Kimberly Howe
Dr. Kimberly Howe is a Research Associate Professor at the Friedman School and Research Director of Conflict and Governance at the Feinstein International Center, where her work focuses on civilian well‑being in conflict-affected populations, governance, and ethical research in crisis settings. She leads the Early Marriage in Conflict and Displacement: From Research to Practice program and conducts mixed‑methods research across multiple war‑affected regions to understand how civilians adapt to violence and how political and humanitarian interventions shape their lives.
Howe regularly advises governments, international and local humanitarian organizations on evidence-driven humanitarian policy and practice. She formerly practiced as a psychotherapist with people who have survived traumatic experiences, including interpersonal and political violence.
Kimberly holds a B.A. in psychology and an M.S.W. from Simmons College, Boston. She has an M.A.L.D. and Ph.D. in international relations from The Fletcher School at Tufts University.
RESEARCH INTERESTS
COURSES TAUGHT
SELECTED JOURNAL AND BOOK PUBLICATIONS
MOST RECENT EXTERNAL PUBLICATIONS
NEWS STORIES
FEINSTEIN PUBLICATIONS
This report provides insights and perspectives from participatory workshops with displaced female youth in the Kurdistan region of the Republic of Iraq (KRI).
This paper examines the role of marital status and motherhood on schooling experience and educational interruption, attainment, and aspirations in South Sudan and the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.
Very little is known about the experiences of female youth who marry under 18 and later become separated, divorced, or widowed. This briefing paper underscores the unique vulnerabilities and challenges that these youth face in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) and South Sudan.
This briefing paper examines the experiences of life after marriage for female youth who married under the age of 18 in South Sudan and the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. It describes how early marriage affects education, mental health, protection issue, and family dynamics.
This briefing paper focuses on the decision-making processes that led displaced female youth to marry early, based on their experiences in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and South Sudan.
This briefing paper follows displaced female youth in South Sudan who had unintended pregnancies. It describes the circumstances leading to early pregnancy, their after becoming aware of their pregnancies, and the impact of their pregnancies on marriage, education, mental health, family relationships, and household economics.
This brief highlights similarities and differences between two studies on localization of humanitarian action and identifies lessons learned that may reach beyond specific emergencies in Indonesia and the Horn of Africa.
This paper contributes to the dialogue on methodological options by exploring the utility of applying Qualitative Comparative Analysis using fuzzy sets (fsQCA) for understanding complex causality and the conditions that support resilience in humanitarian contexts.
This study examined the impact of a policy that effectively localized aid during the response to the 2018 Sulawesi Earthquake in Indonesia.
This study interrogates the assumptions that underpin a localized response, and identifies the factors that enable and hinder local actors in providing a high-quality, principled, and effective response in three countries in the Horn of Africa: Kenya, Somalia/Somaliland, and South Sudan.
This report presents findings on the experiences and aspirations of male and female youth as they interact with the economic and aid systems in the Karamoja sub-region of Uganda. This…
This report reflects findings from the baseline quantitative study of a four-year research project in the Karamoja sub-region of Uganda. We describe different aspects of wealth, such as animal-related wealth…
In partnership with Mercy Corps, Feinstein researchers undertook this work to understand why some households are managing the devastating impacts of war better than others.
This fifth year report examines key areas of change in Karamoja over the past five years to inform development programming decisions.
This is an evidence brief, accompanying the full systematic review on acute malnutrition in humanitarian emergencies.
This systematic review represents the first attempt to apply systematic review methodology to establish the relationships between recovery and relapse and between default rates and repeated episodes of default or relapse in the management of acute malnutrition in children in humanitarian emergencies in low- and middle-income countries.
This report reviews the state of animal-based livelihoods in the Karamoja region of northeastern Uganda and examines how animal ownership affects a household’s ability to weather shocks.
This protocol details the methodology for an evidence synthesis on acute malnutrition in humanitarian crises. The evidence synthesis asks: “What is the evidence on the relationship between recovery and/or cure…
The scale of the Syrian conflict and resulting humanitarian need constitute one of the largest crises of our time. This case study analyzes contemporary humanitarian action in Syria, cross-border operations,…
This study provides a nuanced understanding of the transformation of violence for women, men, girls and boys in northern Karamoja at the household, community, district and the regional levels. Drivers of…
International organizations increasingly rely on local partners to engage in humanitarian action. This is particularly the case in highly insecure situations or when host governments limit or deny international access….
FEINSTEIN RESEARCH PROJECTS
The PATHWAYS project focuses on how children and youth cope with climate stressors in Ethiopia.
The Youth in Syria project aims to assess the situation of youth in Afrin, Syria, who have been affected by protracted conflict, political instability, and the devastating earthquake in 2023.
The Cities of Youth project seeks to understand how climate change influences patterns of youth migration to secondary cities in Uganda.
This research program seeks to understand the enabling and hindering factors that support localized or locally led humanitarian responses to natural disasters, conflicts, and prolonged complex emergencies.
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.
Our latest research shows that we do not know enough about early marriage to design programs and policies that effectively support female youth in the ways that they need. This study is generating the evidence humanitarians need.
The Planning From the Future project aims to influence the direction of ‘non-traditional’ and traditional humanitarian actors to help them deal with a rapidly changing and potentially increasingly vulnerable world.