I am a Senior Fellow at the Middle East Institute, focused on the Maghreb-Sahel region at the intersection of policy, security, and geopolitics. I specialize in translating complex regional developments into policy-relevant insights on governance reform, political transitions, and cross-regional security. My work connects North African and Sahelian dynamics with U.S., European, and multilateral policy priorities—offering grounded analysis on regional rivalries, economic transformation, migration governance, and evolving partnerships with global powers.

I regularly brief U.S., European, and multilateral officials—as well as private sector and philanthropic stakeholders—offering actionable analysis to help navigate shifting power dynamics, policy contradictions, and strategic opportunities in a region central to global security, migration governance, and energy transition.

 

Prior to joining the Middle East Institute, I was the Editor-in-Chief of Sada and a Fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. I have previously worked in several NGOs that support a range of reforms across the Middle East and Africa by empowering and building the capacity of local actors.

 

I am fluent in Arabic, French, and English. I was born in and grew up in Morocco. For nearly two decades I have lived and worked in Washington, DC, and traveled extensively throughout the Middle East, North Africa, and Europe, and to parts of Asia and Latin America. My writing has been published in a number of think tank and media outlets in the Middle East, the U.S., and Europe; I am a regular contributor on the BBC to other international media outlets; and I teach courses on North Africa for the US government and various universities.