Professor of Counterterrorism and Countering Violent Extremism
As a professor of counterterrorism and countering violent extremism, Dr. Anouar Boukhars works closely with African government and nongovernmental security sector leaders on developing and implementing activities and programs relating to counterterrorism and countering violent extremism. His research focuses on the dynamics of radicalization and violent extremism in Africa.
Prior to joining the Africa Center, Dr. Boukhars was a nonresident fellow in the Middle East Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and an associate professor of international relations at McDaniel College. He has served on several advisory boards and committees on the Sahel and North Africa, including at the African Peacebuilding Network at the Social Science Research Council. From August 2015 to July 2017, Dr. Boukhars served at the Institute for Peace and Security Studies in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, as lead facilitator of its flagship program, the Executive Masters in Managing Peace and Security in Africa. His research has been published in numerous leading policy publications and academic journals. He routinely conducts fieldwork in Africa and consults frequently for the African Union, World Bank, United Nations, U.S. State Department, and European governments.
Dr. Boukhars holds a Ph.D. in international studies from Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia; an M.A. in applied humanities from Al Akhaweyn University in Ifrane, Morocco; and a B.A. in English literature from Ibn Tofail University in Kenitra, Morocco.
Areas of Expertise
Counterterrorism, countering violent extremism, radicalization, North Africa
Book Chapter
“Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose: The Herculean Task of Civilianising the Algeria State,” in Geopolitics and Governance in North Africa: Local Challenges, Global Implications, ed. Sarah Yerkes
Edinburgh University Press, May 2023
Article
Why Extremist Insurgencies Spread: Insights from the Sahel
Georgetown Journal of International Affairs, January 2, 2022
Article
Comparative Perspectives on Linkages between Violent Extremism and Organized Crime in Africa
African Security, March, 2022
Spotlight
Trajectories of Violence Against Civilians by Africa’s Militant Islamist Groups
Africa Center for Strategic Studies, February 8, 2022
Spotlight
Tunisia in Crisis: An Explainer
Africa Center for Strategic Studies, July 30, 2021
Spotlight
Tunisia’s Evolving Counterterrorism Strategy
Africa Center for Strategic Studies, July 16, 2021
Spotlight
Keeping Terrorism at Bay in Mauritania
Africa Center for Strategic Studies, June 16, 2020
Book Chapter
“Algeria’s Sufis Balance State Patronage and Political Entanglement,” in Islamic Institutions in Arab States: Mapping the Dynamics of Control, Co-option, and Contention
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, June 2021
Book
Salafism in the Maghreb: Politics, Piety, and Militancy
Oxford University Press, December 2019
Spotlight
Tunisia Crying out for Change
Le changement politique, cri de ralliement des élections tunisiennesAfrica Center for Strategic Studies, September 27, 2019
Article
Diwan, April 9, 2019
Article
Diwan, April 1, 2019
Article
Barriers Versus Smugglers: Algeria and Morocco’s Battle for Border Security
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, March 19, 2019
Article
Reassessing the Power of Regional Security Providers: The Case of Algeria and Morocco
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, February 27, 2019
Op-Ed
As Their Influence Grows, the Maghreb’s ‘Quietist’ Salafists Are Anything but Quiet
World Politics Review, December 11, 2018
Article
Diwan, September 18, 2018
Article
The Paradox of Modern Jihadi Insurgencies: The Case of the Sahel and Maghreb
Al Jazeera Centre for Studies, July 15, 2018
Article
Maghreb: Dream of Unity, Reality of Divisions
Al Jazeera, June 3, 2018
Article
Diwan, April 18, 2018
Brief
The Maghreb’s Fragile Edges
Les rebords fragiles du MaghrebAfrica Center for Strategic Studies, March 19, 2018
Article
The Potential Jihadi Windfall from the Militarization of Tunisia’s Border Region With Libya
Combating Terrorism Center, January 26, 2018
Article
Diwan, September 18, 2017
Paper
The Geographic Trajectory of Conflict and Militancy in Tunisia
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, July 20, 2017
Article
The Fragility of Elite Settlements in Tunisia
African Security Review, July 10, 2017
Op-Ed
Overcoming the Barriers to Regional Security Cooperation in West Africa and the Sahel
World Politics Review, May 30, 2017
Op-Ed
Morocco and the African Union: Back into the Fold
Social Science Research Council, February 25, 2017
Article
The Promise and Peril of the Maghreb: Risks and Instability in the Maghreb and Western Mediterranean
European Institute of the Mediterranean, December 31, 2016
Article
How West Africa Became Fertile Ground for AQIM and ISIS
World Politics Review, November 29, 2016
Article
Exclusion and Despair Make Tunisia’s Border Regions a Powder Keg
World Politics Review, July 19, 2016
Article
As Threats Mount, Can Mauritania’s Fragile Stability Hold?
World Politics Review, June 16, 2016
Book Chapter
“In the Eye of the Storm: Algeria’s South and Its Sahelian Borders,” in Algeria Modern: From Opacity to Complexity, Luis Martinez and Rasmus Alenius Boserup, eds.
April 26, 2016
Article
The Politics of North African Salafism
Orient, April 1, 2016
Paper
Mauritania’s Precarious Stability and Islamist Undercurrent
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, February 11, 2016
Article
‘Quietist’ and ‘Firebrand’ Salafism in Algeria
Fride, November 24, 2015
Article
Strengthen Tunisia’s Army, But Keep It Out of Politics
Diwan, October 20, 2015
Article
Corridors of Militancy: the Sahel-Sahara Border Regions
Fride, July 22, 2015
Article
Rethinking Security Across the Sahara and the Sahel
Fride, April 8, 2015
Paper
The Reckoning: Tunisia’s Perilous Path to Democratic Stability
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, April 2, 2015
Op-Ed
Political Tensions Mount in Southern Algeria
Fride, March 25, 2015
Article
Morocco’s Islamists: Bucking the Trend?
Fride, June 6, 2014
Article
The Egypt Effect: Sharpened Tensions, Reshuffled Alliances
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, February 13, 2014
Paper
In the Crossfire: Islamists’ Travails in Tunisia
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, January 27, 2014
Article
North Africa: Back to the Future?
Fride, January 10, 2014
Article
Western Sahara: Beyond Complacency
Fride, October 4, 2013
Article
Al-Qaeda’s Resurgence in North Africa?
Fride, August 27, 2013
Op-Ed
Western Sahara: The Lingering Conflict
Fride, July 29, 2013
Q&A
Simmering Conflicts in the Sahara
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, JUNE 10, 2013
Op-Ed
North Africa: Breeding Grounds for Terror
Washington Post, May 28, 2013
Op-Ed
Mali’s Challenges Post-French Intervention
CTC Sentinel, May 23, 2013
Article
The Mali Conflict: Avoiding Past Mistakes
Fride, February 28, 2013
Article
What’s Next for Mali and Algeria?
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, January 23, 2013
Op-Ed
Look to the More Stable Neighbors
New York Times, January 16, 2013
Op-Ed
Algerian Foreign Policy in the Context of the Arab Spring
CTC Sentinel, January 14, 2013
Paper
The Paranoid Neighbor: Algeria and the Conflict in Mali
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, October 22, 2012
Paper
The Drivers of Insecurity in Mauritania
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, April 30, 2012
Paper
Simmering Discontent in the Western Sahara
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, March 12, 2012
Violent Extremism in Africa
L’extrémisme violent en Afrique
Extremismo Violento na AfricaAfrica Center for Strategic Studies, June 2023
Why Violent Extremism Still Thrives
Africa Center for Strategic Studies, July 8, 2019
Terrorist Threats in North Africa [24:05]
VOA, Africa News Tonight, July 14, 2022