From Rabat to Sharjah: Zaynab El Bernoussi, a Moroccan Voice at the Heart of Global South Thinking

Zaynab El Bernoussi is an Associate Professor of Political Science at The Africa Institute, Global Studies University, in the United Arab Emirates. Her career reflects a less visible, but highly strategic form of Moroccan influence abroad: research, political thought and the production of knowledge about Africa and the Global South.

Before joining Sharjah’s academic ecosystem, she taught at NYU Abu Dhabi. Her educational path is equally international, combining finance studies at Instituto de Empresa, public administration at Columbia University and doctoral research at the Catholic University of Louvain.

Her academic work examines issues including dignity politics, international relations and international political economy. Through these themes, she explores power relations between North and South and the place of Africa in a changing global order.

Recognition beyond the Arab world

In recent years, El Bernoussi has received growing international recognition.

In 2025, she received the Global South Award from the International Political Science Association. She was also highlighted among African scholars to watch in 2026 and became involved in the leadership of the International Studies Association’s Global Africa section for North Africa.

Her responsibilities in Sharjah have also expanded beyond teaching, reflecting her growing role within The Africa Institute.

A Moroccan scholar in a Gulf investing in knowledge

Her trajectory also tells a wider story about the Gulf. The United Arab Emirates is no longer focused only on attracting companies and capital. It is also investing heavily in universities, museums, research institutions and intellectual networks.

In that environment, the presence of a Moroccan scholar such as Zaynab El Bernoussi carries particular significance.

She is not simply pursuing an individual career. She is contributing to an intellectual space where Africa, the Arab world and the Global South increasingly intersect.

For Moroccans abroad, her story is a reminder that diaspora influence cannot be measured only through business, investment or remittances. It is also measured through the ideas, debates and institutions that Moroccans help shape internationally.