jrpiombo@nps.edu

Dr. Jessica Piombo is a comparative politics scholar specializing in African politics, peacebuilding, post-conflict statebuilding, transitional regimes, dynamics of foreign assistance, African security, and U.S. engagement with sub-Saharan Africa. My current research focuses state perception of threat how that influences government response to those threats, and how in turn these dynamics influence the relationship between African governments and US security sector assistance projects (funded by the OSD Minerva Intiative), Recent past research examined how US security assistance has been affected by rising Chinese influence on the continent. My next project will examine when popular protests in Africa effect political change and how technology and infomration/misinformation campaigns affect these dynamics. Over the past 18 years, I've been the lead investigator on 13 separate research and education projects, managing over $2.5m in funding.

Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Uganda, Aid, Conflict and Violence, Security, State Building, Peace