Picture taken at T-Marbouta, Beirut, Lebanon

El Kurd's first book, titled  Polarized and Demobilized: Legacies of Authoritarianism in Palestine, has been released with Hurst Publishers and passed review with Oxford University Press. The book explores the mechanisms by which international patrons exacerbate authoritarian conditions. She argues in her work that international involvement often creates a divergence between elite and public opinion, as political leadership becomes insulated from public pressure. Such regimes gain their legitimacy from external powers, and their insulation allows them to rely increasingly on authoritarian strategies. Through the use of such strategies, particularly repression, regimes can polarize their public in a variety of ways. These strategies also have an effect on the public's level of political mobilization and engagement.  In these cases, increasing polarization and declining engagement exacerbate authoritarianism further. El Kurd predominantly uses the case of Palestine to explore these dynamics, but also looks at cases such as Bahrain and Iraqi Kurdistan for comparative analysis. She was hosted by Birzeit University as a Visiting Scholar to conduct her fieldwork.