Mara Albrecht is Assistant Professor for History of West Asia at University of Erfurt, where she received her doctorate in 2014. Her thesis "War of Symbols: Political Parties and Political Culture in Lebanon (1975-2013)" (in German) is concerned with political narratives and symbolic forms and practices relevant to the creation of political cultures in Lebanon. She is currently working on her habilitation project concerning spatiotemporal practices of violence and policing during the riots in Belfast and Jerusalem in the era of the British Empire. It argues that knowledge about urban violence was accumulated and circulated within the empire and particularly focusses on the transfer of experiences from Ireland to Palestine in the context of relocating officers, troops, and administrative personnel. Her research interests include urban violence, spatial history, contested histories and memories, and political cultures in the Middle East.