Career

Alain Antil is a researcher at Ifri and has been Director of the Sub-Saharan Africa Centre since December 2007. Alain Antil obtained his PhD in political geography from the University of Rouen. He has been an associate researcher at the Laboratory for the Study of Development in Arid Regions, a researcher at IRIS and a contributor to the International Crisis Group.

His research initially focused on the importation of the state in Africa and exogenous political modes. In particular, he worked on the imposition of borders and national territories, and later on elections. His work mainly concerned Mauritania and the Sahelian regions. In recent years, he has also worked on Morocco's African policy, security issues in the Sahel, trafficking in West Africa and the Sahel, and the G5 Sahel. In 2012, he co-edited a book published by CNRS Editions on relations between the Maghreb and sub-Saharan Africa.

He has written over a hundred articles and conducted or participated in studies for several organisations, including the International Crisis Group, the French Ministry of Defence, the OECD, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the World Bank.

Areas of expertise

Mauritania, the Sahel, security/trafficking, political and social issues.