Aisha Ahmad

Associate Professor of Political Science

Aisha Ahmad is an Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Toronto, a Senior Fellow at Massey College, and a Member of the Royal Society of Canada’s College of New Scholars, Artists, and Scientists. She is the author of the multiple award-winning book Jihad & Co.: Black Markets and Islamist Power (2017), and her edited volume Securing Canada’s Future: Vital Insights from Women Experts (2024). Her article, “The Security Bazaar,” published in the flagship journal International Security, won the 2017 Best Security Article Award from the International Studies Association (ISA). Her article “The Long Jihad” was awarded Best Article in the Journal of Global Security Studies for 2021. She is the winner of the 2024 ISA’s ISSS Emerging Scholar Award, which recognizes scholars who have made (through their body of publications) the most significant contribution to the field of security studies. She was also the 2018 winner of the Northrop Frye Award of Excellence for outstanding contributions to co-curricular learning and pedagogical innovation, and the 2018 recipient of the University of Toronto, Scarborough Campus (UTSC) Assistant Professor Award. Dr. Ahmad is currently leading a major interdisciplinary research project on community-led famine mitigation strategies in war-torn Somalia.