Bio

Victory Kudzai Semba is a Doctoral Candidate in History at Stellenbosch University and a 2024–2026 Lisa Maskell Fellow, specializing in national security. She holds a Master of Arts and a Bachelor of Arts Honours degree in War and Strategic Studies from the University of Zimbabwe. Before her doctoral studies, she served as a lecturer in Peace and Security Studies at Lupane State University for two years, where she was actively engaged in teaching and mentoring students with a strong focus on peacebuilding and security policy reform in Southern Africa. Her current doctoral research offers a historical analysis of the shifting police-military relations in Zimbabwe and their consequences for national security from 1980 to 2024. Her work explores the nuanced intersection between regime and national security, contributing a vital perspective to ongoing debates. Victory’s passion for national security is rooted in her interest in the concept’s evolution from traditional state-centric models to more inclusive approaches that integrate human security and prioritize the safety and well-being of individuals.  She aims to influence the development and implementation of informed, contextually relevant national security policies across Southern Africa and beyond through her research and expertise.