{"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":"2026-10-08T11:27:04","modified_gmt":"2026-10-08T15:27:04","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-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-8f761849 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:100%\">\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\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"400\" height=\"400\" src=\"https:\/\/oge.mit.edu\/msrp\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/Al-Yahida-Aamina-e1791473151750.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5570\" srcset=\"https:\/\/oge.mit.edu\/msrp\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/Al-Yahida-Aamina-e1791473151750.jpg 400w, https:\/\/oge.mit.edu\/msrp\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/Al-Yahida-Aamina-e1791473151750-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/oge.mit.edu\/msrp\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/Al-Yahida-Aamina-e1791473151750-150x150.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-container-content-69bc4bdf wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>MIT Department: <\/strong><br>Political Science<br><br><strong>Faculty Mentor<\/strong>: <br>Mai Hassan<br><br><strong>Research Supervisor: <\/strong><br>Richard Nielson<br><br><strong>Undergraduate Institution:<\/strong><br>University of Florida<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/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 and Philosophy, Politics, and Economics. She is interested in the law as a means of establishing transitional justice. Through her studies, Aamina has discovered a passion for political theory and contrasting that with people\u2019s lived experiences. She hopes to translate this into a career in law and governance by pursuing a J.D. To gain experience in the field, she has interned in the Turkish Senate and is currently a Political Science Research Intern at MIT. Outside her studies and work, she enjoys reading, calligraphy, visiting art museums, traveling, and spending time in Florida\u2019s beautiful outdoors. She enjoys entering new spaces and learning from others\u2019 perspectives, 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-Yahia<sup>1<\/sup>, Dr. Mai Hassan<sup>2<\/sup><br><sub><sup>1<\/sup><\/sub>Department of Anthropology, University of Florida<br><sup>2<\/sup>Department of Political Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left 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":5570,"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":6,"href":"https:\/\/oge.mit.edu\/msrp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/profiles\/5008\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5900,"href":"https:\/\/oge.mit.edu\/msrp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/profiles\/5008\/revisions\/5900"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oge.mit.edu\/msrp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5570"}],"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}]}}