Salah Ben Hammou, Ph.D., is a postdoctoral associate at the Edward P. Djerejian Center for the Middle East at Rice University’s Baker Institute of Public Policy. His research focuses on the politics of military coups, authoritarian regimes, and democratization with a regional focus on the Middle East and Africa.

Prior to joining the Baker Institute, Ben Hammou served as a 2023–24 USIP—Minerva Peace Scholar at the United States Institute of Peace and a Diversity Fellow at the American Political Science Association. His research has appeared in peer-reviewed journals, such as Armed Forces & Society, Africa Spectrum, International Studies Review, and Journal of Global Security Studies. His public-facing work has appeared in a variety of popular outlets, such as Foreign Policy, The Washington Post, The Conversation, Just Security, Modern War Institute, Political Violence at a Glance, The Loop, and The Cairo Review of Global Affairs.

Ben Hammou received his Ph.D. in security studies at the University of Central Florida in 2024, where he taught courses and offered guest lectures on research methodology, authoritarian politics, and military coups. From 2022 through 2024, Ben Hammou served as co-chair of the Status Committee on Graduate Students for the American Political Science Association.