Richard McPherson II

I am a DPhil student in Area Studies (Africa) at Wolfson College, University of Oxford. My research focuses on the ongoing political persecution and social stigma that declared atheists and nominally irreligious people face in West Africa, with a special focus on states in the Commonwealth of Nations.

My research stands at the intersection of comparative political theory and postcolonial political anthropology. The persecution of atheists in West African nations — through blasphemy prosecutions, social ostracism, or informal violence — is typically framed as a human rights issue rather than a political-theoretical one. My project reorients that discussion. It treats atheism not simply as a lack of belief but as a category of unbelonging that destabilizes the assumed harmony between religion, morality, and public order in postcolonial states.

Prior to joining OSGA, I received my MLitt in Global Social and Political Thought at St Leonard's College, University of St Andrews in Scotland, where my dissertation examined the contemporary role and potential of the Commonwealth of Nations to fill soft power voids being left open by the United States. I also hold a BA from The American University's School of International Service in Washington, D.C.

Outside of academics, I enjoy scuba diving, traveling, and checking in with overseas friends.

Supervisor: Professor Rita Abrahamsen