Leyla Tiglay Research Profile

Leyla Tiglay

Leyla Tiglay received her Ph.D. from Ohio State University in 2024, specializing in the confluence of international history of decolonization and the history of technology and environment. Her regional focus spans the international history of Africa, U.S. foreign policy, and French colonial empire. Currently, she serves as an Ernest May Fellow in History and Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School's Belfer Center for Science & International Affairs (2022-2024). She is also a Fellow at the Mershon Center for International Security Studies. Leyla’s project explores the influence of major decolonization crises on early Cold War nuclear politics, shaping the international nuclear regime we know today. Her dissertation specifically examines the nexus of decolonization in Africa, France's nuclear tests in the Sahara, and anti-nuclear movements, all set against the backdrop of Great Power diplomacy marked by the Geneva and Test Ban negotiations of the late 1950s. This project brings new insights into overlooked aspects of African colonial and postcolonial history, particularly those related to nuclear issues affecting the continent.

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