Bassant Hassib

Dr. Bassant Hassib is a Non-Resident Scholar with the Strategic Technologies and Cybersecurity Program at the Middle East Institute. She is also an Assistant Professor of Political Science in the University of London Programmes (LSE) at the European Universities in Egypt (EUE), a Visiting Fellow at the University of South Wales, and a member of the Global Partnership for Responsible Cyber Behavior at RUSI. Dr. Hassib was previously an Assistant Professor of Political Science at the British University in Egypt, a consultant with the International Security Program at Chatham House as part of the Gender and Cybersecurity project, and a Fellow at the Leicester Institute for Advanced Studies (LIAS) at the University of Leicester. She was also a consultant with the Atlantic Council.

Dr. Hassib is a frequent speaker at international conferences including the Global Cybersecurity Forum, Raisina Dialogue, and Abu Dhabi Strategic Debate. She has authored numerous publications in peer-reviewed academic and policy journals including Middle East Policy and the Journal of Cybersecurity, and book chapters with international publishers including Routledge and Springer.

Areas of Expertise
Her various research areas of interest and expertise include cybersecurity politics and governance in the Middle East, gendered cybersecurity threats, digital authoritarianism, (counter)surveillance and digital activism, the geopolitics of cybersecurity, internet infrastructure and the digital economy, ethics and regulation of AI, military AI and cyber capabilities, and the securitization of cryptocurrencies in MENA.
 
Education
She holds a Ph.D. in Euro-Mediterranean Studies, from the Faculty of Economics and Political Science at Cairo University. Her thesis analyzed the role of the European Union in promoting democracy and human rights in Egypt, with an in-depth assessment of the Civil Society Facility instrument post-2011.
 
Languages
Arabic and English

Recent External Publications

• Sting Operations, Cyber (S)extortion and Revenge Pornography: Technology-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence in MENA. Wilson Center, August 12, 2024. https://www.wilsoncenter.org/blog-post/sting-operations-cyber-sextortion-and-revenge-pornography-technology-facilitated-gender
   

• Gendered hate speech, data breach and state overreach: Identifying the connections between gendered cyber harms to shape better policy responses (with James Shires and Amrit Swali). Chatham House, May 24, 2024. https://www.chathamhouse.org/2024/05/gendered-hate-speech-data-breach-and-state-overreach
   

• Co-opting cybersecurity in Egypt (with James Shires). Atlantic Council, May 11, 2021. https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/menasource/co-opting-cybersecurity-in-egypt/
   

• Cybersecurity in the GCC: From Economic Development to Geopolitical Controversy (with James Shires). Middle East Policy 22(1): 90-103, 2022. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/mepo.12616
   

• Manipulating uncertainty: cybersecurity politics in Egypt. (with James Shires). Journal of Cybersecurity 7(1): 1-16, 2021. https://academic.oup.com/cybersecurity/article/7/1/tyaa026/6137887
   

• The Challenges and Implications of Military Cyber and AI Capabilities in the Middle East: The Geopolitical, Ethical and Technological Dimensions (with Fatimah Ayad). In M. Eslami and A. Viera (eds.). The Handbook of Arms Race in the Middle East: Implications for Regional and International Security. Springer, 2023. https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-031-32432-1_4
   

• Challenges to a transformative education: ‘EUrientalism’ at Egyptian universities (with Jan C. Völkel). In M. Pace & J. C. Völkel (eds.) Knowledge production in higher education: Between Europe and the Middle East. Manchester University Press, 2023. https://www.manchesterhive.com/display/9781526160584/9781526160584.00016.xml
   

• Egypt’s Fight against Terrorist Funding (with Fatimah Ayad). In S. N. Romaniuk, C. Kaunert & A. B. Fabe (eds.) Countering Terrorist and Criminal Financing: Theory and Practice. Taylor & Francis, 2023. https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781003092216-42/egypt-fight-terrorist-funding-bassant-hassib-fatimah-ayad
   

• Shrinking Civic Space: Egypt’s Counter-Terrorism Policy Post 9/11 and Beyond. In S. N. Romaniuk & E. T. Njoku (eds.). Terrorism and Civil Society: Post-9/11 Progress and Challenges. Manchester University Press, 2021.     https://www.manchesterhive.com/display/9781526157935/9781526157935.00025.xml
   

• Securitizing Cyberspace in Egypt: The Dilemma of Cybersecurity and Democracy (with Nardine Alnemr). In S. N. Romaniuk & M. Manjikian (eds.). Routledge Companion to Global Cyber-Security Strategy. Routledge, 2021. https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9780429399718-50/securitizing-cyberspace-egypt-bassant-hassib-nardine-alnemr