Hassan Ould Moctar is a Lecturer in the Department of Anthropology at SOAS, University of London. Focusing on West Africa and the Sahara, his research bridges the fields of anthropology and development studies through the study of migration and borders. In particular, he is interested in how the contemporary illegalisation of migration interacts with the racial and territorial legacies of colonialism, uneven development processes, and conflict and displacement dynamics. He holds a PhD in Development Studies which he obtained from SOAS and has held teaching and research positions in SOAS and the LSE.