Dr Rachel Ibreck

Staff details

Position

Senior Lecturer

Department

Politics and International Relations

Email

r.ibreck (@gold.ac.uk)

Rachel’s work explores political struggles for human rights, justice and memory in Africa.

My work explores the politics of human rights, justice and memory, focusing on sites of atrocity, conflict, and displacement in Eastern Africa. I am interested in non-violent political agency and in interactions between local activists, authorities and international humanitarian, peacebuilding and human rights interventions.

My research draws on ethnography, collaborative action, and archival approaches, and has received funding from Volkswagen Stiftung/ Fondazione Compagnia di San Paolo, Social Science Research Council, Justice and Security Research Programme (LSE), and Global Challenges Research Fund.

I have published a book, South Sudan’s Injustice System: Law and Activism on the Frontline (Zed Books, 2019), and articles in academic journals, including The Journal of Intervention and Statebuilding, Memory Studies, Journal of Civil Society and African Affairs. I am a co-editor of the Journal of Genocide Research. I am Director of the British Institute in Eastern Africa.

Teaching and supervision

I teach Global Governance and World Order (second year).

I supervise research on human rights, conflict, genocide, humanitarian response, migration, the politics of law and justice, and African politics.

Featured publications

2019: South Sudan’s Injustice System: Law and Activism on the Frontline (Zed Books/Bloomsbury, 2019)

Publications and research outputs

Book

South Sudan's Injustice System: Law and Activism on the Frontline Ibreck, Rachel ORCID logo . 2019. South Sudan's Injustice System: Law and Activism on the Frontline. London: Zed Books. ISBN 9781786993397

Edited Journal

Social Movements and Political Change in Africa Ibreck, Rachel ORCID logo ; McCorley, Ciara; and Lodge, Tom, eds. 2013. Social Movements and Political Change in Africa, Journal of Contemporary African Studies, 31(2). 0258-9001

Book Section

Border Violence in Africa Ibreck, Rachel ORCID logo ; and Weslety, Souhayel. 2024. Border Violence in Africa. In: Obert Bernard Mlambo and Ezra Chitando, eds. The Palgrave Handbook of Violence in Africa. Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 119-139. ISBN 9783031407536
Victims and Survivors from Cyangugu, Rwanda: The Politics of Testimony After Genocide Ibreck, Rachel ORCID logo . 2018. Victims and Survivors from Cyangugu, Rwanda: The Politics of Testimony After Genocide. In: Vincent Druliolle and Roddy Brett, eds. The Politics of Victimhood in Post-conflict Societies, Comparative and Analytical Perspectives. Palgrave, pp. 301-325. ISBN 978-3-319-70202-5
A Human Security Strategy for the European Union in the Horn of Africa Ibreck, Rachel ORCID logo ; and de Waal, Alex. 2018. A Human Security Strategy for the European Union in the Horn of Africa. In: Mary Kaldor; Iavor Rangelov and Sabine Selchow, eds. EU Global Strategy and Human Security Rethinking Approaches to Conflict. Routledge. ISBN 9781138098961

Article

The ‘UNFAIR’ refugee agency: UNHCR accountability after protests and violence Rees, Peter ; Ibreck, Rachel ORCID logo ; and Weslety, Souhayel. 2025. The ‘UNFAIR’ refugee agency: UNHCR accountability after protests and violence. Journal of Refugee Studies, ISSN 0951-6328
Counter-Archiving Migration: Tracing the Records of Protests against UNHCR Ibreck, Rachel ORCID logo ; Rees, Peter ORCID logo ; and Tazzioli, MartinaORCID logo. 2024. Counter-Archiving Migration: Tracing the Records of Protests against UNHCR. International Political Sociology, 18(4), ISSN 1749-5679
Protecting Women from Violence in the United Nations Protection of Civilians Sites, South Sudan? Ibreck, Rachel ORCID logo . 2024. Protecting Women from Violence in the United Nations Protection of Civilians Sites, South Sudan? Journal of Intervention and Statebuilding, 18(1), pp. 61-80. ISSN 1750-2977

Report

Foundational justice: a strategy for peace in the Horn of Africa Ibreck, Rachel ORCID logo ; and de Waal, Alex. 2021. Foundational justice: a strategy for peace in the Horn of Africa. Other. Conflict Research Programme, London School of Economics and Political Science, London.
Bridging divisions in a war-torn state: Reflections on education and civicness in South Sudan Ibreck, Rachel ORCID logo ; Pendle, Naomi; Robinson, Alice; and The Bridge Network. 2021. Bridging divisions in a war-torn state: Reflections on education and civicness in South Sudan. Discussion Paper. Conflict Research Programme, London School of Economics and Political Science, London.
Negotiating Justice: Courts as local civil authority during the conflict in South Sudan Ibreck, Rachel ORCID logo ; Logan, Hannah; and Pendle, Naomi. 2017. Negotiating Justice: Courts as local civil authority during the conflict in South Sudan. Discussion Paper. Justice and Security Research Programme, LSE, London.