth, this research contributes to scholarship on post-conflict<br>reconstruction, state-building, and democratization while providing insights into the role of the<br>next generation in establishing durable and participatory political institutions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":5378,"template":"","profile_category":[25],"class_list":["post-5008","profiles","type-profiles","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","profile_category-2026-interns"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/oge.mit.edu\/msrp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/profiles\/5008","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/oge.mit.edu\/msrp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/profiles"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/oge.mit.edu\/msrp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/profiles"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/oge.mit.edu\/msrp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/profiles\/5008\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5672,"href":"https:\/\/oge.mit.edu\/msrp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/profiles\/5008\/revisions\/5672"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oge.mit.edu\/msrp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5378"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/oge.mit.edu\/msrp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5008"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"profile_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oge.mit.edu\/msrp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/profile_category?post=5008"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}