Rahel W. Sebhatu is a postcolonial feminist, Pan-Africanist, political scientist who is doing her PhD in Global Politics at the Department of Global Political Studies at Malmö University. Her research interests include postcolonial feminism, postcolonial theory, decoloniality, negotiation theory, diplomacy, critical security studies, (youth participation in) peacebuilding, Pan-Africanism, transnational activism and resistance.
In her PhD project, she analyzes negotiations for Africa-EU development cooperation so as to demystify negotiations between “weak states” and the “powerful” EU. Through a critical analysis of negotiation theory, especially that of intercultural communication, while also engaging with postcolonial politics of development and critical debates on Normative Power Europe (NPE), her research project aims – through postcolonial feminist theory, perspective, and lens – to develop an analytical framework for analyzing North-South relations in a way that decenters mainstream theories around diplomacy, negotiation processes, and development cooperation/partnership.
Within EUROGLOT, Rahel is involved as a co-organizer. She is co-convening the research network’s themed track at the 53rd UACES Conference in Belfast. She is also chairing a reading group series on Africa–EU relations.