James Barnett

Research Fellow

james_barnett

At A Glance:

James Barnett is a research fellow at Hudson Institute, where he studies conflict, terrorism, and geopolitics in Africa.

 

Biography

James Barnett is a research fellow at Hudson Institute, where he studies conflict, terrorism, and geopolitics in Africa. He has extensive fieldwork experience, including in conflict environments across Nigeria and in Somalia, South Sudan, and Ukraine.

Mr. Barnett is also a research fellow with the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) in Abuja, Nigeria, and in 2021 he was a Fulbright research fellow at the University of Lagos for nine months. Additionally, in 2023, he served as a long-term analyst on the International Republican Institute-National Democratic Institute international election observation mission to Nigeria. Prior to joining Hudson, he held research or analyst positions with the United States Institute of Peace, the Africa Center for Strategic Studies, and the American Enterprise Institute’s Critical Threats Project. He was also a 2016–17 Boren Scholar in Tanzania.

His writing has appeared in publications such as Foreign Policy, New Lines Magazine, War on the Rocks, African Arguments, and the Los Angeles Review of Books as well as research journals such as West Point’s CTC Sentinel. Along with Hudson fellows Eric Brown, Hillel Fradkin, and Husain Haqqani, he is an editor of Hudson Institute’s journal Current Trends in Islamist Ideology. He has also been interviewed by Agence France-Presse, Al Jazeera, Asharq, BBC News, Le Monde, Premium Times, and Voice of America, and he has testified before the US Commission on International Religious Freedom.

Mr. Barnett holds a BA with highest honors in history and Plan II from the University of Texas at Austin and an MA with distinction in war studies from King’s College London. He speaks Swahili, Arabic, and Spanish.

Events
20
April 2023
Past Event
Evacuating Americans Trapped in Sudan
Featured Speakers:
James Barnett
Robert Greenway
Joshua Meservey
Sudanese army soldiers, loyal to army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, in the Red Sea city of Port Sudan on April 16, 2023. (AFP via Getty Images)
20
April 2023
Past Event
Evacuating Americans Trapped in Sudan

Hudson Fellows James Barnett, Robert Greenway, and Joshua Meservey discuss the urgent need for a US-led effort to evacuate Americans and outline the principles and hazards that evacuation planners should keep in mind.

Sudanese army soldiers, loyal to army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, in the Red Sea city of Port Sudan on April 16, 2023. (AFP via Getty Images)
Featured Speakers:
James Barnett
Robert Greenway
Joshua Meservey
20
December 2022
Past Event
Understanding Nigeria’s Pivotal 2023 Election
Featured Speakers:
Prof. Jibrin Ibrahim
Dr. Michael Nwankpa
Murtala Abdullahi
Moderator:
James Barnett
Understanding Nigeria’s Pivotal 2023 Election
20
December 2022
Past Event
Understanding Nigeria’s Pivotal 2023 Election

Please join Hudson Institute for a discussion with three of Nigeria’s leading researchers to understand what is at stake in the 2023 election and what implications this election will have for West Africa.

Understanding Nigeria’s Pivotal 2023 Election
Featured Speakers:
Prof. Jibrin Ibrahim
Dr. Michael Nwankpa
Murtala Abdullahi
Moderator:
James Barnett
11
April 2022
Past Event
Virtual Event | Reporting from the Frontline of the War in Ukraine
Featured Speakers:
James Barnett
Kenneth R. Weinstein
The administrative headquarters of Mykolaiv oblast destroyed from Russian missiles in Ukraine. (James Barnett)
11
April 2022
Past Event
Virtual Event | Reporting from the Frontline of the War in Ukraine

This event will premiere on this page at 12:00 p.m. EDT, Monday, April 11. Register for the event here.

The administrative headquarters of Mykolaiv oblast destroyed from Russian missiles in Ukraine. (James Barnett)
Featured Speakers:
James Barnett
Kenneth R. Weinstein
27
January 2021
Past Event
Virtual Event | The Future of U.S.-Nigeria Relations: A Conversation with Ambassador John Campbell
Featured Speakers:
Ambassador John Campbell
James Barnett
27
January 2021
Past Event
Virtual Event | The Future of U.S.-Nigeria Relations: A Conversation with Ambassador John Campbell

Nigeria, the “Giant of Africa,” is predicted to have the third-largest population in the world by the end of the century.

Featured Speakers:
Ambassador John Campbell
James Barnett
Leadership from Camp Lemonnier and Combined Task Force-Horn of Africa attend a graduation ceremony and skills demonstration for the Somalian Police Force at the Djibouti Police Academy on April 9, 2019. (Joe Rullo via DVIDS)
Caption
Leadership from Camp Lemonnier and Combined Task Force-Horn of Africa attend a graduation ceremony and skills demonstration for the Somalian Police Force at the Djibouti Police Academy on April 9, 2019. (Joe Rullo via DVIDS)
james_barnett
james_barnett
Research Fellow
Pro-Iranian Hezbollah militants march with Lebanese, Palestinian, and Hezbollah flags during a mass rally to mark al-Quds Day (Jerusalem Day). (Marwan Naamani/picture alliance via Getty Images)
Caption
Pro-Iranian Hezbollah militants march with Lebanese, Palestinian, and Hezbollah flags during a mass rally to mark al-Quds Day (Jerusalem Day). (Marwan Naamani/picture alliance via Getty Images)
Pro-Iranian Hezbollah militants march with Lebanese, Palestinian, and Hezbollah flags during a mass rally to mark al-Quds Day (Jerusalem Day). (Marwan Naamani/picture alliance via Getty Images)
Caption
Pro-Iranian Hezbollah militants march with Lebanese, Palestinian, and Hezbollah flags during a mass rally to mark al-Quds Day (Jerusalem Day). (Marwan Naamani/picture alliance via Getty Images)
Senior Analyst, Bridgeway Foundation
Commentary
Long Read
Counter terrorism and hostage rescue scenarios are performed during the Xaritoo 2023 military exercise organized by Senegal and France in Dakar, Senegal, on November 16, 2023. (Cem Ozdel/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Caption
Supporters of Niger's National Council of Safeguard of the Homeland wave the Niger national flag and flag bearing the logo of private military Company Wagner as they gather to protest ouside the Niger and French airbase to demand the departure of the French army from Niger in Niamey on September 16, 2023. (AFP via Getty Images)
james_barnett
james_barnett
Research Fellow
Commentary
8 Min Read