Zoe Marriage

Professor Zoe Marriage is a leading scholar in the Department of Development Studies at SOAS University of London, specializing in the intersections of conflict, security, and development with particular expertise on African contexts including the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sierra Leone, Rwanda, and South Sudan. As a Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, she maintains an active teaching and supervision profile alongside her research.

• Department of Development Studies, SOAS University of London
• Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
• Active PhD supervisor with multiple recent completions

Marriage's research trajectory began with humanitarian assistance studies in conflict zones, evolving into deeper investigations of security conceptualization in contexts of structural violence, and most recently exploring cultural resistance through unconventional frameworks like capoeira. Her work consistently centers on marginalized voices excluded from formal security debates, examining alternative pathways to security constructed from below. Her three major monographs trace this evolution: Not Breaking the Rules, Not Playing the Game (2006) on humanitarian assistance, Formal Peace and Informal War (2013) on Congolese security conceptualizations, and Cultural Resistance and Security from Below (2019) on capoeira as resistance.

Analysis of Marriage's recent publications reveals a sustained focus on African political economies of conflict, with increasing attention to cultural and embodied forms of resistance. Her 2024 publications continue examining South Sudanese state formation while maintaining her Congo expertise, demonstrating remarkable longevity in regional specialization combined with methodological innovation through cultural analysis.

As an active PhD supervisor, Marriage mentors students working on diverse security governance topics across Africa including South Sudanese displacement, Ghanaian land conflicts, Congolese judicial reform, and Sierra Leonean decentralization. Her supervision portfolio reflects her interdisciplinary approach bridging political science, anthropology, and development studies.

Marriage leads the reDe research group (visible through her website URL), which appears to focus on reimagining development and security paradigms through critical and cultural lenses, though specific details about the group's structure require further investigation.