Zoe Marks

Zoe Marks is the Oppenheimer Faculty Director of Harvard's University-wide Center for African Studies and a Lecturer in Public Policy at Harvard Kennedy School. Her research and teaching focus on the intersections of conflict, social movements, and peacebuilding; gender and intersectional inequality; and African politics.

Dr. Marks has two book projects under way. Her first solo-authored book - Anatomy of an African Rebellion - examines how and why rebel groups can sustain a viable threat to the state without widespread support. It provides an in-depth case analysis of the internal dynamics of rebellion in Sierra Leone and draws on nearly two years of fieldwork, hundreds of interviews with former combatants, public officials, and community members, as well as private archive records from members of the Revolutionary United Front. 

Her second book project, Bread and Roses: Women at the Frontlines of Revolution, co-authored with Erica Chenoweth, documents the historic role women have played in violent and nonviolent mass movements globally since 1945. Drawing on a novel dataset on women in resistance (WiRe 2.0 and WiRe+), the authors argue that gender-inclusive mass movements are larger, more likely to succeed, and more likely to lead to democratic consolidation and gains in gender equality than movements dominated by men. It is under contract with Princeton University Press.

In addition to her work on civil war and revolutionary movements, Dr. Marks studies peacebuilding and community reintegration after war. Using surveys and social network analysis in Northeast Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, her research compares protracted conflict settings to explain how exposure to violence and conflict experiences affects intergroup reconciliation and conflict cessation.

Professor Marks is committed to creating space for conversations about ethical research praxis and making academia more inclusive. She has convened workshops related to decolonizing the academy and edited a special double issue of the journal Critical African Studies with colleagues at the University of Cape Town.

Dr. Marks holds a DPhil in Politics and a MSc in African Studies from the University of Oxford, and a BA in Government and African American Studies from Georgetown University. Prior to joining the Kennedy School, she was a Chancellor’s Fellow and Lecturer (tenured) at the University of Edinburgh, where she directed the masters program in African Studies and was Director of the University's Global Development Academy. She has previously worked for UN and non-governmental organizations in Ethiopia, France, Sierra Leone, South Africa, the UK, and the US. Her work has been supported by the HKS Dean's Fund, UK Economic and Social Research Council, UK Department for International Development, Swedish Government's Folke Bernadotte Academy, British Academy, Carnegie Trust, US Fulbright Program, and Oxford Beit Fund. Her research has been published in leading journals in the field and in peer-reviewed books and edited volumes. Her dissertation received the Winchester Prize for the best dissertation in Politics at the University of Oxford. She serves on the editorial board for Civil Wars and editorial committee for the Journal of Peace Research, and chaired the editorial board for Critical African Studies (2016-2020).