Armstrong Mudzengerere is a doctoral researcher and development practitioner at the University of Amsterdam within the Governance and Inclusive Development program group. He holds a Joint master’s degree in African studies from the University of Bayreuth in Germany, with a specialization in Development in Postcolonial Africa, covering development Aid (Africapitalism and philanthrocapitalism) and the critical mineral sector of Global China. He also completed tracks at the Université Bordeaux Montaigne, focusing on Investing in Africa: opportunities, actors, and distributive justice, and the University of Porto, focusing on Development Cooperation.

In addition, he holds a Master's degree in Regional Studies from the Social Sciences University of Ankara in Türkiye, where he specialized in the Political economy of Development in Africa. He earned his bachelor’s degree in Development Studies from Midlands State University in Zimbabwe. His multidisciplinary and transdisciplinary research approach spans the political economy of development, Global China in Africa's mineral sector, critical minerals (the green/digital transition, extractivism and social justice), community engagement in natural resource governance, sustainability in Africa, epistemic justice, and business and human rights.

Research methods

Mixed methods, case study design, which integrates both quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis techniques.

Qualitative (focus groups, structured surveys, key informant, semi-structured interviews, and document review.

Quantitatively, my research uses an integrated analysis of Unequal Exchange that includes the Environmentally Extended Multi-Regional Input-Output (EEMRIO) model, the Monetary Expression of Labor Time (MELT), and the Natural Expression of Labor Time (NELT) calculation.

Current research projects

My project examines the political economy of Chinese lithium mining investments in Zimbabwe, focusing on power dynamics, resource flows, and social justice. The research is structured around three trans-scalar (macro-, meso-, and micro-) lines of inquiry: institutional configuration, value allocation, and community responses/agency.

Firstly, institutional configuration explores how mining actors and institutions interact to shape Chinese lithium mining investments; secondly, value allocation investigates the specific mechanisms of resource and value capture, along with their associated effects for local people and their environments; and thirdly, community responses/agency focuses on how communities perceive, adapt, and respond to the lithium mining investments.

Armstrong's research is part of the Global Research on Worldwide Challenges (GROW) project, under the Governance and Inclusive Development (GID) program group.