Publications and Projects

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

Books
Bartrop, Paul R., and Samantha J. Lakin. Heroines of Vichy France: Rescuing French Jews During the Holocaust. ABC-CLIO, 2019.

Lakin, Samantha and Laura Bernier. Testimonies: Stories of Refugee Children Rescued to Switzerland During World War II, Swiss Embassy, Washington, D.C. (2013).

Peer Reviewed Journal Articles, Reports, and Op-Eds

Matheson, Jawad, Lakin, Ma, Tomeh, Tun, Yacouba, and Zan. Search for Common Ground. (2021). Principles for Peace: Local Insights on Building Lasting Peace, 1st ed. Washington DC: Search for Common Ground.

Lakin, Samantha. “Redefining Justice: How Local Perspectives of Genocide Memory Inform Policy and Practice in Rwanda,” Georgetown Journal of International Affairs (2020), https://gjia.georgetown.edu/2020/06/12/redefining-justice-how-local-perspectives-of-genocide-memory-inform-policy-and-practice-in-rwanda/.

Lakin, Samantha. “Lessons from the UN peacekeeping mission in Rwanda, 25 years after the genocide it failed to stop.” The Conversation, September 5, 2019. https://theconversation.com/lessons-from-the-un-peacekeeping-mission-in-rwanda-25-years-after-the-genocide-it-failed-to-stop-122174

Lakin, Samantha. “Rwandans discuss how best to commemorate genocide.” The Conversation, April 6, 2018. https://theconversation.com/rwandans-discuss-how-best-to-commemorate-genocide-94452.

Lakin, Samantha. “Let us be heard”: Burundi’s refugees tell stories of ethnic targeting.” African Arguments, February 3, 2016. https://africanarguments.org/2016/02/let-us-be-heard-burundis-refugees-tell-stories-of-ethnic-targeting/

Beloff, Jonathan R. and Lakin, Samantha (2019) “Peace and Compromise, Idealism and Constraint: The Case of the Arusha Peace Accords in Rwanda and Burundi,” Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal: Vol. 13: Iss. 2: 129-147.

Lakin, Samantha and Albert Gasake. “Justice in Rwanda: Analyzing the ICTR and Symbolic Justice Mechanisms After the 1994 Genocide” International Bar Association, Human Rights: Mass Atrocities, and Transitional Justice, Vol. 2:1, March 2015.

Chapters in Edited Volumes
Lakin, Samantha “Memory and Victimhoods in Post-Genocide Rwanda: Legal, Political, and Social Realities,” in Federman, Sarah and Ronald Niezen, ed. Narratives of Mass Atrocity: Victims and Perpetrators in the Aftermath, (Cambridge University Press, Forthcoming 2021).

Lakin, Samantha and Charity Wibabara, “Transitional Justice in the Wake of the Rwandan Genocide: The contribution of criminal trials and symbolic reparations to reconciliation,” in Wolfe, Stephanie, ed. Memory, Justice, and Recovery in the Shadow of Genocide, (Routledge, Forthcoming 2022).

Lakin, Samantha. “Where is the Truth? An Analysis of Sierra Leone’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission,” in Hansen, T. O., ed., Victims and Post-Conflict Justice Mechanisms in Africa (LawAfrica, 2017).

Book Reviews

Lakin, Samantha. “Review of Negotiating Genocide in Rwanda: The Politics of History by Erin Jessee.” Oral History Forum d’histoire orale 37(2017), ISSN 1923-0567.

Lakin, Samantha. “Review of United States Law and Policy on Transitional Justice: Principles, Politics, and Pragmatics by Zachary D. Kaufman.” Human Rights Quarterly, Vol. 39, February 2017.

SELECTED PARTNERSHIPS

Keynote Speaker, Millennium Campus Conference (MCC17) for youth leaders

Rabat, Morocco, November 16-19, 2017

Trained over 200 youth leaders in the UN Sustainable Development Goals, support ongoing Millenium Campus Network activities when needed.

(Photo Credit: Laura Bernier)

TESTIMONIES/TEMOIGNAGES: Stories of Refugee Children Rescued to Switzerland During World War II

Fulbright scholars Samantha Lakin and Laura Bernier were invited by the Swiss Embassy in Washington DC to publish an essay and photo book of their historical and documentary research about Jewish children rescued to Switzerland during World War II. The Swiss Embassy has used Samantha and Laura’s book for education in over 100 embassies and consulates around the world. The book consists of historical information about the rescue efforts during WWII, detailed accounts of field research in Europe and Israel, and capturing professional photographs that bring the story to life. 

As an academic in comparative genocide, my appreciation for the necessity and challenge of working directly with survivors of mass violence developed during my research as a Fulbright scholar (2011-2012). Over the course of 15 months, I interviewed 70 Holocaust survivors who were rescued as children to Switzerland during World War II. I analyzed historical information in five national archives regarding the infrastructure created to care for these refugee children. Listening to the stories of survivors transformed me from researcher to historical witness. After the interviews, I noticed how careful collection of testimonies would reassure survivors that their stories could help aid recovery in their communities.

Follow this link to check out Laura Bernier Photography.

Memorializing Genocide in Rwanda: Perspectives from Governmental, Communal, and Personal Memorial Practices

Kigali Genocide Memorial and National Memorial Sites in Rwanda

Similar experiences arose during my Master’s fieldwork at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. I had the privilege of performing research in Rwanda at the Kigali Genocide Memorial and several other memorial sites, where I applied the knowledge I had attained through Master’s level coursework in comparative history to design thesis research. I used my expertise in econometrics to analyze 170 surveys of museum visitors. In addition, I interviewed 20 Rwandan memorial guides and leaders of survivor organizations. My Master’s thesis analyzed three main components: first, how memorials can best create a space for dialogue for survivors to explore their histories with violence; second, the educational value of memorial sites for children of survivors; and third, international visitor attitudes regarding narratives of extreme violence. Whereas some survivors share their stories during commemoration periods, others subordinate their individual narratives to adopt the official state discourse being created in Rwanda.

Commonwealth Secretariat London and Insight on Conflict

Invited to share a photo essay with visitors at the Commonwealth Secretariat London in December 2013, as part of an exhibit on memorialization and mass atrocities. The photos were about different local perspectives on peacebuilding after genocide in Rwanda. Here is the link to the photo essay on Insight on Conflict’s Blog.

                                

Genocide Survivors Support Network- Advisory Board Member

Since 2014, I was invited to serve on the Advisory Board of the Genocide Survivors Support Network.  “GSSN’s vision is to build an empowered, educated, driven, and thriving  community of genocide survivors, able to overcome the challenges inherited from the genocide and eager to help other survivors achieve the same.” I have been working with the Founder and Executive Director on the new Survivor’s Voice Program, which took place at Harvard Law School in February 2015.

Survivors Fund (SURF)- Board of Trustees

In 2015 I was invited to serve on the Board of Trustees for Survivors Fund, a UK-based NGO dedicated to serving genocide survivors in Rwanda.

Affiliations

• Fulbright Association
• International Peace Research Association (IPRA)
• International Society of Political Psychology (ISPP)
• International Association of Genocide Scholars (IAGS)
• American Historical Association
• African Studies Association (ASA)
• Fletcher Women’s Network

Select Authorship-Social Media

• Rwandans discuss how best to commemorate genocide- The Conversation
• At the Mythological Center of the World, A Unique Pedagogical Initiative Launches in Nigeria, Huffington Post, August 3, 2017
• Q&A with Samantha Lakin: Lessons in Preventing Genocide in Africa since Rwanda By the Africa Center for Strategic Studies April 7, 2017
• Israel in Africa: Not Just Opportunism, World Policy Institute Blog, July 22, 2016
• Let Us Be Heard: Burundi Refugees Tell Stories of Ethnic Targeting, African Arguments, February 3, 2016
• From Kigali to Cooperstown: The First Retreat of Rwandan Genocide Survivors Living in America
• “Keeping the focus on responding to victims: A response to the Human Security Report 2012,” World Peace Foundation Blog (March 2013)
• “Impunity Watch: Cases of Gender and Post-Conflict Transitional Justice,” Auschwitz Institute (May 2013)
• “Responding to at-risk young people in Rwanda,” Insight on Conflict Blog (June 2013)
• “20 years after the genocide, how are Rwandans rebuilding?” Insight on Conflict Blog (October 2013)
• “Reflection on Murambi and National Memorial Sites in Rwanda,” PROOF: Media for Social Justice (August 2013)
• “Memorializing Mass Atrocities: Teachings from Survivors’ Testimony,” Justice Africa, (December 2012)

Select Conference and Public Presentations

• “Kwibuka: Divergent Memory and the Quest for Post-Genocide Justice in Rwanda,” Walter Rodney Seminar Series, Boston University African Studies Center (February 2019)
• “Constituting Justice: Compromises of Peace and Justice in the Cases of Rwanda and Burundi,” Yale University MacMillan Center Genocide Studies Program (February 2019)
• “Designing Gender-Sensitive Research: Practical Basics from Applied Research,” 4^th Conference on Gender and International Relations, The Fletcher School, Tufts University (November 2018)
• “Divergent Memory and Post-Genocide Justice in Rwanda,” Fifth International Conference on Genocide, Ethnic Studies Department, Sacramento State University of California (November 2018)
• “Narratives of symbolic violence: Finding meaning amid unspeakable violence,” Oral History Association Annual Conference, Montreal (October 2018)
• “Practical Implications of the Holistic Nexus between Juridical and Non-Juridical Transitional Justice Measures: The Case of the Great Lakes Region of Africa,” Tumaini University Makumira, Arusha, Faculty of Law (February 2018).
• “Nuanced Memory: Creating Memorial Culture after Genocide and Mass Atrocities in Rwanda and Northern Uganda”, Roundtable discussion at the Protestant Institute of Arts and Social Sciences (PIASS) Butare, Rwanda (May 2018)
• “Symbolic Justice in Rwanda: An Analysis of Local Perspectives of Genocide Survivors,” the African Studies Association annual conference, Washington, D.C. (2016)
• “A Gender-Based Approach to Justice and Reparations in the Aftermath of the 1994 Genocide in Rwanda,” International Network of Genocide Scholars(INoGS) Annual Conference, Jerusalem (2016)
• “Genocide, Justice, and Dignity: The Holocaust and Rwanda,” Frank Islam Athenaeum Symposium, Montgomery College, Germantown, MD (2015)
• “Memorialization, Justice, and the Social Psychology of Survivors of the 1994 Genocide in Rwanda” Alliance for Historical Dialogue and Accountability, Columbia University Institute for the Study of Human Rights, New York (2015)
• “Memory and Forgiveness in Post-Genocide Rwanda” Institute for African Transitional Justice, Makerere University, Uganda (2015)
• “Transitional Justice, Legal and Symbolic Reparations” University of Rwanda Faculty of Law, Butare, Rwanda (2014)
• “Being young and civic in sub-Saharan Africa: A comparative analysis of civic engagement and identity formation among youth in SSA” Panel Presentation, Comparative and International Education Society (2014)
• “20 Years After the Genocide: Accountability and Memory in Rwanda,” The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy Human Security Department (2013)
• “Memorialization in Rwanda,” Alliance for Historical Dialogue and Accountability, Columbia University Institute for the Study of Human Rights, New York (2013)
• “Consulates and Noncombatant Evacuation Operations,” Vienna Convention on Consular Relations at 50 and Beyond, The Fletcher School, Medford, MA (2013)
• Lecture and Exhibit, Museum of Tolerance New York, “TESTIMONIES/TEMOIGNAGES” (2012)

• “The Fate of Jewish Children Rescued to Switzerland During WWII” The International Institute For Holocaust Research, Yad Vashem, Jerusalem, Israel, (2012)
• “Women Refugees in Switzerland during World War II”, The Wiener Library, London, UK (2012)

                              Videos and Podcasts

• This Is My Era: the Podcast
• RealTalk USA with Samantha Lakin
• African Studies Association Interview with Patricia Agupusi, Brown University
• Exploring Stories of Genocide and Justice after Conflict | Samantha Lakin | TEDxFulbrightSantaMonica
• Samantha Lakin: “From Genocide to Dignity and Justice” | Talks at Google
• Frank Islam Athenaeum Symposia: Samantha Lakin