Khalil Shikaki is a professor of political science and director of the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research (PSR) in Ramallah and a senior fellow at the Crown Center for Middle East Studies at Brandeis University. He received his Ph.D. from Columbia University in 1985 and taught at several Palestinian and American universities including al-Najah University, Birzeit University, the University of Wisconsin (Milwaukee), the University of South Florida (Tampa), the University of Utah, and the University of Michigan.