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
Media Queries
- H. Andrew Schwartz
- Chief Communications Officer
- 202.775.3242
- aschwartz@csis.org
- Samuel Cestari
- Media Relations Coordinator, External Relations
- 202.775.7317
- scestari@csis.org
In the News
Il est nécessaire de repenser la structure de l’appareil sécuritaire en Afrique
Mvemba Phezo Dizolele in Le Point — February 13, 2024
U.S.-China Tensions Have a New Front: A Naval Base in Africa
Mvemba Phezo Dizolele in The Wall Street Journal — February 10, 2024
Biden’s Unfilled Vow to Visit Africa Renews Feelings of Neglect
Mvemba Phezo Dizolele in Bloomberg — November 30, 2023
As 2023 draws to close, Biden's promised visit to Africa shows no signs of happening yet
Mvemba Phezo Dizolele in AP — November 21, 2023
Congo Basin poses the highest risk for Africa’s next coup
Mvemba Phezo Dizolele in Semafor — September 14, 2023
A Growing BRICS Bloc Shows U.S. Is Losing the Battle for the Global South
Mvemba Phezo Dizolele in Newsweek — August 22, 2023
The risks of military intervention after Niger coup
Mvemba Phezo Dizolele in CNN — August 7, 2023
Niger neighbors: Military intervention is our 'last resort'
Mvemba Phezo Dizolele in DW News — August 4, 2023
All Mvemba Phezo Dizolele Content
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VP Harris Takes U.S. Promises One Step Further
Podcast Episode by Mvemba Phezo Dizolele — May 4, 2023
Sudan Conflict: How Did We Get Here?
Podcast Episode by Mvemba Phezo Dizolele — April 20, 2023
Diving Deeper: U.S.-Africa Engagement on Maritime Security
Podcast Episode by Mvemba Phezo Dizolele — March 22, 2023
Takeaways From Nigeria’s Elections
Podcast Episode by Mvemba Phezo Dizolele — March 10, 2023
What Africa Experts Are Watching in 2023
Commentary by Mvemba Phezo Dizolele, Catherine Nzuki, William Mark Bellamy, Mimi Alemayehou, Maria E. Burnett, Emilia Columbo, Ryan Cummings, Cameron Hudson, and Laird Treiber — March 8, 2023
The Summit for Democracy’s World Tour
Podcast Episode by Mvemba Phezo Dizolele — February 23, 2023
Nigeria Elections 2023: What To Watch For
Event — February 21, 2023
The Trailblazing Founder of TRACE
Podcast Episode by Mvemba Phezo Dizolele — February 9, 2023
Maintaining Momentum After the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit
Podcast Episode by Mvemba Phezo Dizolele — January 26, 2023