Zaynab El Bernoussi

Associate Professor of Political Science

Zaynab El Bernoussi is a distinguished scholar specializing in dignity politics, international relations, and the international political economy. She holds a Master in Finance (MiF) from Instituto de Empresa, a Master of Public Administration (MPA) from Columbia University, and a Ph.D. in Political and Social Sciences from the Catholic University of Louvain.

Before assuming her current role as Associate Professor of Political Science at The Africa Institute, she held various academic positions. Notably, she served as a Visiting Assistant Professor of Social Research and Public Policy at New York University Abu Dhabi (NYUAD). El Bernoussi also held roles as an Assistant Professor and Program Director at Al Akhawayn University and Sciences Po Rabat. In addition, she conducted research as a visiting scholar at esteemed institutions like Smith College and Harvard University.

El Bernoussi is an active contributor to academia and international relations. She currently serves as the Vice-Chair of the Global South Caucus of International Studies at the International Studies Association (ISA) and is a founding member of the Security in Context network. She is also affiliated with the Rabat Social Studies Institute (RSSI). Her contributions have been recognized through prestigious grants, including Fulbright awards in 2009-2011 and 2017, as well as Carnegie awards in 2014 and 2022. In 2015, El Bernoussi received the Arab Prize from the Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies (ACRPS) for her article titled "Postcolonial Politics of Dignity: From the 1956 Suez Canal Nationalization to the 2011 Revolution in Egypt." She also holds editorial board positions in African Security and PS: Political Science & Politics journals. Her book, Dignity in the Egyptian Revolution, was published by Cambridge University Press in 2021.

El Bernoussi's international experiences have taken her to various countries, including Morocco, the US, Spain, Italy, and China, enriching her insights in the field.

Research

Zaynab El Bernoussi’s research concentrates on the politicization of dignity demands within the political evolution of the global South, with a specific focus on North Africa and the Middle East.

Publications

• Ibrahim, H., Liu, F., Asim, R. et al. “Perception, performance, and detectability of conversational artificial intelligence across 32 university courses”. Scientific Reports 13, 12187 (2023).
• "DNA Testing and Paternity Lawsuits in Morocco: The Tangier’s Court Case." Yearbook of Islamic and Middle Eastern Law Online 21, no. 1 (2022): 28-35.
• “Developing the Halal Market: China’s Opportunity to Strengthen MENA and Uighur/Hui issues,” in Rethinking Halal: Genealogy, Current Trends, and New Interpretation, Ayang Utriza Yakin and Louis-Léon Christians eds. pp. 108-127. Brill, 2021.
• Dignity in the Egyptian revolution: Protest and demand during the Arab uprisings. Cambridge University Press, 2021.
• Pilotti, Maura, Khadija El Alaoui, Yalda Razmahang, Zaynab El Bernoussi, and Saya Abdulrahman. "Do Cognitive Dispositions and Gender Matter in Applications of Culturally Relevant Pedagogy? A Pilot Study at an Iraqi University." IAFOR Journal of Education 9, no. 5 (2021): 29-48.
• El Bernoussi, Zaynab, and Baudouin Dupret. "Birth Control." Oxford Islamic Studies Online (2018).
• El Bernoussi, Zaynab, and Baudouin Dupret. "Bioethics in Egypt." Oxford Islamic Studies Online (2017).
• "The postcolonial politics of dignity: From the 1956 Suez nationalization to the 2011 Revolution in Egypt." International Sociology 30, no. 4 (2015): 367-382.