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
- Paige Montfort
- Media Relations Manager, External Relations
- 202.775.3173
- pmontfort@csis.org
In the News
Ukraine War Looms Large Over Russia-Africa Summit
Mvemba Phezo Dizolele in Voice of America — July 20, 2023
An American marine does battle in cyberspace
Mvemba Phezo Dizolele in Financial Times — July 12, 2023
The Cold War in Africa
Mvemba Phezo Dizolele in The Aspen Institute — June 30, 2023
230531-VIC_AFNE_ALFS23 relationships
Mvemba Phezo Dizolele in Defense Visual Information Distribution Service — June 1, 2023
United States Looks to Counter China in Africa
Mvemba Phezo Dizolele in The Dispatch — March 30, 2023
Blinken making ‘historic’ trip to Niger as forces shift in Sahel
Mvemba Phezo Dizolele in Al Jazeera — March 15, 2023
Kamala Harris, Antony Blinken Set To Visit Africa In A Bid To Counter China's Presence
Mvemba Phezo Dizolele in Republic World — March 15, 2023
Kamala Harris, Antony Blinken Head to Africa in a Bid to Counter China
Mvemba Phezo Dizolele in The Wall Street Journal — March 14, 2023
All Mvemba Phezo Dizolele Content
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Global Foresight: Preparing for Future Trends
Press Briefing: Previewing the Second Russia–Africa Summit
Event by Mvemba Phezo Dizolele , Cameron Hudson , Maria Snegovaya , Mathieu Droin , and Catrina Doxsee — July 20, 2023
The State of Africa’s Indebtedness
Podcast Episode by Mvemba Phezo Dizolele — July 13, 2023
Utah National Guard’s 20-year Partnership with Moroccan Royal Armed Forces
Podcast Episode by Mvemba Phezo Dizolele — June 29, 2023
Health Workers Need Mental Health Care Too
Podcast Episode by Mvemba Phezo Dizolele — June 15, 2023
A Trying Chapter for Africa’s Black Star
Podcast Episode by Mvemba Phezo Dizolele — June 1, 2023
A Peek Into the African Land Forces Summit
Podcast Episode by Mvemba Phezo Dizolele — May 18, 2023
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