Cheryl Benard (born 1953) is an American-Austrian writer and novelist as well as political and social scientist.
Benard is a novelist and a widely published author on topics including popular sociology, refugees, women in nation-building, youth radicalisation in the European Diaspora, and humanitarian aid.
[1] Benard's most recent book, Eurojihad – Patterns of Islamist Radicalization and Terrorism in Europe, with Angel Rabasa, was published by Cambridge University Press in November 2014.
[2] This happened as part of an investigation into allegations of money laundering by Benard's husband, former U.S. official Zalmay Khalizad.
Benard and Khalilzad were subsequently cleared by the Austrian court system and US authorities and the freezing of her accounts was found to have been illegal.