Toon Dirkx

Toon Dirkx is a College Research Associate at Emmanuel College and a Visiting Postdoctoral Scholar at the Department of Politics and International Studies, University of Cambridge. He holds affiliations with the Statehood & Conflict program at Swisspeace and has previously worked at Utrecht University and non-academic institutions in Ethiopia and South Sudan.

His research focuses on governance by armed groups in civil wars, rebel governance legacies, and peace- and state-building dynamics. This work integrates qualitative fieldwork in Afghanistan and the Horn of Africa, with a broader scope in Political Science, Conflict Studies, and International Relations.

Toon has received funding from the European Union, Dutch Research Council, University of Basel, French Centre for Ethiopian Studies, and Swiss National Science Foundation. He has also contributed to multilateral organizations and NGOs through commissioned research.