Mvemba Phezo Dizolele

Director and Senior Fellow, Africa Program
Mvemba Phezo Dizolele

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).

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Executive Education

Global Foresight: Preparing for Future Trends

Global Foresight: Preparing for Future Trends is Washington’s premier executive course for mid-to senior-level professionals responsible for helping their organizations identify and prepare for the global macrotrends that will drive change for the next 30 years.

Course Date: April 8, 2025
Registration Closes: April 2, 2025
Into Africa

Africa at a Crossroads: The 2025 African Union Summit

Dr. Solomon Dersso, adjunct professor at the University of Cape Town and founding director of Amani Africa, joins to analyze the AU’s evolving role, the implications of the 2025 Summit, and the challenges facing the organization in maintaining unity and effectiveness.

Podcast Episode by Mvemba Phezo Dizolele — March 27, 2025

CSIS Into Africa
Into Africa

Finding Paths to Sustainable Development in Africa

In this episode of Into Africa, Ndidi Okonkwo Nwuneli, CEO and President of ONE, discusses how the organization collaborates with public, private, and non-profit sectors to advance sustainable development and create lasting opportunities across the continent.

Podcast Episode by Mvemba Phezo Dizolele — March 13, 2025

CSIS Into Africa

Nigeria: Building Citizen-Centric Security in the Middle of Conflict

Nigeria's security challenges require citizen-centric solutions to foster stability and economic development. Addressing the root causes of violence and promoting good governance are key to building trust between the people and security institutions.

Report by Saleh Bala and Mvemba Phezo Dizolele — March 11, 2025

Ghana: Facing Internal and External Threats Without Citizen Support

Ghana is a key U.S. security partner due to its perceived stability in a region plagued by coups and rising autocracy. However, internal security threats, transborder insurgencies, ethnic marginalization, and economic challenges reveal underlying instability.

Report by Mvemba Phezo Dizolele and Karana Olivier — March 4, 2025

Into Africa

Africa’s Narrative Revolution

Yinka Adegoke, editor of Semafor Africa, joined Into Africa to discuss the rapidly changing media landscape across the continent. 

Podcast Episode by Mvemba Phezo Dizolele — February 27, 2025

CSIS Into Africa

Kenya's Emergence as a Regional Power

As Kenya continues to navigate its regional and global responsibilities, its leadership in diplomacy, economic development, and climate resilience will shape Africa’s future.

Event — February 26, 2025

Kenya and the Democratic Republic of the Congo

In 2022, Kenya led the East African Community deployment to stabilize the eastern DRC and hosted the Nairobi Process, which aimed to facilitate dialogue between the DRC and armed groups. This paper analyzes where these efforts fell short.

Report by Mvemba Phezo Dizolele and Nick Elebe — February 26, 2025