Tatiana Smirnova is a researcher at Centre FrancoPaix at UQAM in Montréal. Her work focuses on socio-political instability, conflict dynamics, climate change and international interventions in the Sahel. Between 2016 and 2019, Dr Smirnova also worked as an international consultant (with Danish Refugee Council, Search for Common Ground, Transparency International, Promediation), realizing different assignments on the field in conflict-affected areas. She authored and contributed to multiple media pieces and publications, including the OECD report “The Geography of Conflict in North and West Africa” and a forthcoming publication by the World Bank.