Dr Althea-Maria Rivas

Dr Althea-Maria Rivas is a Senior Lecturer in Global Development, Peace and Conflict in the Department of Development Studies. In her work, she draws upon critical, feminist and decolonial theoretical frameworks and employs innovative grounded methodologies, such as photovoice, storying and narratives to explore debates in the field of conflict, security and development.

Most of her research focuses on Afghanistan, Liberia and Somalia, however, she has worked more broadly in West and East Africa as well. She moved to SOAS (2019) after holding posts at York University (Toronto) and the University of Sussex. After completing her PhD in Development Studies at Sussex University, which was supported by the Allan and Nesta Ferguson Charitable Trust, she took up a Postdoctoral Fellowship with the Centre for Development Studies, Department of Social and Policy Studies, University of Bath.

Her research focuses on exploring the politics of development, conflict, humanitarian intervention and peace through the lens of the everyday. It goes beyond traditional state-centric investigations into development, peace and security and links the local to the global by interrogating everyday relationships, affect and identity. A central theme in her current work is intersectionality, specifically the racialised and gendered nature of processes of aid, post-conflict reconstruction and social justice.

The insights that have emerged from her research are the result of extensive fieldwork in areas affected by conflict and international intervention. Consequently, she developed an academic interest in research ethics and methodologies, some of which are explored in Fieldwork Interrupted: Experiences with Violent Research and Researching Violence (2018).

Before starting her academic career, Dr Rivas worked for 12 years in the areas of diplomacy, post-conflict reconstruction, humanitarian assistance, gender and development and governance with various INGOs, and local and international organisations in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean and the Middle East. Whenever possible she draws upon the practical insights gained during those years to enrich her research and teaching and to bring theory to life for her students.

Teaching and student engagement are central to her practice. She regularly uses critical and innovative pedagogies in class, with a teaching philosophy inspired by the work of authors such as hooks, Giroux and Freire. She is actively committed to addressing and countering cultures of exclusion, racism and inequality in higher education institutions and to decolonizing the curriculum.

Research interests

Humanitarian intervention, post-conflict reconstruction, the politics of global development, everyday violence in post-conflict settings, gender (in)security, violence and development, race, racism and development, peace and justice, emotion and conflict, the relationship between peace, forgiveness and justice, black and indigenous feminisms, feminist and decolonial theory and pedagogy, postcolonial conversations on resistance and development, research methods and ethics. Regional focus: Central Asia, West and East Africa.

Research clusters

• Violence, Peace and Development – Research Cluster Member
• Migration, Mobility and Development
• Development Policy, Aid, Institutions and Poverty Reduction

PhD Supervision

• Hannah Abdullahi — Vehivavy Miralenta (Empowered Women): Exploring Women's Political Lives in Madagascar
• Jennifer Ayoade — Decolonising International Aid: To What Extent can International Aid NGOs be 'Decolonised'?
• Abdoulie Kurang — Tourism for Development: Rethinking Development, Social Protection and the Wellbeing of Precarious Workers in the Gambia’s Tourism Sector.
• Pelumi Obisesan — Women's Experiences with Transitional Justice Processes in the Lake Chad Basin: the Boko Haram Case
• Alaa Shatila — Women Without Men: Negotiating Economic Agency and Uncertainty among Female Heads of Households Displaced from Gaza to Egypt after 2023