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Blessing-Miles Tendi, a Zimbabwean-born academic based in the UK.
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New Role: Promoted to Professor of Politics at the University of Oxford.
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How it happened: Awarded through Oxford’s annual “Recognition of Distinction” process, run by the Social Sciences Division.
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What it means: This title is only given to academics who have made a major and long-lasting contribution to the university’s work.
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Current positions:
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Governing Body Fellow at St Antony’s College, Oxford (a full voting member of the college’s ruling council).
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Teaches in both the Department of Politics and International Relations and the African Studies Centre.
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II. His Background in Zimbabwe
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Birth and nationality: Born in 1979 in Zimbabwe. He is a Zimbabwean citizen.
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Childhood and schooling: Grew up in Zimbabwe and attended school there.
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University education:
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Earned a BA from the University of Zimbabwe.
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Earned a BA from the University of Cape Town (South Africa).
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Earned an MA from the University of Cambridge (UK).
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Earned a DPhil (PhD) from the University of Oxford (UK).
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Main research focus: Southern African politics (especially Zimbabwe), civil-military relations, intelligence studies, gender and politics, and the role of intellectuals in politics.
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Key books (all closely related to Zimbabwe):
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Making History in Mugabe’s Zimbabwe: Politics, Intellectuals and the Media (2010).
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The Army and Politics in Zimbabwe: Mujuru, the Liberation Fighter and Kingmaker (2020).
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Unseating Robert Mugabe: Gender, Coup and the Diplomat (2025).
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Co-edited The Oxford Handbook of Zimbabwean Politics (2021).
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Media work: Regularly writes for The Guardian and provides political commentary for BBC, CNN, Sky News, and other major outlets.
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What sparked his academic path: During the 2000 Zimbabwean elections, he was back home on holiday and was struck by the amount of liberation history being shown on TV. This made him curious about how history is used for political purposes, which eventually led him to write his first book.
