Complexia is an independent policy research and advisory institution specialising in governance, P/CVE, peacebuilding, and economic recovery across North Africa, the Middle East and the Sahel. We combine the analytical standards of internationally recognised policy institutions with the contextual depth that sustained regional presence and deep local networks create.
The region sits at the nexus of some of the most consequential policy challenges of our time — yet lacks a credible, locally-rooted institution capable of producing policy-relevant analysis at international standards.
The credible analysis that does exist is produced almost entirely by institutions based in Washington, London, Brussels or Geneva — RAND, the International Crisis Group, Chatham House, the European Council on Foreign Relations, Carnegie. These institutions produce work of genuine quality, but they operate at a structural remove from the region.
Local actors face their own limits. Government-affiliated think tanks operate under political constraint. Academic centres produce scholarly output that rarely reaches policy audiences in time. International consulting firms deploy global methodologies that sit poorly with North African institutional realities. Individual consultants lack the institutional infrastructure that sustained engagement requires.
Complexia is positioned to be the institution North Africa does not yet have: a credible, independent, locally-rooted policy research and advisory institution operating at international standards. We compete on analytical depth, regional credibility, and the quality of the questions we ask — and the rigour of the answers we produce.
Our thematic portfolio is deliberately focused rather than broad. Thematic depth — not breadth — is the source of analytical credibility. The four areas below reflect both the region's most pressing policy challenges and our specific technical expertise.
Governance failure is the structural root of most of North Africa's most acute problems. We analyse governance not as an administrative phenomenon but as a political and social one — examining power distribution, institutional incentives, the erosion of accountability mechanisms, and how governance fragility produces security and development deficits.
Deep technical expertise in preventing and countering violent extremism, peacebuilding, and community resilience — grounded in years of field experience across Tunisia, Libya, and the Sahel-North Africa interface. Not generic CVE programming: analysis grounded in the specific ideological, social and political dynamics of the region.
North Africa sits at the intersection of displacement and migration dynamics that shape European policy debates as much as regional ones. We analyse these phenomena not as migration management problems but as development, governance, and economic challenges requiring structural responses.
Evidence-based policy is not simply a methodology — it is a governance commitment. We treat knowledge production as a public good and invest in strengthening the evidence systems that allow institutions to make better decisions. Mixed-methods research designed for decision-makers, not academic peer review.
Complexia operates at the intersection of three institutional formats — without being fully reducible to any of them. This hybridity is the source of our differentiation against the existing actors in our space.
Our institutional centre of gravity is North Africa — Tunisia, Algeria, and Libya — with active regional reach across the Middle East and the Sahel. We are headquartered in Tunis and deliver wherever our analytical and regional expertise apply.
Knowledge products are the cornerstone of our institutional identity — they advance the field and they establish our analytical credibility. The most recent and forthcoming are below; the full catalogue is available on our publications page.
Original analysis of the structural transformation affecting the international development workforce in MENA — drawing on data from the Reconversion Lab platform and primary interviews with sector practitioners.
Synthesis brief drawing on programme implementation data and field practice across Tunisia, Algeria, and Libya. Practical guidance for donors and implementing partners designing the next generation of prevention programmes.
Annual flagship analytical publication assessing the structural dynamics shaping governance, security, and economic recovery across the region. First edition scoping in 2027.
Complexia invests in platforms and research that serve the broader sector. These are not products we sell — they are infrastructure we contribute, drawing on the same methodological discipline as our research and advisory practice.
A career resilience platform for international development and humanitarian professionals navigating the sector's structural transformation. Includes a free AI-powered Career Analyser, a Skills Matrix mapping 55 sector roles to non-aid pathways, and the accompanying book Career Shift, launching in 2026.
RLab is Complexia's response to the workforce dimension of the same transformation we help our institutional clients navigate.
Visit reconversionlab.com →We work with donors, multilateral organisations, foundations, governments and aligned actors who require the combination of analytical depth and regional expertise that our institution provides. Every serious inquiry receives a personal response within two business days.