Title: Professor
Campus Affiliation: Graduate Center/Baruch College
E-mail: zachariah.mampilly@baruch.cuny.edu
Degrees/Diplomas: Ph.D (University of California-Los Angeles)
Research Interests: Africana Studies; International Relations; Comparative Politics;

Zachariah Mampilly is the Marxe Endowed Chair of International Affairs at the Marxe School of Public and International Affairs [marxe.baruch.cuny.edu], CUNY and a member of the doctoral faculty in the Department of Political Science at the Graduate Center, CUNY. He is the Co-Founder of the Program on African Social Research [pasiri.org]. He is the author of Rebel Rulers: Insurgent Governance and Civilian Life during War  [cornellpress.cornell.edu] (Cornell U. Press 2011) and with Adam Branch, Africa Uprising: Popular Protest and Political Change [amazon.com] (African Arguments, Zed Press 2015).  He is the co-editor of Rebel Governance in Civil Wars [cambridge.org]  (Cambridge U. Press 2015) with Ana Arjona and Nelson Kasfir; and Peacemaking: From Practice to Theory [abc-clio.com] (Praeger 2011) with Andrea Bartoli and Susan Allen Nan. His writing has also appeared in Foreign Affairs, Jacobin, The Hindu, Africa’s a Country, N+1, Dissent, Al Jazeera, The Washington Post​ and elsewhere. He has held fellowships with the Institute for Advanced Study (New Jersey), the Open Society Foundation, the Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and the Fulbright Program.

Books

Africa Uprising: Popular Protest and Political Change. 2015. African Arguments / Zed Press. With Adam Branch.

From Egypt to South Africa, Nigeria to Ethiopia, a new force for political change is emerging across Africa: popular protest. Widespread urban uprisings by youth, the unemployed, trade unions, activists, writers, artists, and religious groups are challenging injustice and inequality. What is driving this new wave of protest? Is it the key to substantive political change?

Rebel Governance in Civil Wars. 2015. Cambridge University Press. Co-edited with Ana Arjona and Nelson Kasfir.

This is the first book to examine and compare how rebels govern civilians during civil wars in Latin America, Africa, Asia, and Europe. Drawing from a variety of disciplinary traditions, including political science, sociology, and anthropology, the book provides in-depth case studies of specific conflicts as well as comparative studies of multiple conflicts. Among other themes, the book examines why and how some rebels establish both structures and practices of rule, the role of ideology, cultural, and material factors affecting rebel governance strategies, the impact of governance on the rebel/civilian relationship, civilian responses to rebel rule, the comparison between modes of state and non-state governance to rebel attempts to establish political order, the political economy of rebel governance, and the decline and demise of rebel governance attempts.

Rebel Rulers: Insurgent Governance and Civilian Life during War. 2011. Cornell University Press.

Rebel groups are often portrayed as predators, their leaders little more than warlords. In conflicts large and small, however, insurgents frequently take and hold territory, establishing sophisticated systems of governance that deliver extensive public services to civilians under their control. From police and courts, schools, hospitals, and taxation systems to more symbolic expressions such as official flags and anthems, some rebels are able to appropriate functions of the modern state, often to great effect in generating civilian compliance. Other insurgent organizations struggle to provide even the most basic services and suffer from the local unrest and international condemnation that result.

Rebel Rulers is informed by Zachariah Cherian Mampilly’s extensive fieldwork in rebel-controlled areas. Focusing on three insurgent organizations—the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in Sri Lanka, the Rally for Congolese Democracy (RCD) in Congo, and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) in Sudan—Mampilly’s comparative analysis shows that rebel leaders design governance systems in response to pressures from three main sources. They must take into consideration the needs of local civilians, who can challenge rebel rule in various ways. They must deal with internal factions that threaten their control. And they must respond to the transnational actors that operate in most contemporary conflict zones. The development of insurgent governments can benefit civilians even as they enable rebels to assert control over their newly attained and sometimes chaotic territories.

Peacemaking: From Practice to Theory. 2011. Co-edited with Andrea Bartoli and Susan Allen Nan. Praeger Security International.

Peacemaking: From Practice to Theory is about seeing, knowing, and learning peacemaking as it exists in the real world. Built on the premise that peacemaking is among the most elemental of human experiences, this seminal work emphasizes the importance of practice and lived experiences in understanding the process and learning what works to nurture peace.

To appropriately reflect the diversity of peacemaking practices, challenges, and innovations, these two volumes bring together many authors and viewpoints. The first volume consists of two sections: “Peacemaking in Practice” and “Towards an Inclusive Peacemaking;” the second of two additional sections: “New Directions in Peacemaking” and “Interpreting Peacemaking.” As the title states, the work moves peacemaking beyond mere theory, showcasing peacemaking efforts produced, recorded, recognized, and understood by a variety of individuals and institutions. In doing so, it refocuses the study of peacemaking and guides readers to a systematic understanding and appreciation of the practices of peacemakers around the globe.