Louisa Lombard

Louisa Lombard is an Associate Professor of Anthropology at Yale University, affiliated with the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Her research focuses on African borderlands where state authority is weak, examining how governance, trust, and resource access unfold in contexts of violence and intervention. She co-convenes the MacMillan Center Political Violence and its Legacies workshop and serves on the Executive Board of the Program on Agrarian Studies. Lombard holds a Ph.D. from Duke University (2012).

Her research interests include political anthropology, conflict studies, and humanitarian intervention, with a geographic focus on the Central African Republic (CAR). She explores themes such as sovereignty, armed groups (rebels, soldiers, anti-poaching guards), and the ethical dilemmas faced by peacekeepers. Key works include State of Rebellion (2016) and Hunting Game (2020), analyzing violence, intervention, and governance in CAR.

Lombard’s recent publications address occult protection practices, humanitarian profiteering, and Russian influence in Central Africa. She has been shortlisted for the Jack Goody Prize (2018) and contributes to journals like HAU and Ethnography. Her work bridges fieldwork methodologies, political theory, and applied policy, emphasizing the complexities of state and non-state authority in fragile regions.