Baba Adou

Welcome! I am a Ph.D. candidate in Political Science at the University of Florida, specializing in Comparative Politics and International Relations, with a regional focus on the African Sahel and North Africa. My research examines how security crises involving religiously framed insurgencies push Muslim-majority states to intervene more deeply in religious life and how those interventions, in turn, reshape the public religious sphere and broader state–society relations.

My dissertation offers a comparative historical analysis of Mali and Mauritania, examining how insurgencies have transformed state–religion relations and generated new forms of engagement between governments and religious actors. More broadly, my research interests include Islam and politics, jihadist movements, identity politics, civil–military relations, and post-coup transitions.

Since 2021, I have served as a Graduate Research Associate with the University of Florida’s Sahel Research Group. In this role, I contribute to interdisciplinary research on politics, conflict, and governance across the Francophone Sahel, produce analytical briefs and newsletters, and help organize seminars, workshops, and policy-oriented events.

I have also worked as a Graduate Research Assistant with the University of Florida’s Center for Global Islamic Studies and as a Survey Data Analyst with Afrobarometer, producing policy-relevant research on African public opinion. My work has appeared in POMEPS Studies, Souffles Monde, the Africa Yearbook, and other academic and policy outlets. I have also contributed country analysis and expert assessments to V-Dem, Freedom House, and the Bertelsmann Transformation Index.

Before beginning my doctoral studies, I taught for more than six years at the university level in Mauritania, including at the Higher Institute of English and the University of Nouakchott. At the Higher Institute of English, I taught and mentored undergraduate students and working professionals and contributed to curriculum development. I hold an M.A. in Global and International Studies from the University of Kansas, where I studied as a Fulbright Scholar, and a B.A. in English Literature from the University of Nouakchott.