Prof. Stig Jarle Hansen holds a Doctor of Philosophy in International Politics from the University of Wales (United Kingdom). He is a Professor, and Head of International Relations program at the Norwegian University of Life Science. He has worked as a Risk Analyst, Lecturer and Researcher, as well as as a court-appointed expert in several international security-themed cases. His areas of research include organized crime; religion and politics (including religious terror) and political theory, with a special interest in the British idealist and Islamic political thought processes.

Geographically, his main focus is in the wider Red Sea region, Yemen, Somalia, Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Kenya. Between 2005 and 2014, he conducted annual field research in Mogadishu as well as in the Middle East. His latest book, ‘Al-Shabaab in Somalia’ was critically acclaimed by Foreign Policy and The Economist, amongst others. Prof. Stig is a world expert on Islamism in the Horn of Africa and the Shabaab Group, and has commented for CNN, BBC, Al Jazeera, Reuters, CCTV 4 and many other international media outlets.