BIOGRAPHY
Currently a visiting researcher affiliated with the Civic Innovation Research Programme at the International Institute of Social Studies (ISS) of Erasmus University Rotterdam, Tamara’s work is very much influenced by her interests in decoloniality and other knowledges, as well as her background as a researcher and practitioner.
In 2023, Tamara completed her PhD in Development Studies at the International Institute of Social Studies (ISS) of Erasmus University Rotterdam. Her PhD research, titled “The Past in the Present: Segregation and relational peacebuilding in Ambon”, is a decolonial investigation on (religious) segregation and peacebuilding processes in Ambon in relation to the 1999-2004 wars. Tamara holds an MA degree in Development Studies, specialised in Conflict, Reconstruction and Human Security from the same institute.
For the past 25 years, Tamara has been working with various political actors and institutions on issues such as violent conflicts, peace processes, crisis management, post-conflict/disaster reconstruction, power and inequality, intersectionality, and coloniality of development — both as a researcher-lecturer and as a development practitioner.
Coming from Indonesia and now based in the Netherlands, Tamara connects networks and initiatives in Indonesia with her present work in Europe, highlighting linkages between local and global. Beyond academia, Tamara also engages in collaborative research and popular education, making knowledge accessible to broader audiences through public lectures, workshops, and publications in both scholarly and popular outlets.