Head of the Development Studies Department of the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in London and professor of Political Economy for Development at the same university. Member of the Center of African Studies, of the Center of Studies on Food of SOAS, of the International Center of Policies of Conflict, Rights and Justice. He has worked on issues of sub-Saharan Africa for over 20 years in research, armed conflict and rural economies. Author of Civil War Is Not a Stupid Thing. Accounting for Violence in Developing Countries