Dr. Roland Riachi is an Assistant Professor of Political Economy and Political Ecology in the Department of Philosophy, Politics, and Economics (PPE) at the American University of Beirut – Mediterraneo in Cyprus. He also holds research affiliations with the University of Paris (LADYSS) and the Center for Arab and Middle Eastern Studies (CAREP–Paris). Prior to joining AUB Med, he served at AUB’s main campus in Beirut as Visiting Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Studies and Public Administration (2016–2019), Lecturer in the Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences (2014–2016), Postdoctoral Fellow at the Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs (2014–2015), and Research Associate in the Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences (2009–2012).

His research focuses on the political ecology of water, agriculture, and food in the South West Asia and North Africa region, exploring intersections between political economy, critical development, and nature-society relations. His work has been published in peer-reviewed journals, edited volumes and scholarly books, policy briefs and reports. Roland has contributed to research projects with organizations such as Oxfam, IDRC, International Water Management Institute (IWMI), the European Union, and Mercy Corps – Lebanon Crisis Analytics Team. Roland has worked with several United Nations agencies, including ESCWA and the International Labour Organization (ILO). He was appointed as the Lead Writer of the 2018-2019 Lebanon Labour Force and Household Living Conditions Survey (LFHLCS). He is also the Lead Researcher of the Arab Watch Report (2025) on the Right to Water, in collaboration with the Arab NGO Network for Development (ANND).

Roland holds a B.Sc. in Economic Engineering from the Toulouse School of Economics, a Master’s degree in Environmental Economics from Paris Sorbonne University, and a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Grenoble. ​​