The team is delighted to welcome Kadara Swaleh to the Infraglob project.
Kadara Swaleh is in the advanced stages of his Doctoral studies at Freie Universität, Berlin, within the Institute of Social and Cultural Anthropology. His dissertation explores the impact of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) projects in Kenya, focusing on the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) from Mombasa to Nairobi and its effects on Mombasa’s common folk, particularly those involved in the informal economy. His research interests also encompass Islam in East Africa, Security Studies including Countering Violent Extremism (CVE), and Swahili Studies. He has contributed to academic journals like Social Dynamics and The Annual Review of Islam in Africa and co-authored a book chapter with Kai Kresse in “In This Fragile World: Swahili Poetry of Commitment by Ustadh Mahmoud Mau”, edited by Clarissa Vierke and Annachiaria Raia. He recently contributed a book chapter to a volume titled “Challenging Post-Slavery Hierarchies in East Africa.” Kadara served as a lecturer in the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies at Pwani University. From 2017 to 2022, he assumed a governmental role, overseeing the relations between Kenya’s Jubilee Party and the Communist Party of China (CPC), and took part in numerous training sessions and programs in the People’s Republic of China.