- BOOKS
- (2023, forthcoming). Pledging Allegiance: The Islamic State’s Global Provinces in Comparative Perspective. New York, NY: Columbia University Press. Co-authored with Amira Jadoon and Daniel Milton.
- (2022). The Islamic State in Africa: Emergence, Evolution, and Future of the Next Jihadist Battlefront. London, UK: Hurst. With assistance from Ryan O’Farrell, Héni Nsaibia, Ryan Cummings. LINK
- (2018). African Foreign Policies in International Institutions. New York, NY: Palgrave-Macmillan. Co-edited with Timothy Shaw. LINK
- JOURNAL ARTICLES
- (2022). “Fake News in the Sahel: ‘Afrancaux News,’ French Counterterrorism, and the Logics of User-Generated Media.” African Studies Review. With Matthew Kirwin and Lassane Ouedraogo. PDF
- (2021). “Needs or Symbols?: The Logic of UN Counterterrorism Treaty Ratification.” International Studies Quarterly. With Amira Jadoon and Dan Milton. PDF
- (2021). “Bombing It: The Meaning and Sources of Suicide Bomber Failure.” Studies in Conflict and Terrorism. With Ellen Chapin and Quinn Sorenson. PDF
- (2021). “Al-Shabaab’s Assassinations: Investigating the Uniqueness of Al-Shabaab’s Assassinations via Suicide Bombing.” Journal of Middle East and Africa. With Ellen Chapin and Stephanie Lizzo. PDF
- (2021).“The ‘Boko Haram Disaggregation Problem’ and Comparative Profiles of Factional Violence: Challenges, Impacts, and Solutions in the Study of Africa’s Deadliest Terror Group(s).” Terrorism and Political Violence. With Stephanie Lizzo. PDF
- (2018). “Suicide Squads: The Logic of Linked Suicide Bombings.” Security Studies. 28 (1): 25-57. With Ellen Chapin and Hilary Matfess. PDF
- (2018). “The Uniqueness of Uranium: The Challenges of Statecraft in Niger.” The Journal of Extractive Industries and Society. 5 (3): 294-301. With Peter Volberding. LINK
- (2018). “Dynamique et diversité des armées africaines: État des connaissances” [“Dynamics and Diversity of African Armies: The State of Knowledge”]. Afrique Contemporaine. 260: 27-44. With Kai Thaler. LINK
- (2016). “Nigerian Foreign Policy and Illusory Hegemony in Foreign and Security Policy Making: Pax-Nigeriana and The Case of Boko Haram.” Foreign Policy Analysis. 12 (3). PDF
- (2015) “Complements or Competitors?: The African Standby Force, the African Capacity for Immediate Response to Crises, and the Future of Rapid Reaction Forces in Africa.” African Security. 8 (1): 56 – 73. PDF
- (2013) “Eritrea’s Military Unprofessionalism and U.S. Security Assistance in the Horn of Africa.” Small Wars and Insurgencies. 24 (2): 696 – 711. PDF
- (2012) “Human Security and the Double Jump: A Critical Analysis of Electronic Waste in Ghana,” Journal of Human Security. 8 (1): 4 – 23. PDF
- (2011) “Cybercrime in Ghana: A View from Below,” International Journal of Cyber Criminology. 5 (2): 736 – 749. PDF
- (2011) “Narco-TrAfrica: Why West Africa is the World’s Newest Alleyway for Illicit Substances and Why the Global Community Should Care,” Harvard Africa Policy Journal. 6: 15 – 28. PDF
- POLICY JOURNAL CONTRIBUTIONS
- (2021). “Twenty Years after 9/11: The Threat in Africa—the New Epicenter of Global Jihadi Terror.” CTC Sentinel. 14 (6). With Tricia Bacon. PDF
- (2021). “A View from the CT Foxhole: Idriss Lallali, Director of African Center for the Study and Research on Terrorism.” CTC Sentinel. 14 (2).
- (2020). “Outlasting the Caliphate: The Evolution of the Islamic State Threat in Africa.” CTC Sentinel. 13 (7) : 18-33. With Ryan O’Farrell, Heni Nsaibia, and Ryan Cummings. PDF
- (2020). “A View from the CT Foxhole: Donald Yamamoto, United States Ambassador to Somalia.” CTC Sentinel. 13 (4). LINK
- (2020). “A View from the CT Foxhole: Brigadier General Dagvin R.M. Anderson, Commander, U.S. Special Operations Command Africa.” 13 (2). LINK
- (2018). “The Islamic State in Africa: Estimating Fighter Numbers Across the Continent.” CTC Sentinel. 11 (7): 21-28. With Charlotte Hulme. LINK
- (2017). “A Legitimate Challenger? Assessing the Rivalry Between al-Shabaab and the Islamic State in Somalia.” CTC Sentinel. 10 (10): 27-32. With Caleb Weiss. LINK
- (2017). “Sub-Saharan Africa’s Three “New” Islamic State Affiliates” CTC Sentinel. 10 (1): 28-32. LINK
- WORKING PAPERS
- (2017) “China and Uranium: Comparative Possibilities for Agency in Statecraft in Niger and Namibia.” Johns Hopkins’ China-Africa Research Initiative. 11. PDF
- BOOK CHAPTERS
- (2018). “Sub-Saharan Africa” in American National Security, Michael J. Meese, Suzanne C. Nielsen, and Rachel M. Sondheimer, (eds.). Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press. 520-544.
- (2018). “African Foreign Policies and International Organizations: The View from the 21st Century,” in African Foreign Policies in International Institutions, Jason Warner and Tim Shaw, (eds.) New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan. 1-15.
- (2018). “Beyond the Collective: Comparative Strategic Utility of the African Union and the RECs in Pursuing Individual National Security Foreign Policy Goals ” in African Foreign Policies in International Institutions, Jason Warner and Tim Shaw, (eds.) New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan. 63-77.
- (2017) “The African Union and Article 4(h): Understanding Changing Norms of Sovereignty and Intervention in Africa Through an Integrated Levels-of Analysis Approach,” in Democracy, Constitutionalism, and Development, Eunice Sahle (ed.). New York, NY: Palgrave. 167-203. PDF
- (2013) “Iran-Africa Relations: The Troubled Bridge of Third World Speech,” in The Handbook of Africa’s International Relations, Tim Murithi (ed.). Oxford, UK: Routledge Press. 397 – 407. With Carol Gallo. PDF
- REPORTS
- (2020). “Desert Drift, Declining Deadliness: Understanding the Evolution of the Suicide Bombers of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb.” West Point, NY: Combating Terrorism Center. With Ellen Chapin and Caleb Weiss. PDF
- (2018). “Targeted Terror: The Suicide Bombers of al-Shabaab.” West Point, NY: Combating Terrorism Center. With Ellen Chapin. PDF
- (2017). “Exploding Stereotypes: The Unexpected Operational and Demographic Profile of Boko Haram’s Suicide Bombers.” West Point, NY: Combating Terrorism Center. With Hilary Matfess. PDF
- POPULAR WRITING
- (2021) “What’s in Name? The Disaggregation Problem that Undermines Counterterrorism Strategy,” Modern War Institute, September 2.
- (2021) “The Islamic State has ‘provinces’ in Africa. That doesn’t mean what you might think.” Washington Post (Monkey Cage). June 7.
- (2015) “After Boko Haram: How to Rebuild Nigeria,” Foreign Affairs: April 1. With Michael Baca.
- (2015) “What to Expect from the African Union Summit,” Council on Foreign Relations: 28 January.
- (2014) “After Kidnappings, Nigeria Must Step Up,” The Boston Globe: May 15. With Jacob Zenn.
- (2014) “Africa’s Tremendous Progress Amid War and Famine,” Interpress Service: January 28. With Jacey Fortin.
- (2013). “The US ignores Africa at its own peril,” The Boston Globe (Reprinted in the International Herald Tribune): June 25.
- (2013). “Why the U.S. Military Should Care About African Opposition Parties,” Council on Foreign Relations: March 27. With Catherine Kelly.
- (2013) “Why 2012 was a watershed year for African women,” UN Dispatch: January 23. With Carol Jean Gallo.
- (2013) “Who are Seleka?” CNN’s Global Public Square: January 17.
- (2012) “Turkey’s Love Affair with Somalia,” Council on Foreign Relations: November 7. With Karen Kaya.
- (2012) “What Would Romney Win Mean for Africa?” CNN’s Global Public Square: November 2.
- (2012) “Who is Ansar Dine?” CNN’s Global Public Square: August 14. With Michael Lambert.
- (2012) “Four Ways Social Media Could Change African Conflict,” CNN’s Global Public Square: July 16. With Gabrielle Ramaiah.(2012)
- “Waiting to Be Somebody in Somaliland,” Yale Journal of International Affairs, 7(1): 115 – 116.
- (2012) “How Africa Plays Into Iran’s Nuclear Ambitions,” CNN’s Global Public Square: January 17.
- (2011) “Iran’s Troubled Foray into Africa,” CNN’s Global Public Square: October 12.
- (2011) “Neo-Imperialism and the Anti-Security Blanket: Adding Nuance to the Debate on AFRICOM,” Yale Journal of International Affairs. 6 (1): 105 – 107.