Strengthening the humanity and dignity of people in crisis through knowledge and practice
Faculty and Researchers
Elizabeth StitesResearch Director and Assistant Professor
Assistant Research Professor, Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy
Research Assistant Professor, Friedman School of Nutrition
Elizabeth Stites directs Feinstein’s Research Program on Conflict and Livelihoods, focused on the effects of conflict and violence on civilian livelihoods. She is particularly interested in how different members within a household make changes to their livelihoods in times of conflict or crisis, and also how violence and livelihood strategies can reinforce each other. On the policy level she examines the effects of humanitarian, development, and military policies on livelihoods, security, and gender roles. Her field work aims to improve the effectiveness of international and national policies through evidence-based research reflecting the lived experiences of local communities. She aims to understand the challenges and hopes that inform people’s daily decision making, and strives to ensure that local people’s voices and experiences are heard in contexts in which they are often invisible. She has worked in multiple countries in sub-Saharan Africa, in Afghanistan, Bosnia, and Nepal and on the Syria crisis.
Prior to joining Feinstein, Elizabeth worked as a consultant to UN organizations, academic centers, and international non-profits. She lived in South Africa for four years in the 1990s, where she researched post-apartheid land restitution and worked closely with families, community groups, government agencies, and non-profit organizations.
Elizabeth holds a B.A. from Wesleyan University, an M.A. from the University of Cape Town (South Africa), and an M.A.L.D. and a Ph.D. from the Fletcher School at Tufts University.
- Intra-household livelihood adaptations and coping
- Male youth and violence
- Cyclical links between livelihoods and violence
- Uganda
- Eastern Africa
- Nepal
- Gender, Culture, and Conflict in Complex Emergencies (NUTR 222/DHP D232), Fall Term
- Gender and Human Security in Transitional States and Societies (DHP D231), Spring Term
- Stites, Elizabeth and Anastasia Marshak. “Who are the Lonetia? Findings from southern Karamoja, Uganda.” Journal of Modern African Studies 54 (2016). 237-262.
- Stites, Elizabeth and Darlington Akabwai. “‘We are now reduced to women’: Impacts of forced disarmament in Karamoja, Uganda.” Nomadic Peoples 14, 2 (2010). 24-43.
- Stites, Elizabeth. “A Struggle for Rites: Masculinity, Violence and Livelihoods in Karamoja, Uganda.” In Gender, Violence, and Human Security: Critical Feminist Perspectives, edited by Aili Tripp, Myra Marx Ferree, and Christina Ewig. New York University Press, 2013.
News Items
Feinstein team held a workshop on bridging the gap between research and practice with FAO in Rome
A Feinstein team including Helen Young, Andy Catley, Elizabeth Stites, and Anastasia Marshak held a one day workshop with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in…
Read MoreElizabeth Stites attended Evidence to Action forum in Washington D.C.
On Monday September 24, 2018 Elizabeth Stites attended the invitation-only Save the Children Evidence to Action forum in Washington D.C. Researchers and development practitioners attended the forum to explore recent…
Read MoreFeinstein Research Projects
Getting in or missing out? Understanding the poor’s interactions with market systems and international programming
Feinstein’s work as part of the Apolou project seeks to understand the impacts over time of a shift to an increasingly cash-based economy on different wealth, livelihood, and demographic groups.
Read MoreSocial Connectedness, Livelihoods, and Resilience in Complex Emergencies
In this partnership with Mercy Corps, the Feinstein International Center team investigates the nature of social networks and social connectedness, and explores how humanitarian assistance can strengthen these as a key aspect of resilience, recovery and relief interventions in complex humanitarian emergencies.
Read MoreFeinstein Publications
‘She told me that life here is so easy’: Urban migration of Acholi youth, Uganda
This working paper presents findings on the migration of youth from Acholi, Uganda to the urban areas of Gulu and Pabbo in northern Uganda, and to the Acholi Quarter neighborhood in Kampala.
Read MoreAlcohol in Karamoja Uganda: Observations and Remaining Questions
This briefing paper examines alcohol brewing and consumption in Karamoja, Uganda from the health and economic perspectives.
Read More