Olivier J. Walther is Associate Professor in Political Science at the University of Southern Denmark (SDU) and a Visiting Associate Professor in African Studies at the University of Florida. At SDU, he is affiliated with both the Center for Border Region Studies (CBRS) and the Center for War Studies (CWS). He received his PhD in geography from the University of Lausanne. His research and teaching has focused on cross-border trade, cross-border cooperation and terrorism in West Africa. Fluent in English and French, Professor Walther spent part of his youth in West Africa and has worked in Niger, Nigeria, Mali, Ghana, Benin and Mauritania. His work combines geographic information systems, social network analysis, statistical analysis and qualitative interviews. His current research project addresses the effects of national boundaries on cross-border cooperation and policy networks in 18 West African countries. Professor Walther has received support for his work from the European Commission, the World Food Program, the OECD, the European Spatial Planning Observatory, the governments of Luxembourg and Denmark, and the Carlsberg Foundation. He has collaborated with the World Bank Trade Unit and the United Nations Counter-terrorism Executive Directorate. He has published work in journals such as Terrorism and Political Violence, the Journal of Development Studies, Oxford Development Studies, the Journal of Modern African Studies, Environment and Planning, and Entrepreneurship and Regional Development. Dr Walther is the Africa Editor of the Journal of Borderlands Studies and on the executive committee of the African Borderlands Research Network (ABORNE). He graduated with a BA in Arts from the University of Lausanne, and a MA in Development Studies from the University of Geneva.Updated CV and recent publications available at: http://florida.academia.edu/OlivierWalther