Elisa Gambino

Elisa Gambino is a Hallsworth Research Fellow in Political Economy at the Global Development Institute (GDI) of the University of Manchester. She holds a PhD in African Studies from the University of Edinburgh (ERC-funded AFRIGOS Project) and previously served as LSE Fellow in International Politics of China at LSE. Her research focuses on China’s economic engagement with Africa, particularly infrastructure, trade, and mining sectors. She leads GDI’s Global Production Network, Trade, and Labour group and teaches 'Work and Employment in the Global Economy.'

Education:

• PhD in African Studies (University of Edinburgh, 2020)
• MA/BA in Political Science (University of Milan, Italy)

Research Focus: Intersection of Chinese capital internationalization and African development, emphasizing transnational networks in infrastructure projects. Current Hallsworth Fellowship project examines Chinese trade networks in West Africa and their impact on regional integration through ethnographic and geospatial methods in Ghana/Togo.

Key Publications: Recent works include studies on Sino-African construction labor dynamics, port development geopolitics, and infrastructure's role in labor relations. Notable outputs in Area Development and Policy and Territory, Politics, Governance.

Awards: LSE Class Teacher Award (2022) for teaching excellence in International Relations.

External Roles: Adjunct Researcher at University of Ghana’s Centre for Asian Studies (2023-2025), Secretary/co-founder of Associazione Italiana di Studi Africa-Cina (AISAC).