• Assistant Professor in Politics, SOAS, University of London

Tessa is an Assistant Professor in Politics at SOAS, University of London. She received her PhD in Political Science from Cornell University in 2024, followed by a year as Herbert Nicholas Junior Research Fellow at New College, University of Oxford. Her research interests include civil war, gender politics, rebel governance and state-building, with a focus on sub-Saharan Africa.

Specifically, she examines how rebel groups reshape local gender relations as a strategy of local control during conflict. She is also working on a series of projects on the legacies of insurgency and human rights after war. Her research has been supported by the Harry Frank Guggenheim Emerging Scholar award and a USIP-Minerva Peace and Security Scholarship.

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