Tigist Y. Engdaw, Ph.D.
Education
Professional Bio
Tigist Y. Engdaw is a Teaching Assistant Professor of African Studies and Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies at Penn State. Before joining Penn State, she served as an Assistant Professor at the Institute for Peace and Security Studies at Addis Ababa University in Ethiopia and as an Adjunct Professor at Howard University in Washington, D.C.
Her research and teaching focus on African governance, gender, and peacebuilding—particularly in the Horn of Africa—through the lenses of political economy, post-conflict reconstruction, and geopolitics.
With nearly two decades of interdisciplinary academic and advisory experience, Tigist Engdaw has lived and worked across Africa, Europe, and the United States. She has held academic research fellowships at Brown University (United States) and Hiroshima University (Japan), and has completed advanced international professional training and certification programs in peacebuilding, conflict prevention, and human rights from leading institutions including the University of Fribourg (Switzerland) and Columbia University (United States).
Tigist Engdaw’s work bridges scholarship and policy practice. She has authored peer-reviewed books and training guides on peace education, peacebuilding, and resilience, and has written numerous policy papers for the United Nations Development Programme and African government ministries.
Research Interests
Governance and political economy; peacebuilding and post-conflict reconstruction; women, peace and security; gender and human rights; international relations; and the geopolitics of the Horn of Africa.
Selected Publications
Books
- Peacebuilding Training Guide for Ethiopia. UNESCO-IICBA and UNECA, 2020. Peer reviewed.
Translated editions: Afaan Oromoo, Amharic, English, and Somali.
UNESCO Publication: https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000374856 - Peace Education for Youth Violence Prevention in Africa: A Holistic and Integrated Approach – Case Study of Ethiopian Schools. Lambert Academic Publishing and Omni Publishing, Germany, 2018.
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Peace-Education-Violence-Prevention-Africa/dp/6139933145
More Books: https://www.morebooks.de/gb/search?utf8=✓&q=978-613-9-93314-3
Edited Volumes and Articles
– Shifting Stands: Transactional Politics and Power Struggles in the Horn of Africa, 2025 (forthcoming). African Journal of Political Science. https://journals.uj.ac.za/index.php/ajps/index
– Peace and Development Nexus in the Horn of Africa. 2018. Western Michigan University, USA, African Development and Policy Research. Engdaw, Tigist.
https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/africancenter_icad/2018/Schedule/9
– Anthology of Peace and Security Research, Vol. 3 (Editor). Institute for Peace and Security Studies and Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, 2012.
Full PDF: https://library.fes.de/pdf-files/bueros/aethiopien/09883.pdf
– Women, Peace and Security: Ethiopian Women’s Role in Conflict Resolution and Peacebuilding. Network of Ethiopian Women’s Associations (NEWA), 2018.
PDF: https://newaethiopia.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/New-Final-BDFA-NEWA-March-23-2021.pdf
– Gender Mainstreaming in the Workplace: Why Is It So Elusive? Institute for Peace and Security Studies, Addis Ababa University, 2018.
https://ipss-addis.org/
– Peace Education Report. University of Bradford, United Kingdom, 2016.
https://www.bradford.ac.uk/social-sciences/peace-studies-and-international-development/
– Towards a Common Strategy for a Culture of Peace in Africa. Association of Senates, Shoora and Equivalent Councils, 2013.
https://www.assecaa.org/images/WorkPapers/EnglishWorkPaper/Retreat/Burundi2013/workpaperTowmonStrategyforaCultureofPeaceinAfrica1.pdf
– Youth and Democratization in Africa: Lessons Learned and Comparative Experiences. United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), 2012.
https://multimedia.uneca.org/handle/10855.1/2620
– Masculinities and Human Rights from a Gender Perspective. University for Peace (UPEACE), 2009.
http://www.upsam.upeace.org/pdf/Curricula/Tigist/MASCULANITES
– Sexual Harassment in International Organizations. Ethiopian Women Lawyers Association (Berchi Journal), 2005.
Policy and Editorial Contributions
– Commissioned policy papers for UNDP Swaziland, UNDP Ethiopia Country Office, and Ethiopian government ministries.
– Celebrating and Cerebrating the Tenth Tana High-Level Forum on Security in Africa. Medium Article: https://medium.com/@tigistengdaw/tigist-yeshiwas-engdaw-phd-9984bb477377
– Dr. Engdaw has spoken at numerous international academic and policy conferences worldwide and has appeared in multiple media outlets, including television and print.