Sara Harmouch

Sara Harmouch is the founder and CEO of H9 Defense and a doctoral candidate at American University’s School of Public Affairs. Growing up in Lebanon, she witnessed firsthand the impact of extremism. These personal experiences have given her deep insights into how militant groups think, act, and operate, insights that now guide her work at H9 Defense and her doctoral research on militant groups' resolve and its impact on their decisions to conduct domestic or international attacks. Harmouch has also conducted extensive fieldwork across the Middle East and North Africa region. She consults for the U.S. government and the private sector and has recently briefed NATO on religious militant groups. Her research focuses on asymmetric warfare, militant groups, political violence, and threats to democracies. Her work has been featured in War on The Rocks, The Long War Journal, Lawfare, Voice of America, Orion Policy Institute, Irregular Warfare Initiative, Globe Post, and American Intelligence Journal, among others. Follow her on Twitter: @sara_harmouch