Dr Matthew Benson-Strohmayer

Dr Matthew Benson-Strohmayer is the Research Director for Sudan and South Sudan within the Conflict and Civicness Research Group. His work sits at the intersection of political economy, economic history, and civic resistance in conflict-affected settings.

Matthew’s research examines how war is financed and how civic actors contest extractive state-building. His forthcoming book, Of Rule Not Revenue (under review with Cambridge University Press), draws on over 700 interviews and archival research to explore how wartime revenue systems and donor-mediated peace agreements have entrenched predatory governance in Sudan and South Sudan. His published work includes a peer-reviewed article in Comparative Studies in Society and History on South Sudan’s revenue complex, as well as recent research tracing how fiscal fragmentation and peace agreements have shaped both elite rule and civic resistance since independence in both Sudans.

He holds a PhD and MA in Social and Economic History from Durham University, an MA in Governance and Development from the Institute of Development Studies (Sussex), and a BA in International Relations from Tufts University.