Our Team
MCCRAfrica is driven by a multidisciplinary team of researchers, practitioners, and project specialists committed to advancing impactful, evidence-based work. Bringing together expertise from across fields and regions, our team combines rigorous research with practical experience to address complex challenges in peacebuilding and beyond. We work collaboratively across institutions and contexts, drawing on diverse perspectives to shape our approach and strengthen our outcomes. From designing research to delivering impact, our team is united by a shared commitment to producing work that is not only high-quality, but also relevant, inclusive, and actionable.
Dr Kristian Skrede Gleditsch
Regius Professor of Political Science, University of Essex
Dr Kristian Skrede Gleditsch is Regius Professor of Political Science at the University of Essex and Research Associate at the Peace Research Institute Oslo. His research interest includes conflict, political violence, and mobilization. He is the author of numerous journal articles and books, including Inequality, Grievances, and Civil War (Cambridge University Press, 2013, with Lars-Erik Cederman and Halvard Buhaug).
Contact: ksg@essex.ac.uk
Dr Brian Phillips
Reader, Department of Government, University of Essex
Dr Brian Phillips researches terrorism, conflict, and crime, often from an organizational perspective.
Contact: brian.phillips@essex.ac.uk
Dr Hannah Gibson
Professor, Department of Language and Linguistics, University of Essex
Dr Hannah Gibson focuses on linguistic variation, and why and how languages change. Much of her work explores the syntax and semantics of the Bantu languages. She is also interested in language and identity, and, among other things, she is PI on the AHRC-DFG funded project ‘Microvariation and youth language practices in Africa’ (2022-24).
Contact: h.gibson@essex.ac.uk
Dr Florian G. Kern
Reader (Associate Professor), Department of Government, University of Essex.
Dr Kern concentrates on local governance in Africa, with a focus on customary and informal institutions, as well as land rights. He also works on mixed methods applications and research transparency.
Contact: fkern@essex.ac.uk
Dr Tracey Costley
Senior Lecturer, Department of Language and Linguistics, University of Essex.
In her research Dr Costley largely adopts ethnographic approaches in exploring and understanding how language policies shape and are shaped by classroom and community practices, and how individuals’ linguistic repertoires are drawn upon in teaching and learning. She works with concepts such as multilingualism, translanguaging and superdiversity in her work.
Contact: tcostley@essex.ac.uk
Dr Angiachi Demetris
Postdoctoral Researcher with MCCRAfrica, Department of Government, University of Essex
Dr Ọmọ́máyọ̀wá Àbàtì
Postdoctoral Researcher with MCCRAfrica, Department of Government, University of Essex
Dr Abati’s research interests revolve around issues of democratic governance, informality, conflict, and development in Africa. Some of his previous researches have examined issues of public engagement, digital governance and informality in Africa, but currently, as part of the MCCRA project, he is working on the relationship between multilingualism, conflict and conflict resolution in five African countries.
Contact: oa24772@essex.ac.uk
Dr Tata Emmanuel Sunjo
Lecturer, Department of Geography, University of Buea, Cameroon
Dr Hauwa Mohamed Sani
Senior Lecturer, Department of English and Literary Studies, Ahmadu Bello University, Nigeria
Dr Alain Bernard Nseka Lilolo Mata Nseka
Lecturer, Faculté de Sciences Politiques, Département des Relations, Université de Kinshasa (Chefs de travaux)
Dr Fiona Tumusiime
Lecturer & Research Coordinator, Faculty of Socio-Economic Sciences, Cavendish University Kampala, Uganda
Dr Kathryn Nwajiaku-Dahou
Director, Politics and Governance, ODI Global
Dr Nwajiaku-Dahou manages ODI’s team of political economy experts. She has been a widely acknowledged as an expert on politics, peacebuilding, business & human rights in conflict-affected settings and corporate accountability. A fluent French speaker, Kathryn has geographical expertise in West and Central Africa and over 25 years’ experience of conducting and managing research and providing policy advice at a senior level in multilateral and bilateral institutions and NGOs.
Dr Stephanie Diepeveen
Senior Lecturer, Department of Digital Humanities, King’s College London
Dr Diepeveen’s research focuses on digitalisation of citizen-state relations, and how power is exercised and contested within changing spaces. Much of her work looks within and from African contexts, including a recent study on power, generative AI and African indigenous languages. In addition, Stephanie brings experience in approaches to facilitating research impact, through work with RAND Europe, UKRI and ODI. Currently, she is also a Research Associate at ODI, and a Fellow of the Centre on Armed Groups.
Contact: stephanie.diepeveen@kcl.ac.uk
Dr Surer Mohamed
Research Fellow, Politics and Governance, ODI Global
Dr Mohamed leads research concerning conflict and fragility from a political economy lens. Surer specialises in the Horn of Africa, with experience managing and delivering international research projects in conflict-affected and contested regions and engaging national and international policymakers for policy uptake. Surer held the prestigious Harry Frank Guggenheim Research Fellowship at Pembroke College, Cambridge, where she conducted novel research into the contested politics of urban land conflict. She holds an MPhil and PhD in Politics and International Studies from the University of Cambridge (Queens’ College).
Dr Carmen Leon-Himmelstine
Research Fellow, Gender Equality & Social Inclusion, ODI Global
Dr Leon-Himmelstine has a PhD on international development and extensive research experience in East and West Africa, including in post-conflict settings. Her research focuses on the intersection of migration, health, social development, poverty and social protection with a particular interest in gender, childhood and adolescence, and indigenous peoples. She has also worked on preserving language and cultural rights through education-led efforts by indigenous communities in Mexico. Carmen’s focus is mostly implementation research with direct policy and programming relevance working with a variety of approaches while engaging closely with communities.
Asiyah Dubuisson
Senior Communications Officer, Politics and Governance, ODI Global
Asiyah has a dynamic background spanning film production, the arts, and expertise in communications and marketing within the humanitarian and development sector. Asiyah holds an MA from the Institute of Development Studies, where her dissertation explored how religious onto-epistemologies within participatory action research can disrupt entrenched racial and gender inequities in organisational culture. Deeply committed to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion, Asiyah’s work is now focussed on impactful storytelling and advocacy driven by a passion to build a more equitable and just world.
Caitlin Stronge
Research Assistant, Politics and Governance, ODI Global
Caitlin’s work is primarily focussed on peace, conflict, and fragility and social protection financing. She holds an MPhil in Peacebuilding and Mediation from the University of St Andrews. Caitlin has hands-on experience in Liberia, exploring topics such as gender, peacebuilding, and alternative approaches to localisation, with a particular interest in Participatory Action Research methods, reflecting her commitment to inclusive and community-driven approaches to peace and development.
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Get in touch with the MCCRAfrica team
If you would like to get in touch with the project team, discuss our work, and collaborations, please get in touch with Dr Hannah Gibson h.gibson@essex.ac.uk and Dr Florian G. Kern fkern@essex.ac.uk