Bismellah Alizada

Bismellah Alizada is a Ph.D. Candidate at SOAS University of London.

His Ph.D. research focuses on demands for decentralisation among the Hazaras of Afghanistan between 1992 and 2021. His overall research interest includes decentralisation, political settlements, post-conflict institutional design, political participation, ethnic politics, and conflict. Bismellah holds a Master of Science degree in Violence, Conflict, and Development from SOAS and an undergraduate degree in political science and diplomacy from Kabul University. 

Mr. Alizada has previously worked as Deputy Director at the Organization for Policy Research and Development Studies, in Afghanistan. In that position, he co-led all the research, advocacy, and capacity-building activities of the organization. He also co-edited the third, fourth, and fifth volumes of the organization’s peer-reviewed Women and Public Policy Journal between 2017 and 2019.

Additionally, he co-founded Rahila Foundation, an organization working for youth empowerment through education, and capacity building. His articles have appeared on Al Jazeera English, The Diplomat, Global Voices, and the Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies (IPCS) in New Delhi. He has also co-translated into Persian the book China in the 21st Century: What Everyone Needs to Know.

Decentralisation, political economy, political settlements, post-conflict institutional design, ethnic politics, identity, and conflict