Rachel Joy Yeboah Boakye is a first-year PhD student in the Department of Politics at York University and a Research Assistant with the African Extractivism & the Green Transition partnership project. She holds an MA in International Affairs, with a specialization in Global Governance, Security, and Politics, from American University in Washington, D.C., and a BA in Political Science and Pre-Law from Augustana College. She previously served as a Research Analyst at the United States Institute of Peace and interned with the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of African Affairs where she focused on Critical Minerals in Central Africa. She is also a Board Member of Gal’s Guidance in Liberia, where she provides strategic oversight to advance the organization’s mission of empowering women and young girls. Her research centers on “Climate Change, Migration, and Democratic Backsliding” in the Sahel, examining how climate-induced displacement and migration contribute to democratic decline, challenging conventional perspectives, that often attribute the region’s democratic decline primarily to factors such as violent extremism, fraudulent elections, and weak regional leadership.