I am an associate professor at the Sociology of Development and Change Group of Wageningen University. I work at the intersection of Development-, Crisis-, and Area studies. My research aims to contribute to unpacking the strong but often complex linkages between locally-anchored social dynamics, transnational politics, and global developments. More specifically, I examine the relationship between citizens, different forms of authority they encounter, and related dynamics of security and insecurity. I conduct this research in spaces where political order is subject to constant renegotiation. Grounded in empirical work, I seek to advance theoretical understanding of how people navigate the territorial, political and economic margins and in what ways this feeds into power relations in the world. Geographically, my emphasis lies on the Central African Republic, the Sahel region, and South Sudan.

I have a background in development sociology and a Ph.D. degree from Wageningen University (2012). Before joining Wageningen, I worked at the Centre for International Conflict - Analysis and Management (CICAM) of the Nijmegen School of Management, Radboud University, and as a postdoctoral research fellow at the German Institute of Global and Area Studies (Institute of African Affairs) (GIGA) in Hamburg, Germany. Prior to starting my Ph.D. research at the African Studies Centre in Leiden, I worked in Dakar, Senegal with the development organization Enda Diapol. In the summer of 2022, I was a senior fellow at the Maria Sibylla Merian Institute for Advanced Studies in Africa (MIASA) at the University of Ghana for a period of three months.

Have a look at www.lotjedevries.com for updates about research and publications