Mohammad-Mahmoud Ould Mohamedou

Mohammad-Mahmoud Ould Mohamedou is deputy director and academic dean of the Geneva Centre for Security Policy and adjunct professor at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva. He is the author of Understanding AlQaeda (Pluto Press, 2011).

Misunderstanding IS, again

Replaying the theocratic analyses of al-Qaeda with IS is amnesic and short-sighted and misses the novelty of the group.

By Mohammad-Mahmoud Ould Mohamedou

/ 5 Apr 2015

State-building vs intervention, or how not to help

Together, distorted understanding and flawed policy have compounded the problems of weak states in the global south. A different approach to state-building is needed, says Mohammad-Mahmoud Ould Mohamedou

By Mohammad-Mahmoud Ould Mohamedou

/ 2 Jul 2013

AQIM: Maghreb to Mali, and back

The crisis in Mali highlights the distinctive character and trajectory of Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb. A group forged in reactivity and ambiguity, marked by fluid leadership and unarticulated doctrine, finds itself at a crossroads, says Mohammad-Mahmoud Ould Mohamedou.

By Mohammad-Mahmoud Ould Mohamedou

/ 19 Apr 2013

Towards the real al-Qaida

As the sixth anniversary of the 11 September 2001 attacks on the United States has approached, talk of a reconstituted, strengthened, and resurrected al-Qaida have proliferated among officialdom, security experts,

By Mohammad-Mahmoud Ould Mohamedou

/ 10 Sep 2007

The dividends of asymmetry: al-Qaida's evolving strategy

2006 may come to pass as the first full year since the 11 September 2001 attacks on New York and Washington not to witness a large-scale operation by al-Qaida. The

By Mohammad-Mahmoud Ould Mohamedou

/ 18 Dec 2006