Dr Zoe Marks awarded the 2014 Bapsybanoo Marchioness of Winchester Thesis Prize

Congratulations to Zoe Marks, who has won the Bapsybanoo Marchioness of Winchester Thesis Prize 2014 for a paper entitled The Internal Dynamics of Rebel Groups: Politics of Material Viability and Organizational Capacity in the RUF of Sierra Leone.  The Winchester Prize is awarded by University of Oxford Social Sciences for the most outstanding thesis in area of International Relations, with particular reference to human rights and fundamental freedoms.

Zoe's research focuses on conflict and civil war, armed groups, gender relations, and post-conflict development in sub-Saharan Africa.  Her work examines the internal dynamics of rebellion, particularly in Sierra Leone, where she has conducted extensive fieldwork.  Her gender-related research focuses on sexual violence, the role of women in armed groups, female power brokers, and understanding victimhood and survival in social context.

Dr Zoe Marks is a Chancellor’s Fellow and Lecturer in the Centre of African Studies at the University of Edinburgh.