Ibrahim Yahaya Ibrahim Consulting Analyst, Sahel Please submit all media inquiries to media@crisisgroup.org or call +32 (0) 2 536 00 71 Crisis Group Role Ibrahim Yahaya Ibrahim is a Consulting Senior Sahel Analyst, based in Dakar. Areas of Expertise Sahel Region Islam and Politics Defence and Security Political Contestations International Development Professional Background Ibrahim gained a PhD in Political Science from the University of Florida. His dissertation focused on Islam and Political Contestation in the Sahel Region. It is a comparative study of the phenomena of protests, riots, and jihadist insurgencies in Mauritania, Niger, and Mali. He is a co-founder and research associate with the Sahel Research Group. Ibrahim is an alumnus of the Fulbright Program and an analyst for Freedom in the World, as a Niger and Mauritania expert. He worked for four years with Islamic NGOs in Niger, including two years as the Executive Director of the Niger-office of Albasar International Foundation. He has a background in Sociology, Islamic Jurisprudence, and Management, with degrees from the Islamic University of Say and Abdou Moumouni University of Niamey. Languages French (fluent) English (fluent) Arabic (fluent) Hausa (native) Zarma/Songhay (basic) Publications “Regions at Risk: Preventing Mass Atrocities in Mali,” co-authored with Mollie Zapata, Early Warning Project, Report No. 3, produced by The United State Holocaust Memorial Museum, “The Wave of Jihadist insurgency in West Africa: Global Ideology, Local Context, Individual Motivations,” West African Papers, No. 07, OECD Publishing, Paris (July 2017) In The News 27 Aug 2021 If France is to withdraw [from the Sahel] in a drastic manner as the U.S. did [from Afghanistan], the balance of power is likely to shift in favor of the jihadists. Washington Post Ibrahim Yahaya Ibrahim Consulting Analyst, Sahel 2 Apr 2021 [In Niger], this new dynamic to go against local communities shows the Islamic State is willing to punish communities that resist collectively. DW News Ibrahim Yahaya Ibrahim Consulting Analyst, Sahel 24 Mar 2021 Il faut voir ces attaques [au Niger] comme une forme de punition collective contre ces communautés où une résistance s'organise. AFP Ibrahim Yahaya Ibrahim Consulting Analyst, Sahel 21 Feb 2021 Niger has faced growing insecurity on many of its borders. [It] is one of the major challenges that the upcoming administration will have to face. Associated Press Ibrahim Yahaya Ibrahim Consulting Analyst, Sahel 14 Feb 2021 Governments and their foreign partners [have] grown disillusioned with the hope that jihadis [in the Sahel] can be defeated militarily. Financial Times Ibrahim Yahaya Ibrahim Consulting Analyst, Sahel 7 Aug 2020 The composition of the national assembly is disputed. If the [Malian] president were to resign, it would mark a big jump into the void. The Economist Ibrahim Yahaya Ibrahim Consulting Analyst, Sahel Latest Updates Q&A / Africa 19 November 2020 Burkina Faso et Niger : des élections à l’épreuve des insurrections ? Le Burkina Faso et le Niger se dirigent tous deux vers des élections générales. Rinaldo Depagne et Ibrahim Yahaya Ibrahim décryptent leurs enjeux et insistent sur la nécessité pour leurs vainqueurs de se pencher sur l’insécurité croissante dans les régions rurales, provoquée en grande partie par la présence de groupes jihadistes. Op-Ed / Africa 24 April 2020 Role of climate change in Central Sahel’s conflicts: not so clear The direct link between global warming, the scarcity of resources and violence in Central Sahel is considered a given, but a closer examination reveals the connection is not so clear cut. Originally published in The Africa Report