Mara is a master’s student in Peace and Conflict Studies, currently writing her master’s thesis. In her thesis, she aims to theoretically and empirically disentangle the effects of territorial control and rebel governance on one-sided violence in conflict settings. The preliminary title of her thesis is “’You don’t need roads to rule’: The effect of rebel governance on civilian killings in intra-state conflict”.

Mara holds a BSc in International Relations and Organisations from Leiden University. In her bachelor’s thesis, she developed a machine learning-based forecasting model of civilian killings in intrastate conflicts in the presence of UN peacekeepers.

Her research interests include machine learning-based forecasting, non-violent resistance as well as intra-state conflicts. Currently, she is particularly interested in how local, national and international actors interact and govern in intra-state conflict settings, and how this shapes conflict dynamics as well as prospects for peace.

Languages: German (mother tongue), English (fluent), French (very good), Norwegian and Dutch (basics)

IT skills: R, QGIS