What kind of doctoral research on, in and with Africa takes place at King’s College London? How do our students critically reflect on the benefits and challenges of research in the continent?

As part of Africa Week 2026, the Africa Research Group hosts an annual PhD forum to answer these questions and more with a showcase of some of the latest PhD work on Africa from across the College.

The event takes place in person and features presentations by King' students from various departments and academic disciplines. They will introduce their PhD research – from the early stages to near completion – with the opportunity for feedback and interaction with the audience.

This event is free and open to all.

Presentations

• Tobechukwu Nneli – Nigeria as Place, Nigeria as State: Everyday Citizenship in the UK Diaspora

• Chibueze Pipi – Calculating Resource Extraction in Colonial Nigeria, 1900-1960

• Wendy Okun – Exploring the Boundaries of Maternal Relationality in (Post)Conflict and Its Intersections with Trauma; Lessons and Reflections from the International Criminal Court

• Ninnaku Oberholzer – Where are the women? An exploration of women in New Testament texts and South African art

• Marie Ruyffelaere – Legitimizing Authoritarianism: What’s behind the EU’s Strategic Partnership with Egypt?

• Balint Pongracz – Russian (Pseudo-)Private Military Companies in Central Africa: Russian State Capture Disguised as Domestic Security Capability Building

• Amanda Kadlec – Great power competition effects on governance in the Mediterranean region (2005-2025)

About the speakers

Amanda Kadlec
Amanda is an independent consultant and doctoral candidate in the War Studies department exploring the effects of great power competition on local governance. They have an MA in international relations and U.S. foreign policy from George Washington University, an extensive Middle East and North Africa research background, and are currently based in the Balkans to expand this regional scope.

Tobechukwu Nneli
Tobe is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Political Economy at King’s College London. His research examines how Nigerians in the UK negotiate their relationship with the Nigerian state through everyday digital and social practices. He has worked extensively on governance and social policy reform programmes in Nigeria, including advisory roles with the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO).

Ninnaku Oberholzer
Ninnaku Oberholzer is a PhD candidate at King’s College London in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies. She is a research fellow at the department of New Testament and Related Literature at the University of Pretoria and is also the chair of the Gender and Sexuality subgroup of the New Testament Society of South Africa. Her research interests are related to Biblical literature, pre-Constantine and later Christian art, Feminist methodologies, and Memory Theory.

Wendy Okun
Wendy Okun is a doctoral researcher at the Dickson Poon School of Law, under the supervision of Dr. Nicola Palmer. Wendy’s research examines the centrality of sexuality and gender in armed conflict and the need to be rewrite and re-theorise women’s movements. Wendy holds and LL. M from the Dickson Poon School of Law, and the IMO International Maritime Law Institute. Wendy also holds a LL. B from the University of Nairobi and was admitted to the Kenyan Bar in 2018. Wendy currently works in advisory for the Government Legal Department, and previously she worked at the Registry of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea.

Chibueze Pipi
Chibueze Pipi is a Department of History PhD student attempting to identify the existence of extractive economic practices in colonial Nigeria and calculate it’s value. Chibueze is interested in the means through which mining rents, mineral exports, labour, and taxation contributed to resource extraction in during Nigeria’s time as a protectorate of the British Empire, 1900-1960. More generally, his research interests are the economic nature of colonial governance, the impact that colonialism had on British West Africa, and the economic history of colonialism. Chibueze completed his undergraduate degree in History and Politics at the University of Sheffield before getting his MA in International Political Economy at King’s College London.

Balint Pongracz
Balint Pongracz is a second-year Department of Defence Studies PhD candidate specializing in Russian influence in Sub-Saharan Africa. Their research examines Russian private military companies and their impact on regional security and local communities, with a particular focus on the Sahel and the Central African Republic. Alongside their academic work, they lead the Forum for Private Security Research.

Marie Ruyffelaere
Marie Ruyffelaere is a PhD Candidate in Political Science at the Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB) and a F.R.S.-FNRS research fellow. Her thesis addresses the EU’s legitimization of authoritarianism in Egypt after the 2013 military Coup. She was a visiting researcher at CEDEJ Cairo (2023-2024) and is currently a visiting postgraduate researcher at King’s College London in the Department of European and International Studies until March 2026.

About King's Africa Week

Hosted by the Africa Research Group and the African Leadership Centre, Africa Week is an annual celebration of research, education and outreach activities on Africa.

King's Africa Week brings together academics, researchers and students from across King's – and offers the opportunity to hear from African scholars, leaders and thinkers. It also showcases King's collaboration with African universities and partners.

Find out more about Africa Week