Mike McGovern

Mike McGovern is a Professor of Anthropology and Director of the Center for Southeast Asian Studies at the University of Michigan. He holds affiliations with multiple institutions, including the African Studies Center, International Institute, and Weiser Center for Emerging Democracies. His research focuses on political anthropology in West Africa and Southeast Asia, examining postcolonial states, conflict dynamics, and historical trajectories. Notable works include Making War in Côte d'Ivoire (on civil conflict dramaturgy) and Unmasking the State (tracing state-ethnogenesis in Guinea), which won the Royal Anthropological Institute’s Amaury Talbot Prize. His third book, A Socialist Peace?, explores Guinea’s peaceful trajectory through its socialist history.

Education: Ph.D., Culture, History, Theory (Emory University, 2004); M.St., Social Anthropology (University of Oxford, 1998); A.B., Philosophy and Economics (Columbia University, 1988).

Research Interests: McGovern investigates the interplay of political economy, cultural expression, and state formation. Recent topics include the politics of history in polarized settings, kinship discourse during war, popular music in Côte d'Ivoire, and US counterterrorism policy in West Africa. His work bridges anthropology, history, and political science to analyze how states navigate postcolonial challenges.

Awards: McGovern has received prestigious grants and prizes, including the Wenner-Gren Post-PhD Research Grant, Fulbright Scholar Award, and National Science Foundation Senior Scholar Award. His scholarship has been recognized by institutions like Yale, the Smithsonian, and St. Antony’s College, Oxford.

Teaching & Professional Experience: He taught anthropology at Yale and served as West Africa Project Director at the International Crisis Group, analyzing conflict in Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea. His teaching emphasizes politics, expressive culture, and youth rebellion. He advises PhD students researching West/East Africa and Southeast Asia.

Labs/Teams: Engaged with interdisciplinary initiatives at the International Institute and Weiser Center for Emerging Democracies, focusing on global conflict analysis and state-building strategies.