Meet our Diverse Voices Scholars
The Diverse Voices programme is one of PSAs initiatives that support historically marginalised politics and international relations scholars in the UK. Today, our community of 47 scholars are helping shape the future of the discipline.
Cohort 2 (2024-2025)
The 2024/25 cohort of the Diverse Voices PhD Student Programme attracted a wide variety of applicants from universities across the United Kingdom. The PSA looked to award up to six places on the Diverse Voices PhD Student Programme to students in their 2nd, 3rd or final year and who self-identified as Black, Asian, or minority ethnic based in UK and studying at a UK university.
We are now delighted to tell you of the recipients of the PhD Student Programme award- who will also benefit from a year’s complimentary PSA membership and support from PSA Diverse Voice leads.
Diverse Voices Scholars:
Eden Anin-Adjei: a PhD researcher at the University of Essex, explores how social cleavages and country-of-origin political experiences, shape British African political behaviour in the UK. Eden is a Race Equity Research Fellow, leading a Research England and Office for Students-funded project aimed at widening participation among ethnic minorities in postgraduate research.
Contact – [email protected]
Fadhilah Fitri Primandari: a PhD researcher at the University of Essex, offers a conceptual critique of democratic consolidation from a feminist lens. Fadhilah’s research interests intersect democratic theory (empirical and normative), feminist political thought, and feminist institutionalism(s). This project is fully funded by the ESRC through the SeNSS DTP.
Contact – [email protected]
Shodona Kettle: is undertaking a PhD at University College London (UCL) on reparation demands among Afro-descendants and Indigenous groups in the Americas. Shodona is a Fellow with 17 Asset Managements Reparation Finance Lab and was a Visiting Research Fellow at the Center for Reparation Research, and the PJ Patterson Institute for Africa-Caribbean Advocacy.
Contact – [email protected]
Margaret Ifeoma Abazie-Humphrey is undertaking a PhD at the University of Bristol on the exclusion impacts on former child soldiers post-conflict lived experiences, employing Nigeria for empirical data. Margaret has a decade of experience working on Disarmament, Demobilization, and Reintegration (DDR) in Nigeria.
Contact – [email protected]
Taif Alkhudary: a PhD researcher at the University of Cambridge, focuses on the political economy of oil and the environment in post-2003 Iraq. Taif was previously a Research Officer at the LSE Middle East Centre and held positions at several NGOs, conducting strategic litigation on human rights violations in the Middle East.
Contact – [email protected]
Zeena Mistry: a PhD researcher at the University of Hull, explores British Indian voting patterns and is focused on Indians who live in England. Zeena has delivered presentations at the Churchill College, Cambridge, and the House of Lords, contributing to forthcoming publications.
Contact – [email protected]
Diverse Voices Associate Scholars:
Aruni Samarakoon from University of Hull is researching critical feminist intervention in Sri Lankan peacebuilding.
Contact – [email protected]
Aurore Iradukunda from School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) investigates geographies of resistance, clandestinity, and everyday practices of anti-colonial conscientization within the liberation struggles of Lusophone Africa.
Contact – [email protected]
Gladys ama Konadu from University of Strathclyde examines trends and causes of gender gaps in political participation and explores how higher education impacts womens political participation.
Contact – [email protected]
Find out more about our winners and their work here.
Diverse Voices Leads:
Roula Nezi Diverse Voices Programme Lead
Contact – [email protected]
Aleida Mendes Borges PSA African Politics Specilaist Group Convenor & Diverse Voices Programme Lead
Contact – [email protected]
Heather Alberro PSA Trustee, Co-convenor of the PSA Environmental Politics Specialist Group & Diverse Voices Programme Lead
Contact – [email protected]
Leaders of this 2024/25 Diverse Voices programme remarked:
“The Diverse Voices PhD student programme offers historically marginalised early career scholars in politics and international relations a platform to network, share experiences, and receive tailored support and mentoring in navigating academia. For the 2024/25 cohort we initially planned to award six places on the programme; however, due to the high quality of applications received, we are delighted to say we extended our support to offer three impressive candidates a place on the programme as associate scholars. Additional support was also provided for a one-year complimentary membership to 32 impressive scholars who did not manage to get on the programme this year, so they could benefit from the mentorship and support available through the PSA networks and specialist groups. We are excited to welcome our Scholars and Associates into the wider PSA family and look forward to working with each of them as they further their careers and advance these novel areas of research.”
Cohort 1 (2022-2023)
The launch of the diverse voices scholarships and grants attracted a wide variety of applicants from universities from across the United Kingdom.
The PSA looked to award three Diverse Voices Scholarships in 2022 to PhD students who had either completed their first year of PhD study or were advancing into their final year and who self-identified as Black British, Asian British, or minority ethnic UK permanent residents.
Applications were also invited for up to three £1000 Diverse Voices Early Career Research Grants to advance scholars from under-represented groups.
We are now delighted to tell you of the recipients of these scholarships and grants – who will also benefit from a year’s complimentary PSA membership and support from PSA Trustees.
Diverse Voices Scholars:
- Darlington Nyambiya a PhD researcher at Bournemouth University looking at The Social Media Revolution and Political Activism. A Case Study of Zimbabwe.
- Hubert Au undertaking a DPhil at the Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford entitled The News Transitional Movement: The Case of #MeToo.
- Neha Doshi undertaking a PhD at the London Metropolitan University entitled Talking B(l)ack: Race, Podcasting and Social Media.
- Pascal L. Mowla undertaking a DPhil at Oriel College, University of Oxford entitled The Ethos of Equality of Opportunity.
- Stephanie Ifill a doctoral researcher in politics at the University of Westminster drawing attention to epistemology, and the self-in-the-everyday as both political sites.
Diverse Voices Early Career Research Grants:
- Xiaowan Cang from University of Oxford: Historicising and conceptualising China’s new Three-Child Policy and reproductive life.
- Dr Skyler Hawkins from Newcastle University: Analysis and presentation of data on electoral activity of the 2022 US midterm elections and 2024 general election.
- Dr Gabriela Patricia Garcia Garcia from University of Aberdeen: Tensions between security and human rights in governmental responses to refugee movements in a Global South context.
PSA Trustee Dr Roula S. Nezi, remarked:
“This new PSA initiative will play a part in supporting black and minority ethnic scholars currently undertaking PhD study in politics and international relations. Funds set aside for the scholarship were initially for three candidates but due to the high volume of applications received, I am delighted to say we extended our financial and mentoring support to these five impressive scholars. The Trustees and I are thrilled to welcome them into the wider PSA family!
I look forward to working with each candidate to help them further their careers as Politics academics and advance these exciting areas of research.”
PSA Team Diverse Voices Point of Contact:
Joan McDappa PSA Diversity and Projects Officer
Contact – [email protected]