Roxani Krystalli

Roxani KrystalliVisiting Fellow

Working with Feinstein Since: 2013
Based in: Scotland, UK

In September 2020, Roxani will start an appointment as a permanent Lecturer (Assistant Professor) at the University of St Andrews in Scotland. Her research and teaching will focus on feminist approaches to peace and conflict studies.Roxani has spent more than a decade focused on understanding people’s experiences of violence and justice in the aftermath of armed conflict. She works with former combatants, refugees, victims and survivors of violence throughout Latin America, the Mediterranean, and East Africa.  

 Between July 2014 and May 2020, Roxani was a Program Manager at Feinstein International Center. Her work examined issues of gender, war, critical humanitarianism, and peace-building. During her time at the Feinstein International Center, Roxani managed partnerships with Oxfam and Mercy Corps and conducted collaborative research on how people survive during and after conflict, on the experiences of refugees in the Mediterranean, and on practices for synthesizing humanitarian evidence. During this time, she also led an independent research study on the politics of victimhood during transitions from violence, focused on Colombia. This work culminated in her Ph.D. from The Fletcher School. 

In 2020, Roxani was recognized with the Presidential Award for Citizenship and Public Service at Tufts University. Her research has been supported by numerous grants and fellowships, including a National Science Foundation Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grant, a United States Institute Peace Scholarship, two Social Science Research Council fellowships, and fellowships at the World Peace Foundation and the Henry J. Leir Institute for Human Security.  

 Her work has appeared or been cited in The Washington Post, The New York Times, Disasters, The International Feminist Journal of Politics, Open Democracy, and on numerous blogs and podcasts, including on her own award-winning blog, Stories of Conflict and Love.  

Roxani holds a Ph.D. and M.A. from The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, and a B.A. from Harvard University.  

Twitter: @rkrystalli

Research Interests:
  • Transitional justice
  • Gender and violence in war and transitions
  • Humanitarian evidence synthesis
  • Qualitative research methods and ethics in vulnerable settings
  • The politics of humanitarianism
Regional Focus:
  • Latin America
Most Recent External Publications:

News Items

Elizabeth Stites publishes in Women’s Studies International Forum
September 1, 2022

Elizabeth Stites and co-authors Roxani Krystalli, Alex Humphrey, and Nyuon Moses Gathuoy published their article “Cattle to cash: Changing marriage practices among displaced people in Bentiu, South Sudan” in Women’s…

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Elizabeth Stites publishes article in Journal of Refugee Studies
October 15, 2021

Elizabeth Stites co-authored an article in the September 2021 issue of the Journal of Refugee Studies with Alex Humphrey and Visiting Fellow Roxani Krystalli. The article, “Social Connections and Displacement…

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Feinstein Research Projects

Apolou: 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.

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Social 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.

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Feinstein Publications

Innovations and adaptations in youth livelihoods in Karamoja, Uganda

This briefing paper examines the ways in which young people take advantage of emerging livelihood opportunities and respond to shocks.

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Life events and markers for young people in Karamoja, Uganda

This briefing paper explores some of the major life events and social markers for young people in the Karamoja sub-region of Uganda.

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