Lisa Kwaleyela

I am doctoral candidate in Area Studies (Africa) at Oriel College, University of Oxford.  My research assesses the prevailing narratives pertaining to mine communities and social conflict on the Zambian Copperbelt. My dissertation investigates the contested conceptualisation of the notion of ‘community’ in state-company-community relations in the existing mine community post-privatisation. I examine the need for effective community participation and engagement in state and company interface which requires revisiting how the local government and mine companies define ‘community’ in operational terms. My research further builds a case for how improved interface between the communities, the state and mine companies can be a context-specific conflict prevention and peacebuilding strategy in mine areas of the Zambian Copperbelt.  

I hold an MA (distinction) in International Peace Studies from the United Nations University for Peace (Costa Rica), with a bachelor’s degree (History and Philosophy) from the University of Zambia. I am a Commonwealth Scholar (2021) and a Mandela Washington Fellow (2016) with a certificate in Public Management from Syracuse University (New York). I also trained in international peacebuilding from the Austrian Study Centre for Peace and Conflict Resolution, Austria. 
 

Supervisor: 

Professor Miles Larmer