Abigail Kabandula is the Director of the Africa Center at the Josef Korbel School of International Studies, University of Denver. Her research focuses on global governance and human security in the African context particularly the drivers of conflict and fragility; terrorism, and prevention of violent extremism/countering violent extremism; and multilateral responses to crises and regional organization for peace and security.

 She has written on the efficacy of the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA) and the role of the African Union peacekeeping in Africa, the international political economy of human security in Africa, the implication of Africa’s political and military engagement with rising powers China and Turkey, inter-regional interaction between the Horn of Africa and Gulf States, the African Union and United Nations security cooperation, reforming African peace operations, gender and peacekeeping, and the politics of welfare policy reform in Zambia. Abigail holds a doctoral degree in Global Governance and Human Security from John W. McCormack Graduate School of Policy and Global Studies at the University of Massachusetts, dual master’s degrees in Global Governance and Human Security from UMass Boston, and Historical Studies from the University of Cape Town (UCT). She also has an honors degree in Social Sciences from UCT and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Zambia.