Jacopo Spezia Depretto is a graduate student who is pursuing a master's degree in comparative and Middle East politics and society at the Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen (Germany) and the American University in Cairo (Egypt). He holds a bachelor's degree in political science and international relations from the University of Trento (Italy). Depretto is currently an intern at Gulf State Analytics, a geopolitical risk consulting firm. His research focuses on economic reform in the Middle East and North Africa, the political economy of Gulf oil exporters and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.