Jan Záhorík is an Associate Professor at the Department of Middle Eastern Studies, University of West Bohemia, and received his PhD (African studies) at Charles University, Prague. His main interests are the modern and contemporary history of Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa, nationalism, conflict, migration-security-development nexus, Czechoslovak-African relations during the Cold War, etc. He has lectured at around 20 universities in Africa, the USA, and the EU. Recently, he collaborated as a co-editor and author on Routledge Handbook of the Horn of Africa (Routledge, 2022). In January 2023, he received an Award for Internationalization in Research from the rector of the University of West Bohemia. He has developed productive links with universities in Ethiopia, Kenya, Sudan, Nigeria, Senegal, etc. Aleksi Ylönen is a researcher and a professor specializing in Politics and International Relations in the greater Horn of Africa. Over the past two decades, he has conducted wide-ranging research in the Horn and taught peace, conflict, security, and strategic studies and international politics courses extensively both in Africa and Europe.

Dr. Ylönen collaborates with individual researchers and various higher education and research institutions in Africa, Europe, and the Middle East. He is a member of a number of expert networks and professional organizations. He has authored and edited several books and altogether over 50 peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters, and his work has also been published in various other scholarly and non-academic outlets. Dr. Ylönen engages in frequent expert commentary for research institutions and conventional and online media.