Kelebogile Zvobgo

Background

Kelebogile Zvobgo is the Mansfield Associate Professor of Government at William & Mary and founder and director of the International Justice Lab. She is also a faculty affiliate at the Global Research Institute, a Nonresident Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution, and a Stephen M. Kellen Term Member at the Council on Foreign Relations. Her research, which engages questions in human rights, transitional justice, and international law and courts, is published in a number of eminent peer-reviewed journals, including the Journal of Politics, International Studies Quarterly, and the Journal of Human Rights. Her first book, Governing Truth: NGOs and the Politics of Transitional Justice, is forthcoming with Oxford University Press. It is based on her Ph.D. dissertation, which won Best Dissertation in Human Rights from both the American Political Science Association and the International Studies Association.

 Dr. Zvobgo writes regularly for the Brookings Institution and policy and mainstream outlets like Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, The Washington Post, and Good Authority. She has appeared on CNN, NPR, and PRX, among others. Also recognized for her teaching and advocacy, she is the recipient of the American Political Science Association’s Craig L. Brians Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Research and Mentorship and the Emerging Human Rights Leader Award from the United Nations Association, National Capital Area.

 Much of Dr. Zvobgo’s past and ongoing work concerns quasi-judicial and judicial bodies that have proliferated around the globe over the past half-century to address serious humanitarian, human rights, and criminal law violations by state and non-state actors. Her research in this vein has centered on domestic truth commissions and international criminal tribunals, especially the International Criminal Court. Her work has been generously supported through a number of grants and fellowships, including from the National Science Foundation (Graduate Research Fellowship), USC (Provost Fellowship in the Social Sciences), and W&M (GRI Pre-doctoral Fellowship). 

 Dr. Zvobgo earned her Ph.D. in Political Science and International Relations from the University of Southern California in 2021 and received the USC Ph.D. Achievement Award. She earned her B.A. in International Relations and French Language & Literature from Pomona College in 2014 and received the Cordell Hull Prize in International Relations.