Camillo Casola is a policy analyst and cooperation officer at the European Commission (DG International Partnerships), and an associate research fellow with ISPI Africa programme. His research interests are mainly focused on West Africa and the Sahel. He earned a PhD in International Studies (African history and institutions) at the University of Naples “L’Orientale”, Italy, with a dissertation on the Malian crisis and the agency of international and local actors. He was a visiting PhD at the Centre Émile Durkheim (CED), Bordeaux. He is currently working on strategic partnerships between the EU, Africa and the OACPS (Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States) at DG INTPA.