Ramya Sheni

Profile

I completed a Bsc (Hons) in Peace and Conflict at Afe Babalola University, in Nigeria in 2014. After which I served as a Teaching and Marketing Assistant for a year under the Nigerian Youth Service Corp program. In 2016 I completed my MA in Security, Terrorism, and Insurgency at the University of Leeds. In order to further my understanding of security studies, I returned to the University of Leeds in 2017 to pursue a Ph.D. in Politics and International Studies.

Research interests

Situated within the perspective of political economy, my Ph.D. thesis seeks to critically explore the nexus between peacebuilding initiatives, the informal economy, and clientelism. Focused on the impact of peacebuilding initiatives on the informal economy, it examines if and how peacebuilding initiatives directly or indirectly fuel the acute dimension of the informal economy. It also explores the influence of clientelism networks as agencies in the expression of informality within the informal economy and the possible role of peacebuilding initiatives within this. Centered on Bayelsa and Rivers state in the southern region of Nigeria, my work examines three specific peacebuilding initiatives  which are: The Nigeria Stability and Reconciliation Programme (NSRP), Partners for Peace (P4P) and the Integrated Peace and Development Unit and The Foundation for Partnership Initiatives in the Niger Delta (PIND).

 

My general areas of research include:

• Terrorism
• Counterterrorism
• Peace Studies
• Conflict

Qualifications

• BSc Peace and Conflict
• MA Security, Terrorism and Insurgency