Yousra Hamdaoui is an Assistant Professor of International Relations at the Faculty of Law, Economics and Social Sciences of Mohamedia [University Hassan II Casablanca]. She is interested in issues related to security, counter-terrorism, violent extremism, and soft power in the Sahel and North Africa. Yousra has conducted fieldwork in Mali, Niger, Mauritania, Senegal, and Morocco. Her post-doctoral fellowship at the Institute for Humanities in Africa (HUMA) at the University of Cape Town focused on scholarly publishing in Africa (Focus: North Africa and Horn of Africa).