Tesfalem H. Yemane

Tesfalem is a PhD researcher at the University of Leeds, School of Sociology and Social Policy. Building on Joseph Nye’s concept of ‘soft power’, he examines the destination preferences of Eritrean refugees and asylum seekers who arrive in the UK and their post-arrival experiences. Tesfalem studied Political Science at the University of Asmara, Eritrea and worked as Graduate Assistant at the College of Arts and Social Sciences in Eritrea Institute of Technology. After spending two years in Sudan as a refugee, Tesfalem went to China and completed an MA in International Relations at Tsinghua University. Tesfalem also holds a second MA in African Peace and Conflict Studies from the University of Bradford. In the UK, Tesfalem works as Project Coordinator with RETAS, Leeds based refugee organization. His co-authored book chapter, ‘Steps to Settlement for Refugees: A Case Study’ (2019) traces the refugee journey towards citizenship in the UK. Tesfalem’s research interests include forced migration, international-migration relations, link between development aid and migration controls, migrants’ ‘integration’, international relations and peace studies.