Haifa Ahmed AlMaashi is director of geostrategic studies at the Dubai Public Policy Research Centre. Her main areas of interest are: the Yemeni crisis and its repercussions for the region; political Islam; terrorism; East Africa; and the Arab political economy. She was previously assistant professor at the University of Aden, and has lectured on various subjects, including politics and journalism. AlMaashi has a PhD from the University of Cairo, an MA the University of Colorado, Boulder, and a BA from the University of Kuwait.