Assala Khettache

Assala Khettache is a PhD candidate in International Politics at Aberystwyth University, specializing in non-state violence, cross-border security dynamics, and Russian private military companies in Africa. Her doctoral research examines the weaponization of collective moral injuries by Russian PMCs in African local settings, based on fieldwork in Algeria and Nigeria. As a Consultant for the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), she has conducted field research and co-authored publications on Wagner Group and Russia's presence in Africa and the Middle East. Her work has been published in Routledge volumes and RUSI commentary, with media coverage in The Times and Africa Defence Forum. She previously served as Executive Manager for an international research programme on the Libyan crisis and as Assistant Editor-in-Chief at Insight Turkey journal. Fluent in Arabic, Amazigh, French, English, and Turkish, she brings multilingual expertise to security research.