Welcome! Thank you for visiting my website. I am a DPhil Candidate at the University of Oxford, in the Department of Politics and International Relations, Nuffield College and PhD Fellow at the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI), where I am affiliated to the Jihadist Insurgent Governance in the Sahel research project, led by NUPI and funded by the Norwegian Research Council. I am also a Fellow at the Centre on Armed Groups, based in Geneva. From September 2024, I will be a Max Weber Fellow at the European University Institute, based in Florence, Italy.

My research interests include civil war and political violence, civilian agency in war and international stabilisation and peace-building operations. I focus mainly on the Sahel, with a particular focus on Central Mali. I have conducted fieldwork in diverse settings, including in Sri Lanka, Ethiopia, Somalia and Mali.

My doctoral thesis examines the dynamics of jihadist mobilisation and civilian responses in Central Mali. In the thesis, I look at the following puzzle: why do jihadist insurgents mobilise and become socially embedded in some localities, as opposed to others? Under what conditions do communities ally with or oppose insurgents? How does community decision-making evolve over time? The doctoral thesis draws on almost 6 months of fieldwork conducted in Bamako between September 2021 - April 2022.

Prior to starting my PhD at Oxford, I have been a Research Fellow at NUPI, conducting research on insurgencies in the Sahel and peace operations in conflict affected contexts mainly in Africa. While at NUPI, I was seconded to the African Union, in the Peace Operations Division as a Policy Officer between 2016-2017. Prior to joining NUPI, I have interned in various non-governmental organisations, such as Human Rights Watch in London and Relief International in Colombo. I have a bachelor in European Social and Political Studies, specialising in International Relations and French from University College London and an MSc in Conflict Studies from the London School of Economics and Political Science.

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Email: natasja.rupesinghe@politics.ox.ac.uk

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