Niagalé Bagayoko has a doctorate in political science and is a graduate of the Institut d'Études Politiques (IEP) in Paris. Her thesis was awarded first prize by the Institut des Hautes Etudes de la Défense Nationale (IHEDN). A specialist in security system reform (SSR) in French-speaking Africa, international security policies in sub-Saharan Africa and African conflict management mechanisms, she has directed the peacekeeping and peacebuilding programme of the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie, having previously worked as a researcher at the Institute of Development Studies (IDS) at the University of Sussex (UK) and at the Institut de recherche pour le développement (IRD, France), as well as teaching international relations at the IEP in Paris. She is currently President of the African Security Sector Network (ASSN). She is a frequent contributor to a wide range of international media, including television (France 24, TV5 Monde, Deutsch Welle, VOA, Africanews, ....), radio (France Culture, RFI, BBC ....) and the written press (Le Monde, Le Point, The Africa Report, etc.).