Leonor Toscano

Leonor Toscano is a Doctoral Research Fellow at the Department of Political Science, University of Oslo, affiliated with the project Resilience Building: Social Resilience, Gendered Dynamics, and Local Peace in Protracted Conflicts. Her doctoral research examines gender dimensions of social resilience in Kenya's local conflicts. She holds an MPhil in Peace and Conflict Studies (University of Oslo, 2017–2020), a postgraduate diploma in Strategy and Security Studies (Portugal, 2016–2017), and a BSc in Political Science and International Relations (NOVA University of Lisbon, 2013–2016).

Research Interests: Toscano specializes in communal conflicts, civilian agency in conflict zones, gendered dynamics in peacebuilding, African security policy, and qualitative fieldwork methodologies. Her work emphasizes Sub-Saharan and East African contexts, particularly Kenya.

Teaching: She instructs courses on peace and conflict analysis (PECOS4025), conflict and human rights (STV2235), African conflict security (STV4284), and field research methods (STV4031). Previously, she taught international security policy and Nordic politics.

Professional Background: Toscano has served as a seminar leader at the University of Oslo, a research fellow at the Fridtjof Nansen Institute, and an intern at the EU Delegation to Norway and Democracy Reporting International.

Labs/Groups: She participates in the Resilience Building project and the Comparative Institutions and Regimes (CIR) research group. Her work bridges academic research with policy-oriented analysis of conflict resilience and gender equity in protracted conflicts.