Ola Osman

Dr. Ola Osman earned her Ph.D. in Politics and International Studies from the University of Cambridge as a Gates Cambridge Scholar, and her Master’s degree in Women’s Studies from the University of Oxford as a Clarendon Scholar. Additionally, she was named an Honorary Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud Scholar. Dr. Osman’s interdisciplinary scholarship bridges International Relations and Black Studies, with a focus on Afro-pessimism. Her research investigates how the legacies of transatlantic slavery have shaped ethnic identities and hierarchies in sub-Saharan Africa, contributing to the proliferation of armed conflicts in the post-Cold War era. Building on her Ph.D. research, her next project examines why ex-combatant women took up arms during the Liberian war, their dual roles as perpetrators and victims of militarized violence, and their reintegration into society two decades later.