Meredith Loken is an Assistant Professor (with tenure) in the Department of Political Science at the University of Amsterdam where she is a member of the Transnational Configurations, Conflict and Governance research group. Previously, she was an Assistant Professor at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and she holds a Ph.D. from the University of Washington.
She researches contemporary political violence, specifically focused on the gender dynamics of armed organizations and civil wars. Her work explores the causes and effects of women's participation in armed groups, gender-based targeting during conflict, and rebel messaging and narrative-building around political violence. She is a co-Principal Investigator for the Women's Activities in Armed Rebellion (WAAR) Project, a multi-methods research project comprising a qualitative handbook and cross-national dataset documenting women’s participation over 370 rebel organisations operating between 1946-2015.
Her short book, Women, Gender, and Rebel Governance in Civil Wars, is expected in 2023 with Cambridge University Press' Elements in Gender & Politics Series.