
Mvemba Phezo Dizolele is a senior fellow and director of the Africa Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). He is also a lecturer in African studies at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. Prior to CSIS, he was the Africa senior adviser at the International Republican Institute. Previously, he served as the course coordinator for central and southern Africa at the U.S. Foreign Service Institute. He was also a Peter J. Duignan distinguished visiting fellow and a national fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution. Dizolele has testified for both chambers of the U.S. Congress, as well as at the UN Security Council. He has served as an international election monitor and delegate in several countries, including Nigeria, Ethiopia, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where he was also embedded with UN peacekeepers in Ituri and South Kivu as a reporter. Dizolele’s analyses have been published in the Journal of Democracy, New York Times, Newsweek International, International Herald Tribune, Foreign Policy, Foreign Affairs, New Republic, Forbes, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, and other outlets. A frequent commentator on African affairs, he has been a guest analyst on PBS’s NewsHour and Foreign Exchange; NPR's Tell Me More, On Point, and the Diane Rehm Show; BBC’s World News Update; and Al Jazeera’s The Stream, NewsHour, and Inside Story. Dizolele holds an international MBA and an MPP from the University of Chicago. He is a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve and is fluent in French, Norwegian, Spanish, Swahili, Kikongo, and Lingala and proficient in Danish and Swedish. He is the author of the forthcoming biography, Mobutu: The Rise and Fall of the Leopard King (Random House).
Areas of Expertise
In the News
Yellen’s South Africa visit: ‘Not especially warm welcome’
Mvemba Phezo Dizolele in Fox Business — January 24, 2023
Biden announces trade deals with Africa and more involvement on the continent
Mvemba Phezo Dizolele in NPR — December 15, 2022
Biden gathering with 50 African leaders in first such summit in eight years
Mvemba Phezo Dizolele in Los Angeles Times — December 13, 2022
What to expect as the US-Africa summit begins in Washington
Mvemba Phezo Dizolele in 21st Century Chronical — December 13, 2022
Les USA veulent accompagner les innovateurs africains
Mvemba Phezo Dizolele in Africa News — December 13, 2022
Biden scrambles to keep African nations in anti-Russian coalition
Mvemba Phezo Dizolele in The Washington Post — December 12, 2022
Un sommet Afrique à Washington pour contrer la Chine et la Russie
Mvemba Phezo Dizolele in France 24 — December 12, 2022
Biden tries to reboot US brand in Africa amid China, Russia inroads
Mvemba Phezo Dizolele in France 24 — December 12, 2022
All content by Mvemba Phezo Dizolele
Filter by
Maintaining Momentum After the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit
Podcast Episode by Mvemba Phezo Dizolele — January 26, 2023


U.S.-Africa Summit
Podcast Episode by H. Andrew Schwartz and Mvemba Phezo Dizolele — December 15, 2022

U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit: What's On The Agenda?
Event by Mvemba Phezo Dizolele and Cameron Hudson — December 13, 2022

U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit: What's On The Agenda?
Transcript by Mvemba Phezo Dizolele and Cameron Hudson — December 13, 2022

What to Watch For In The Upcoming U.S.-Africa Leaders' Summit
Podcast Episode by Mvemba Phezo Dizolele — December 8, 2022

Minding the Gap at the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit
Commentary by Mvemba Phezo Dizolele and Cameron Hudson — December 6, 2022

Life in Mali Today: Unpacking Internal and External Actors
Podcast Episode by Mvemba Phezo Dizolele — November 24, 2022

AFRICOM and the Triple Nexus
Podcast Episode by Mvemba Phezo Dizolele — November 11, 2022

Panel 4: Redefining Trust in Aid: Democratic Republic of the Congo
Event by Mvemba Phezo Dizolele , Abraham Leno , Vianney Bisimwa , Anny T. Modi , and Joseph Sany — November 9, 2022
