Katherine Mann

Thesis Title: Ideas in Action: How armed group ideology shapes conflict-related sexual violence

Biography

Katherine Mann is a PhD candidate and Cambridge Trust Scholar at the University of Cambridge’s Department of Politics and International Studies (POLIS), as well as a Civil War Paths Fellow (2024-2025) at the University of York. Her dissertation research examines the relationship between armed group ideology, socialization practices, and perpetration of conflict-related sexual and reproductive violence with a focus on the FARC in Colombia. Her analysis leverages data from archival material and 95 semi-structured interviews with former FARC combatants, civilians and victims/survivors in areas under FARC occupation or armed confrontation between the FARC and other armed actors, experts from Colombia’s transitional justice institutions, and representatives from women’s rights organizations and associations of victims/survivors. 

In a second line of research, Katherine focuses on issues related to gender and democratic politics. Her new book Aiding Empowerment: Democracy Promotion and Gender Equality in Politics, co-authored with Saskia Brechenmacher and published with Oxford University Press (2024), documents how international democracy support for gender equality in politics has evolved over the last thirty years and how effective these programs have been. Drawing on research in Kenya, Nepal, Morocco, and Myanmar, the book examines the varied methods aid providers use to challenge patriarchal political structures and support local reformers, identifies persisting challenges and promising innovations, and makes practical recommendations for reform.

Alongside these research projects, Katherine teaches undergraduate courses related to peace, conflict, politics, and gender. Previously she, was a Visiting Researcher at the Universidad de los Andes in Bogotá, a Junior Fellow at the Conference of Defence Associations Institute, and a Managing Editor for the Cambridge Review of International Affairs (CRIA).

Prior to joining Cambridge, Katherine was a policy researcher in the Democracy, Conflict, and Governance Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington, D.C. She has also worked with non-governmental organizations to reduce group-targeted political violence and promote civic activism, as well as served in various other research and editorial positions. She holds an MPhil in International Relations from the University of Oxford and a dual-BA in Political Science and International Affairs with a minor in French from the University of Georgia.