Makena Micheni

Makena Micheni is currently a Junior Research Fellow at the University of Oxford, a position held since September 2025. Previously, Makena served as an Associate Lecturer at the University of St Andrews from December 2023 to September 2025, and as a Doctoral Student at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) from September 2018 to September 2023. During the doctoral studies, Makena supported Professor Mary Kaldor as a project support assistant and conducted fieldwork data collection in Maiduguri, Nigeria, while also working as a researcher with Christian Aid in late 2019. Earlier experiences include an internship at the Royal United Services Institute involving terrorism data collection and analysis, and an internship at the International Maritime Organization in the external relations division. Makena holds a PhD in International Relations and Affairs, focusing on sub-Saharan terrorism, obtained from LSE, a Master’s degree in Terrorism and Political Violence from the University of St Andrews, and a Bachelor of Arts in Politics and International Relations from Lancaster University.