Yolande Bouka

Yolande Bouka is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Studies at Queen’s University in Kingston, Canada, where her research and teaching bridge International Relations, gender studies, and African security. Holding a Ph.D. in International Relations from American University and an M.A. from Seton Hall University, she previously served as a Visiting Assistant Professor at the Elliott School of International Affairs, George Washington University, and as a Post-Doctoral Fellow at the University of Denver.

Education

• Ph.D., International Relations – American University
• M.A. – Seton Hall University

Research Interests

Dr Bouka’s scholarship interrogates the intersections of gender, political violence, and security in Africa. Her current multi-sited historical and political analysis examines female combatants in Southern Africa, while her forthcoming book manuscript In the Shadow of Prison explores power, identity, and transitional justice in post-genocide Rwanda. She is particularly interested in decolonial approaches to fieldwork ethics, non-state armed groups, and the gendered dimensions of conflict and peacebuilding.

Across her publications—ranging from high-impact journals to policy briefs—three thematic strands are evident: (1) gendered political participation and violence in Kenya’s devolved system, (2) continental and international mediation efforts in the African Great Lakes region, and (3) critical reflections on race, positionality, and methodology in the study of African politics.

Awards & Fellowships

• Fulbright Scholar Program Fellowship
• American Association of University Women Fellowship

Grants, Advisory Roles & Field Experience

Bouka’s research has been supported by competitive international grants and underpinned by extensive fieldwork. She currently sits on the Research Advisory Council of the RESOLVE Network, a global consortium dedicated to empirically grounded research on violent extremism. Between 2014 and 2016 she led the Conflict Prevention and Risk Analysis Division of the Institute for Security Studies in Nairobi, managing multi-country projects on peace and security in the Great Lakes Region. She has provided technical expertise and research support to USAID, the UK Department for International Development, the United Nations, the African Union, the Center for Strategic and International Studies, and the United States Institute of Peace.

Labs & Research Teams

While no formal laboratory is listed, Dr Bouka collaborates with a transnational network of scholars and policy institutes through the RESOLVE Network and maintains active partnerships with research centres across Africa, Europe, and North America.