Sophia Htwe

Overview

Sophia Htwe is a PhD candidate in Conflict and Peace Studies at the University of Melbourne. Her research focuses on conflict, peacebuilding, rebel governance, conflict economies, community development, and social justice. Her doctoral research examines the politics of peacebuilding in Myanmar’s Rakhine State, with a particular focus on how local civil society actors construct and contest peace amid protracted conflict, authoritarian governance, and deep ethnic divisions.

Before pursuing her doctoral studies, she worked for more than a decade with local and international organisations in Myanmar on development, humanitarian, and peacebuilding initiatives as both a practitioner and researcher. Through policy dialogue and applied research, her work bridges scholarship and policy to support locally grounded approaches to peacebuilding and governance in conflict-affected contexts.

Sophia holds a Master of International Community Development from Victoria University, Melbourne.