Visiting Scholar Presents Work on Child Soldiers Dr. Christelle Molima Bameka presented her research related to the effects of colonialism on violent conflict in East Africa.

By Peter Jetton
June 10, 2022

Recently, visiting scholar Dr. Christelle Molima Bameka presented her research related to the effects of colonialism on violent conflict in East Africa. Her presentation touched on a number of theoretical and policy issues, and was narrated through her expertise on child soldiers and war-afflicted youth. She deployed the case-studies of three youths in order to leverage a broader and more complete vision of justice that included conversations about land ownership, histories of colonialism, and how to speak about victims of the violence of child soldiers.

Dr. Molima is completing a post-doc at Washington and Lee. She splits her time between the Law School and the Center for International Education. Her area of focus is the reintegration of child soldiers and questions about justice for them and also for those who are hurt by their conduct. While in residence, she will chair a major international conference at W&L on “Fighting Children” in April 2023 and also organize a speaker series.

At the Law School she is working with a number of faculty, including Mark Drumbl, who was among the external examiners for Dr. Molima’s dissertation. She successfully defended her Ph.D. in the summer of 2021 at the University of Geneva. Her dissertation was subsequently awarded the 2022 Prize of the Swiss Network for International Studies (SNIS) for the best dissertation in the area of international studies.

“Dr. Molima obtained her Ph.D. with the very highest honors, and her defense was a spectacularly original, creative and insightful tour-de-force,” said Drumbl. “It is a great honor to have her here at W&L.”

Dr. Molima holds a degree in law from the Catholic University of Bukavu, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and two master’s degree from the Université Lumière Lyon 2 and the Université Pierre-Mendès France de Grenoble, France.

If you know any W&L faculty who would be great profile subjects, tell us about them! Nominate them for a web profile.