Joana de Deus Pereira
Dr. Joana de Deus Pereira is Senior Research Fellow at RUSI Europe specialising in Counter-Terrorism and P/CVE. She has particular expertise in the realms of geopolitical and country-risk analysis in sub-Saharan Africa.
She was involved in research and project management for a large number of EU-funded projects; in addition, Joana has also been engaged as an EU project evaluator for over three years and has deep experience in risk and security analysis with a focus on CT and P/CVE issues. Since October 2019, Joana is a certified lecturer and instructor at NATO Centre of Excellence Defence Against Terrorism (COE-DAT), where she teaches Border Security, Border Technology and Human Trafficking. Joana is also a Senior Research Fellow at the International Centre for Policing and Security- USW, where she co-manages the activities of the first Jean Monnet Network on EU Counter-Terrorism. She is also the lead lecturer for Risk Management and Analysis, and International Security of Drugs, Human Trafficking and Organised Crime modules. Joana holds a PhD from War Studies - King's College London focusing on the privatisation of security in the oil sector in Angola and Nigeria, and a post-doctorate in Migration Management and Border Security, a research project she managed under the H2020 Marie Skłodowska-Curie fellowship focusing on the role of private security providers in the management of the “so called” migration crisis and its impact for the European Agenda for Migration. She is a project Evaluator for the National Agency of Innovation (ANI - Portugal) and she began her career at the Ministry of Justice in Portugal as International Relations officer within the Extrajudicial Administration Directorate. Joana recently joined PSIA - Sciences Po, in Paris, as Adjunct Professor where she lectures "Border Security and Border Management". For media inquiries, please contact our Communications Officer, Balázs Gyimesi, at balazs.gyimesi@rusi.org
Media inquiries
For media inquiries, please contact RUSI Europe’s Communications Officer, Balázs Gyimesi, at balazs.gyimesi@rusi.org.
External publications and podcasts
BBC The World Tonight
“Russia’s interest in Sudan is to have a stable situation as quickly as possible, because the current conflict disrupts the gold mining and other important sources of financing for Russia,” Joana de Deus Pereira Ph.D, RUSI Europe Senior Research Fellow told BBC’s “The World Tonight”. These sources of financing are funding Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine. “We also shouldn’t forget that Russia is a major supplier of arms to Africa, including to Sudan,” Joana added. Interview aired on 18 April 2023.
BBC Newsnight
“Wagner has been in Sudan since 2017, brought to the country by Omar al-Bashir, with the clear objective of buidling a military base in Port Sudan at the Red Sea and at the same time operating in exchange for mining concessions in the gold mine areas,” Joana de Deus Pereira Ph.D told BBC Newsnight. Supposedly, these efforts were ‘paying’ for Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, Joana added. Interview aired on 17 April 2023.
Foreign Policy
Russia’s disintegration is “highly improbable,” Dr Joana de Deus Pereira, RUSI Europe Senior Research Fellow told Foreign Policy’s Anchal Vohra. Even such insinuations in the West will increase “Putin’s appeal,” Joana added, giving some perspective on how nationalist Russians might see them. Article published on 17 April 2023.
Foreign Policy
Prigozhin is not only “doing the dirty work on the battlefield,” but also presenting himself as a national face during the war, RUSI Europe’s Dr Joana de Deus Pereira told Foreign Policy’s Anchal Vohra. “This is a political stunt that I don’t think the Kremlin had thought about. He wants to increase his political influence and enter the Kremlin. The elite will never accept that,” Joana said. Article published on 1 March 2023.
BBC4 – The Briefing Room
“Prigozhin used to be a tool for the Kremlin, but he has now become visible. And visibility in the eyes of the Kremlin isn’t a positive thing, especially when they aren’t in control of it”, Joana de Deus Pereira Ph.D, RUSI Europe Senior Research Fellow told BBC Radio 4’s David Aaronovitch on The Briefing Room. Interview aired on 23 February 2023.
Foreign Policy
How has the relationship between the Kremlin and the Wagner Group changed since the launch of the Russian aggression against Ukraine? How is Yevgeny Prigozhin building his political character? How is Vladimir Putin reacting to Prigozhin’s communications? “Now, Prigozhin has become much more dangerous in terms of the political persona he wants to be,” Joana de Deus Pereira Ph.D, RUSI Europe Senior Research Fellow told Newsweek’s Isabel van Brugen. Article published on 6 February 2023.
BBC Newsnight
What is the Wagner Group, and what are its goals and methods? Listen to RUSI Europe Senior Research Fellow Joana de Deus Pereira’s answers to these questions on the BBC Newsnight show of 11 January 2023.
Europe Calling Podcast
Episode 5: Security and Schengen’s open borders: a picture of increasing threat with matching drive for reform
The fifth episode the European Commission’s podcast Europe Calling series tackles these and wider security issues with Vice-President Margaritis Schinas, responsible for Promoting the European Way of Life with an interview by leading security expert Joana de Deus Pereira.
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