Miles Tendi
I joined the African Studies Centre in 2017. My post is a joint appointment with the Department of Politics and International Relations (DPIR). Before moving to African Studies, I held a Departmental Lectureship in African Politics in the Oxford Department of International Development (QEH) from 2011 to 2017. Prior to joining the Oxford Department of International Development (QEH), I worked as a risk consultant for Control Risks (London). Thematically, I am interested in:
• Civil-Military Relations
• Gender and Politics
• Biography
• Intelligence and Politics
• Intellectuals and Politics
• Southern and West African Politics
- Politics
- Civil-Military Relations, Gender and Politics, Biography, Intellectuals and Politics, Intelligence and Politics
- Southern and West Africa
Research Clusters:
Email: miles.tendi@area.ox.ac.uk
Sole Authored Books
• "Coups D’état: What They Are And Why They Are Back", (expected in 2026)
• "The Overthrow of Robert Mugabe: Gender, Coups, and Diplomats", (Oxford University Press, 2025)
• "Army and Politics in Zimbabwe: Mujuru, the Liberation Fighter and Kingmaker", (Cambridge University Press, 2020)
• "Making History: Politics, Intellectuals and the Media", (Peter Lang Academic Publishers & Weaver Press, 2012)
Edited Books
• Co-editor, "The Oxford Handbook of Zimbabwean Politics", (Oxford University Press, 2021)
• Co-editor, "Transnational Histories of Southern Africa’s Liberation Movements", (Routledge, 2019)
• Co-editor, "Politics, Patronage and Violence in Zimbabwe", (Routledge and Weaver Press, 2014)
Key Journal Articles
• “The Motivations and Dynamics of Zimbabwe's 2017 Military Coup”, African Affairs, 119, 474, 2020
• “Transnationalism, Contingency and Loyalty in African Liberation Armies: The Case of ZANU’s 1974-1975 Nhari Mutiny”, Journal of Southern African Studies, 43, 1, 2018
• “State Intelligence and Zimbabwe’s Presidential Succession Politics”, African Affairs, 115, 459, 2016
• “Soldiers contra Diplomats: The Rhodesia/Zimbabwe Ceasefire (1979-80) Reconsidered”, Small Wars and Insurgencies, 26, 6, 2015
• “The Origins and Functions of Demonisation Discourses in Britain- Zimbabwe Relations (2000- )”, Journal of Southern African Studies, 40, 6, 2014
• “Ideology, Civilian Authority and the Zimbabwean Military”, Journal of Southern African Studies, 39, 4, 2013
• “Patriotic History and Public Intellectuals Critical of Power”, Journal of Southern African Studies, 34, 2, 2008
• “La Violence et les Urnes: Le Zimbabwe en 2008”, (co-author: Jocelyn Alexander), Politique Africaine, 111, 29, 2008