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# Kujenga Amani

A forum for the exchange of ideas and information on peacebuilding in Africa

## Sitemaps

- [XML Sitemap](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/sitemap.xml): Contains all public & indexable URLs for this website.

## Posts

- [Beyond Geographic Rotation: African Leadership, the United Nations,  and the Future of Global Peacebuilding](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2026/07/08/beyond-geographic-rotation-african-leadership-the-united-nations-and-the-future-of-global-peacebuilding/) - Introduction The contemporary international system is experiencing a profound crisis when it comes to peacebuilding and multilateral cooperation. Armed conflicts in Sudan, Ukraine, Gaza, the Middle East, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and countries in other regions continue to expose the growing limitations of existing mechanisms in practicing conflict prevention, mediation, and post-conflict recovery. At The contemporary international system is experiencing a profound crisis when it comes to peacebuilding and multilateral cooperation. Armed conflicts in Sudan, Ukraine, Gaza, the Middle East, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and countries in other regions continue to expose the growing limitations of existing mechanisms in practicing conflict prevention, mediation, and post-conflict recovery.
- [Book Review: "Governing a Poor Country: Perspectives from a Former Chief Minister of Sierra Leone"](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2026/06/24/book-review-governing-a-poor-country-perspectives-from-a-former-chief-minister-of-sierra-leone/) - David J. Francis, Governing a Poor Country: Perspectives from a Former Chief Minister of Sierra Leone, London: Adonis & Abbey Publishing Ltd, 2026. 155 pp. £16.68 (paper), ISBN 9781913976743. Reviewed by Kenneth Omeje Governing a Poor Country is a thought-provoking anthology written by David Francis in which he intellectually reflects on his time in office Governing a Poor Country is a thought-provoking anthology written by David Francis in which he intellectually reflects on his time in office as the first post-independence Chief Minister of Sierra Leone (April 2018 – April 2021)
- [The Growing Audacity of Non-State Armed Groups in West Africa](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2026/06/19/the-growing-audacity-of-non-state-armed-groups-in-west-africa/) - The recent death in captivity1 of retired Major General Rabe Abubakar, a former Nigerian Director of Defense Information, and the attack by unknown gunmen on the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies2, a strategic national institution, have drawn renewed attention to Nigeria's persistent insecurity crisis. Yet underlining the tragedy is a larger question: what
- [An Interview with PhD Graduate and Next Gen Alumna, Efetobor Stephanie EFFEVOTTU](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2026/06/12/an-interview-with-phd-graduate-and-next-gen-alumna-efetobor-stephanie-effevottu/) - Efetobor Stephanie EFFEVOTTU, PhD, is an early-career researcher and practitioner with a doctorate in History (Development Studies) from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria. She holds a B.A and an M.A. in History from the University of Benin and the University of Ibadan, respectively. Her research engages with questions around religious peacebuilding, women and youth engagement Efetobor Stephanie EFFEVOTTU, PhD, is an early-career researcher and practitioner with a doctorate in History (Development Studies) from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria.
- [An Interview with PhD Graduate and Next Gen Alumnus, Dr. Nyasha Blessed Bushu](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2026/05/28/phd-graduate-and-next-gen-alumnus-spotlight-dr-nyasha-blessed-bushu/) - Dr. Nyasha Blessed Bushu holds a Doctor of Philosophy degree in African Studies with a focus in the International Studies Group from the University of the Free State in South Africa. He also holds a BA Honours Degree in Economic History and an MA in African Economic History from the University of Zimbabwe. His research Dr. Nyasha Blessed Bushu holds a Doctor of Philosophy degree in African Studies with a focus in the International Studies Group from the University of the Free State in South Africa.
- [An Interview with PhD Graduate and Next Gen Alumnus, Dr. Japhet Ringo](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2026/05/21/phd-graduate-and-next-gen-alumna-spotlight-dr-japhet-ringo/) - Dr. Japhet Ringo is a Tanzanian scholar and lecturer in disaster risk management at the University of Dodoma. He holds a PhD in Disaster Risk Management from Ardhi University, a Master of Science in Natural Resources Management from the University of Dodoma, and a Bachelor's degree in Geography and Environmental Studies from the same institution. Dr. Japhet Ringo is a Tanzanian scholar and Lecturer in Disaster Risk Management at the University of Dodoma.
- [From War Songs to Peace Songs: Owigiri, Militancy, and Peacebuilding in Nigeria’s Niger Delta Region](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2026/06/11/from-war-songs-to-peace-songs-owigiri-militancy-and-peacebuilding-in-nigerias-niger-delta-region-1/) - In the struggle for control of natural resources (oil and gas) in Nigeria’s Niger Delta region, music has played an important but ambivalent role:[2] serving as a medium for resistance against decades of federal extraction of oil and neglect of the region, and later as a tool for fostering peace after the federal government granted Niger Delta ethnic minority militia groups presidential amnesty in 2009.From War Songs to Peace Songs: Owigiri, Militancy, and Peacebuilding in Nigeria’s Niger Delta Region[1] In the struggle for control of natural resources (oil and gas) in Nigeria’s Niger Delta region, music has played an important but ambivalent role:[2] serving as a medium for resistance against decades of federal extraction of oil and neglect of
- [Tribute to Professor Fantu Cheru](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2026/06/05/tribute-to-professor-fantu-cheru/) - The African Peacebuilding and Developmental Dynamics (APDD) program, formerly the APN and Next Gen of the Social Science Research Council (SSRC), mourns the passing of Professor Fantu Cheru, pioneer Chairman, and founding member of the APN Advisory Board and Selection Committee. Professor Cheru obtained his PhD in Political Economy and Urban Planning from Portland State The African Peacebuilding and Developmental Dynamics (APDD) program, formerly the APN and Next Gen of the Social Science Research Council (SSRC), mourns the passing of Professor Fantu Cheru, pioneer Chairman, and founding member of the APN Advisory Board and Selection Committee.
- [Fellowship Spotlight: Interview with IRG Alumna, Prof. Mary Boatemaa Setrana](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2026/05/22/fellowship-spotlight-interview-with-irg-alumna-prof-mary-boatemaa-setrana/) - Prof. Mary Boatemaa Setrana is a Professor of Migration and Social Change and Director of the Centre for Migration Studies at the University of Ghana. She is also the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Research Chair on Forced Displacement in Anglophone West Africa. She is a member of the Scientific Committee for the Council for Prof. Mary Boatemaa Setrana is a Professor of Migration and Social Change and Director of the Centre for Migration Studies at the University of Ghana.
- [Getting Conservation Right in Ghana’s Artisanal Fisheries Sector: Aligning Policy with Evidence and the Realities of Coastal Communities](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2026/05/27/getting-conservation-right-in-ghanas-artisanal-fisheries-sector-aligning-policy-with-evidence-and-the-realities-of-coastal-communities/) - Amid growing concerns over declining fish stocks and increasing pressure on marine resources, Ghana’s coastal communities continue to face the difficult challenge of balancing conservation with livelihood survival. Artisanal fisheries remain central to food security, employment, and social stability along the country’s coastline. The closed season policy, first introduced for the industrial trawl sector in Amid growing concerns over declining fish stocks and increasing pressure on marine resources, Ghana’s coastal communities continue to face the difficult challenge of balancing conservation with livelihood survival. Artisanal fisheries remain central to food security, employment, and social stability along the country’s coastline.
- [Communicating Research for Policy Impact in African Peacebuilding Contexts: Actionable Principles and Concise Guidelines](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2026/04/16/communicating-research-for-policy-impact-in-african-peacebuilding-contexts-actionable-principles-and-concise-guidelines/) - The effective communication of research findings to policymakers is crucial for closing the gap between evidence and policy in African peacebuilding. Despite advances in peacebuilding research and digital tools, many findings do not influence decision-making due to misaligned communication, misunderstandings of what information policymakers need, and insufficient focus on knowledge translation, among other factors.¹
- [Reframing the Debate: African Universities and the Ethical Integration of Generative AI in Teaching and Research](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2026/05/06/reframing-the-debate-african-universities-and-the-ethical-integration-of-generative-ai-in-teaching-and-research/) - Introduction The University of Cape Town (UCT) was among the first universities in South Africa, and possibly on the African continent, to disable its Artificial Intelligence (AI) detection protocols in the plagiarism checker Turnitin.¹ UCT acknowledges that generative AI (GenAI) technologies, such as ChatGPT, Claude, and Dall-E, which are designed to produce new content, including The University of Cape Town (UCT) was among the first universities in South Africa, and possibly on the African continent, to disable its Artificial Intelligence (AI) detection protocols in the plagiarism checker Turnitin.
- [The New Space Age and Global Peace: An African Perspective on the Lessons from Artemis II](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2026/04/30/the-new-space-age-and-global-peace-an-african-perspective-on-the-lessons-from-artemis-ii/) - Introduction The Artemis II mission, which took astronauts from the United States and Canada around the Moon for the first time in over fifty years, reflects a shift from competition to collaboration in outer space exploration.¹ Unlike the space race in previous eras, today’s space missions are increasingly framed around partnerships, shared knowledge, and collective The Artemis II mission reflects a shift from competition to collaboration in outer space exploration.
- [Closing the Protection Gap in Tongogara Refugee Settlement, Zimbabwe](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2026/04/24/closing-the-protection-gap-in-tongogara-refugee-settlement-zimbabwe/) - Introduction This article examines humanitarian protection in Zimbabwe from 2013 to 2023, marked by fluctuating funding, a surge in refugee arrivals, and the interruption of schooling during the COVID-19 pandemic. The focus is not on drafting new policies. It is on asking a harder question: whether existing child sexual abuse prevention and response systems in This article examines humanitarian protection in Zimbabwe from 2013 to 2023, marked by fluctuating funding, a surge in refugee arrivals, and the interruption of schooling during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- [An Interview with Recent PhD Graduate and Next Gen Alumna, Dr. Nguye Flora Mutere](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2026/04/10/an-interview-with-recent-phd-graduate-and-next-gen-alumna-dr-nguye-flora-mutere/) - Dr. Nguye Flora Mutere is a multimedia designer, digital heritage researcher, and lecturer, teaching Interactive Media Design at the Department of Design and Creative Media at the Technical University of Kenya. She received the Next Gen doctoral dissertation proposal development fellowship grant for 2022-2023. She is an alumna of The Smithsonian’s Institution African Museology Exchange Dr. Nguye Flora Mutere is a multimedia designer, digital heritage researcher, and lecturer, teaching Interactive Media Design at the Department of Design and Creative Media at the Technical University of Kenya. She received the Next Gen doctoral dissertation proposal development fellowship grant for 2022-2023.
- [The Baltic States and Africa: A Historic Opportunity Outside the Shadow of the West](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2026/04/09/the-baltic-states-and-africa-a-historic-opportunity-outside-the-shadow-of-the-west/) - International relations today are not built solely on history, power, or geography, but on the ability of state actors to redefine their position and role in a rapidly changing world.¹ In this context, the Baltic states—Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia—have a rare strategic opportunity to reshape their international relations through engagements with Africa. They can do International relations today are not built solely on history, power, or geography, but on the ability of state actors to redefine their position and role in a rapidly changing world.¹ In this context, the Baltic states—Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia—have a rare strategic opportunity to reshape their international relations through engagements with Africa.
- [Cultural Diplomacy in the Digital Age: Peacebuilding Lessons from an African Debate](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2026/04/01/cultural-diplomacy-in-the-digital-age-peacebuilding-lessons-from-an-african-debate/) - President John Dramani Mahama’s recent state visit to Zambia produced an unexpected flashpoint: not on trade or security cooperation, but about his attire. He arrived in Lusaka wearing a traditional Ghanaian smock known as the fuguor batakari, a handwoven garment deeply rooted in the culture and heritage of northern Ghana. As images of him circulated President John Dramani Mahama’s recent state visit to Zambia produced an unexpected flashpoint: not on trade or security cooperation, but about his attire.
- [The myth of technological neutrality: Perspectives on an Ethical Framework for African Peacebuilding Scholarship](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2026/03/27/the-myth-of-technological-neutrality-perspectives-on-an-ethical-framework-for-african-peacebuilding-scholarship/) - Introduction In a social experiment, I asked Chat GPT: Which publications will you recommend for gender and student activism in Africa? Several of the scholars on the list were non-African scholars. As an emerging scholar in the field, I went further to ask why my publications on gender and student activism were left out. The In a social experiment, I asked Chat GPT: Which publications will you recommend for gender and student activism in Africa? Several of the scholars on the list were non-African scholars.
- [An Interview with Recent PhD Graduate and Next Gen Alumna, Dr. Annie Kok](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2026/03/25/an-interview-with-recent-phd-graduate-and-next-gen-alumna-dr-annie-kok/) - Dr. Annie Kok is a criminologist, policing scholar, and networks researcher with an interest in organized crime and public inquiries into policing. She received her PhD in Criminology from the University of Cape Town (UCT) in 2025. Her dissertation investigates the structure of organized criminal networks involved in Cash-in-Transit Crime in South Africa by using Dr. Annie Kok is a criminologist, policing scholar, and networks researcher with an interest in organized crime and public inquiries into policing.
- [Militarized Yet Under-Policed: The Dilemma of Conflict Early Response in the Niger Delta](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2026/03/20/militarized-yet-under-policed-the-dilemma-of-conflict-early-response-in-the-niger-delta/) - Introduction: Violence and militarization of the Niger Delta The Niger Delta is one of the most oil and gas-rich regions in the world. Yet, it is mired in cycles of conflict and environmental crises that fuel underdevelopment and threaten human security.1 Each state in the region has unique and crosscutting forms of insecurity, including those The Niger Delta is one of the most oil and gas-rich regions in the world. Yet, it is mired in cycles of conflict and environmental crises that fuel underdevelopment and threaten human security.
- [Fellowship Spotlight: Interview with IRG Alumna, Dr. Pamela Khanakwa](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2026/03/19/fellowship-spotlight-interview-with-irg-alumna-dr-pamela-khanakwa/) - The College of Humanities and Social Sciences (CHUSS) recognized the Dean of the School of Liberal and Performing Arts (SLPA), Dr. Pamela Khanakwa (APN IRG 2015), for outstanding academic leadership at Makerere University, which has seen her supervise six of eighteen doctoral graduates, with three graduating within the official three-year timeframe. Link to full story:
- [An Interview with Recent PhD Graduate and Next Gen Alumna, Dr. Gerald Mandisodza](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2026/03/19/an-interview-with-recent-phd-graduate-and-next-gen-alumna-dr-gerald-mandisodza/) - Biography Dr. Gerald Mandisodza is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Dullah Omar Institute, Faculty of Law, University of the Western Cape (UWC), South Africa, where he recently completed his PhD in Comparative Constitutional Law. His research sits at the intersection of democracy, traditional governance, and gender justice. Specifically, he examines how marginalised communities, particularly Dr. Gerald Mandisodza is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Dullah Omar Institute, Faculty of Law, University of the Western Cape (UWC), South Africa, where he recently completed his PhD in Comparative Constitutional Law.
- [Deconstructing Colonial Ecological Discourse through Indigenous Environmental Ethics for a Just and Sustainable African Future: The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church Perspective](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2026/03/12/deconstructing-colonial-ecological-discourse-through-indigenous-environmental-ethics-for-a-just-and-sustainable-african-future-the-ethiopian-orthodox-tewahido-church-perspective/) - Introduction Global climate change poses a profound threat to the right to a clean and healthy environment, intensifying conflict, displacement, food insecurity, poverty, biodiversity loss, and ecological degradation. These negative impacts are disproportionately borne by Africa despite the continent’s negligible contribution to global greenhouse gas emissions. This stark injustice exposes a deeper epistemic problem: dominant The anthropocentric worldview underpinning Western capitalism and colonial expansion elevates human interests above the integrity of the natural world.
- [Research-Based Writing in the Age of Artificial Intelligence: My Reflections as an African Agribusiness and Peacebuilding Scholar](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2026/02/26/research-based-writing-in-the-age-of-artificial-intelligence-my-reflections-as-an-african-agribusiness-and-peacebuilding-scholar/) - Introduction The use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming how we conduct research, write, and disseminate our findings.1 What is important to note from the outset is that artificial intelligence will not replace human ingenuity and initiative. Human intelligence remains the true owner and controller of AI. Algorithms cannot replace these. However, if we The use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming how we conduct research, write, and disseminate our findings. What is important to note from the outset is that artificial intelligence will not replace human ingenuity and initiative.
- [Book Review: "Obstacles to Democracy in Sub-Saharan Africa: Key Challenges Seen Through a Sudanese Lens"](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2026/02/27/book-review-obstacles-to-democracy-in-sub-saharan-africa-key-challenges-seen-through-a-sudanese-lens/) - "Obstacles to Democracy in Sub-Saharan Africa: Key Challenges Seen Through a Sudanese Lens" offers a sustained and well-grounded interrogation and analysis of the structural, historical, and socio-economic constraints that continue to impede democratic consolidation across Sub-Saharan Africa. Anchored in Sudan as a principal case study, the book situates national political trajectories within wider theoretical and regional "Obstacles to Democracy in Sub-Saharan Africa: Key Challenges Seen Through a Sudanese Lens" offers a sustained and well-grounded interrogation and analysis of the structural, historical, and socio-economic constraints that continue to impede democratic consolidation across Sub-Saharan Africa.
- [From Displacement to Peacebuilding: How IDP Narratives Challenge State-Led Deradicalization in Nigeria](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2026/02/05/from-displacement-to-peacebuilding-how-idp-narratives-challenge-state-led-deradicalization-in-nigeria/) - “In times of conflict, the loudest voices often drown out the most important ones, but what if true peace begins when those who suffered most get to tell their own stories?” - Tales of Turning Digital Peacebuilders (2025)1 Introduction This essay rethinks deradicalization by centering the voices of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in north-east Nigeria. This essay rethinks deradicalization by centering the voices of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in north-east Nigeria. It examines how IDPs discursively construct their experiences of displacement, trauma, and resilience through stance-taking and appraisal, and how these narratives articulate meanings that are often absent from deradicalization discourses.
- [The European Right-Wing Moral Paradox: Condemning Sudan’s Atrocities While Juggling Strategic Silence and Migration Threats](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2026/02/04/the-european-right-wing-moral-paradox-condemning-sudans-atrocities-while-juggling-strategic-silence-and-migration-threats/) - The recent debate inside the European Parliament over past and ongoing atrocities in Sudan exposes a profound moral contradiction at the heart of contemporary European political discourse. The recent debate inside the European Parliament over past and ongoing atrocities in Sudan exposes a profound moral contradiction at the heart of contemporary European political discourse.
- [Home to Camp: Redirecting Ethiopian Peacebuilding Through Displaced Youth’s Voices](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2026/01/21/home-to-camp-redirecting-ethiopian-peacebuilding-through-displaced-youths-voices/) - The phrase 'Home to Camp' is drawn directly from the testimonies of children and youth during research fieldwork conducted across Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps in Northeast Ethiopia. The phrase 'Home to Camp' is drawn directly from the testimonies of children and youth during research fieldwork conducted across Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps in Northeast Ethiopia.
- [The Faulty Foundations of Transitional Justice in Ethiopia and the Elusive Quest for Sustainable Peace](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2026/01/15/the-faulty-foundations-of-transitional-justice-in-ethiopia-and-the-elusive-quest-for-sustainable-peace/) - Transitional justice (TJ) has been hailed as Ethiopia’s long-awaited antidote for achieving the elusive quest for sustainable peace by addressing both old and current human rights violations. In the context of the new human rights quagmires, priority was placed on TJ to ensure sustainable peace, as outlined in the Pretoria Agreement signed between the federal government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF). Transitional justice (TJ) has been hailed as Ethiopia’s long-awaited antidote for achieving the elusive quest for sustainable peace by addressing both old and current human rights violations. In the context of the new human rights quagmires, priority was placed on TJ to ensure sustainable peace, as outlined in the Pretoria Agreement signed between the federal government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF).
- [Haunted Histories: American Interventionist Politics and the Sokoto Caliphate Imaginary](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2026/01/08/haunted-histories-american-interventionist-politics-and-the-sokoto-caliphate-imaginary/) - One of the underlying forces shaping the United States’ interventionist discourses in Nigeria today is not intelligence, strategy, or local realities, but a haunted historical imaginary, featuring the Sokoto Caliphate as a living jihadist project against Nigerian Christians. One of the underlying forces shaping the United States’ interventionist discourses in Nigeria today is not intelligence, strategy, or local realities, but a haunted historical imaginary, featuring the Sokoto Caliphate as a living jihadist project against Nigerian Christians.
- [How Boko Haram Grooms Young Men and Boys Sexually for Terrorism - and its Implications for Peacebuilding](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2025/12/22/how-boko-haram-groom-young-men-and-boys-sexually-for-terrorism-and-its-implications-for-peacebuilding/) - In my research titled “Queering Terrorism”, published in the journal Studies in Conflict & Terrorism, I examined the sexual practices of terrorist groups such as Boko Haram and the Islamic State of West African Province (ISWAP) and their implications for counter-terrorism policies. In my research titled “Queering Terrorism”,2 published in the journal Studies in Conflict & Terrorism, I examined the sexual practices of terrorist groups such as Boko Haram and the Islamic State of West African Province (ISWAP) and their implications for counter-terrorism policies.
- [AUSS-SA: The Rise of a New Academic Generation in South Africa](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2025/12/18/auss-sa-the-rise-of-a-new-academic-generation-in-south-africa/) - The launch of the SSRC African University Seminar Series in South Africa (AUSS-SA), which took place from the 18th to the 19th of September 2025 at the University of Witwatersrand (Wits University) School of Governance in Johannesburg, can be compared to the birth of a child. The launch of the SSRC African University Seminar Series in South Africa (AUSS-SA), which took place from the 18th to the 19th of September 2025 at the University of Witwatersrand (Wits University) School of Governance in Johannesburg, can be compared to the birth of a child.
- [Book Review: "Militarizing More to Develop Faster? Uganda’s Difficult Choices on Governance, Human Rights and the Economy"](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2025/12/05/book-review-militarizing-more-to-develop-faster-ugandas-difficult-choices-on-governance-human-rights-and-the-economy/) - Militarizing More to Develop Faster? examines the militarization of various sectors of Uganda’s political, social and economic spheres, in relation to national development. The book is a product of a research project undertaken at the eve of the Covid-19 global pandemic, focused on the impact of President Museveni’s Operation Wealth Creation (OWC) launched in 2017, on Uganda.
- [Gender-Based Violence and the Peacebuilding Deficit in Ethiopia’s Transitional Justice Process](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2025/12/12/gender-based-violence-and-the-peacebuilding-deficit-in-ethiopias-transitional-justice-process/) - One of the major expectations of Ethiopia’s Transitional Justice (TJ) process in the context of post-conflict reconciliation, reconstruction, and sustainable peace is that it will deliver justice to victims of conflict-related gender-based violence (CRGBV). While CRGBV continues unabated in the conflicts currently underway in different parts of Ethiopia,1 the region of Tigray has been particularly identified as the worst-case scenario. One of the major expectations of Ethiopia’s Transitional Justice (TJ) process in the context of post-conflict reconciliation, reconstruction, and sustainable peace is that it will deliver justice to victims of conflict-related gender-based violence (CRGBV). While CRGBV continues unabated in the conflicts currently underway in different parts of Ethiopia,1 the region of Tigray has been particularly identified as the worst-case scenario.
- [How the Structural Adjustment Era Continues to Shape Urban Africa’s Energy Future](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2025/11/19/how-the-structural-adjustment-era-continues-to-shape-urban-africas-energy-future/) - Introduction Africa’s clean energy revolution makes compelling headlines. Solar panels glint on rooftops, mini-grids illuminate rural communities, and countries like Namibia1 are betting big on green hydrogen. Electric vehicles are now a feature in the urban iconography of cities, from Accra to Cairo. These images fuel hope for not only climate resilience but also justice
- [When History Becomes a Weapon: Elite Manipulation of Politics in Plateau State, Nigeria.](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2025/11/13/when-history-becomes-a-weapon-elite-manipulation-of-politics-in-plateau-state-nigeria/) - Twenty-four years after the 2001 Jos crisis, political, religious, and traditional elites have transformed historical memories of violence into weapons of electoral manipulation.
- [Pathways to peace in tourism-induced natural resource conflict in the Kakum National Park Area of Ghana](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2025/10/23/pathways-to-peace-in-tourism-induced-natural-resource-conflict-in-the-kakum-national-park-area-of-ghana/) - The Kakum National Park, located in the Central Region of Ghana, is renowned for its lush rainforest and canopy walkway. It draws thousands of tourists each year, contributing significantly to the local and national economies.
- [An Interview with Recent PhD Graduate and Next Gen Alumnus, Dr. Dare Leke Idowu](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2025/10/16/an-interview-with-recent-phd-graduate-and-next-gen-alumnus-dr-dare-leke-idowu/) - Dr. Dare Leke Idowu holds a PhD in Political Studies from the University of Johannesburg, South Africa. He completed his Bachelor's and Master’s degrees in Political Science at Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria. He was a 2023 awardee of the Social Science Research Council’s (SSRC) Next Generation in Social Sciences in Africa Doctoral Dissertation Research
- [Alienation and Conflicts Among Agro-Pastoralist Communities in Ghana: Implications for Peaceful Co-Existence and Democracy](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2025/10/08/alienation-and-conflicts-among-agro-pastoralist-communities-in-ghana-implications-for-peaceful-co-existence-and-democracy/) - Livelihood contestations and social discrimination characterize farmer-herder relations in Africa.
- [Democratic Governance and Electoral Transitions in Botswana: The 2024 Election and Implications for Africa’s Democracy](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2025/10/08/democratic-governance-and-electoral-transitions-in-botswana-the-2024-election-and-implications-for-africas-democracy/) - Democratic consolidation in postcolonial Africa remains fraught with challenges, from entrenched ruling parties to military coups that have taken place in many countries on the continent.
- [Social Movements and the Dilemma of Defending Democracy through Digital Activism in Africa: Insights from Kenya and Nigeria](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2025/10/08/social-movements-and-the-dilemma-of-defending-democracy-through-digital-activism-in-africa-insights-from-kenya-and-nigeria/) - Democracy is in crisis globally and specifically in Africa, where the failures of democratic governance by African leaders have triggered renewed waves of digital activism across the continent.
- [Weak Institutions and Democratic Backsliding in Africa: Reflections on the New Wave of Military Coups in West Africa](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2025/10/08/weak-institutions-and-democratic-backsliding-in-africa-reflections-on-the-new-wave-of-military-coups-in-west-africa/) - Africa is witnessing a gradual backsliding of democracy, increasingly manifesting in the growing rate of military coups unfolding across the continent.
- [Special Issue - Defending Democracy in Africa: Challenges and Options](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2025/10/08/special-issue-defending-democracy-in-africa-challenges-and-options/) - In their latest report documenting the experiences and attitudes of African citizens towards democracy in the past 25 years, Afrobarometer – Africa’s most extensive public opinion survey on democracy – concluded that “democracy is at risk.”
- [Remembering Prof. Maxi Schoeman: A Teacher of Life, Love, and Humanity](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2025/10/07/remembering-prof-maxi-schoeman-a-teacher-of-life-love-and-humanity/) - Maxi was a great teacher of both life and practice.
- [A Capital of Bloodshed: Abuja as a New Face of Confrontation Between the Nigerian Security Forces and the Shia](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2025/08/27/a-capital-of-bloodshed-abuja-as-a-new-face-of-confrontation-between-the-nigerian-security-forces-and-the-shia/) - Introduction Islam worldwide is broadly divided into two categories: the majority, Sunni Muslims, and the minority, Shia Muslims. The Islamic Movement (Harkar Musulunci), or Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN), is the most significant Shia movement in Nigeria, with an estimated ten to fifteen million followers.1 There are other Shia organisations, such as Rasul A’azam Foundation
- [Will Scrapping Vetting Heal the Wounds Caused by the Marginalization of Kenyan Somali’s?](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2025/10/02/will-scrapping-vetting-heal-the-wounds-caused-by-the-marginalization-of-kenyan-somalis/) - When President William Ruto signed a decree on February 5, 2025, announced at Orahey Grounds in Wajir Town, stating that Kenyan Somalis would no longer undergo extra vetting to obtain national identity cards, the decision was hailed as historic.1. It signaled an end to the decades-old practice of forcing youths from northern Kenya to prove their
- [Understanding Women's Agency in Peacebuilding through African Ancestral Intelligence (AAI)](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2025/09/25/understanding-womens-agency-in-peacebuilding-through-african-ancestral-intelligence-aai/) - Women’s peacebuilding has become particularly prominent in Africa, where widespread, long-lasting conflicts and political instability have led to diverse approaches, including grassroots and hybrid strategies, as well as the engagement of traditional leaders, youth, women, and minority groups, all aiming for lasting peace.
- [Between Field and Archive: Reflections on historical fieldwork in African post-genocide communities](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2025/09/17/between-field-and-archive-reflections-on-historical-fieldwork-in-african-post-genocide-communities/) - The Gukurahundi genocide, in which an estimated 20,000 people in the Matebeleland and Midlands regions of Zimbabwe were killed between 1982 and 1987,1, is one of the most devastating cases of violence in post-independent Africa.
- [Resource-Based Resistance and Galamsey’s Grip on Ghana’s Security Future](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2025/09/11/resource-based-resistance-and-galamseys-grip-on-ghanas-security-future/) - This essay explores growing resistance to the state’s anti-galamsey efforts in Ghana, highlighting violent incidents, underlying socioeconomic drivers, and potential security trajectories, and offering policy guidelines for rethinking responses.
- [Lesotho’s National Assembly and Senate at Loggerheads Over Peace Reforms](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2025/09/03/lesothos-national-assembly-and-senate-at-loggerheads-over-peace-reforms/) - In May 2023, the government of Lesotho tabled the Omnibus Bill (10th and 11th Amendment to the Constitution) in parliament. The bill contained 90 amendments to the Constitution.
- [An Interview with Recent PhD Graduate and Next Gen Alumna, Dr. Silindile Nanzile Mlilo](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2025/08/28/an-interview-with-recent-phd-graduate-and-next-gen-alumna-dr-silindile-nanzile-mlilo/) - Dr. Silindile Nanzile Mlilo is a migration scholar, practitioner, and consultant with extensive experience in research and project management at the intersection of migration and mobility governance, xenophobia and social cohesion, youth, and policy development across Africa and Asia. She is also a part-time content creator, producer, and interviewer, committed to amplifying African voices in
- [Carbon Markets and the Politics of Exclusion: Lessons from Zimbabwe’s Kariba and Cicada Projects](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2025/08/20/carbon-markets-and-the-politics-of-exclusion-lessons-from-zimbabwes-kariba-and-cicada-projects/) - In recent years, forest carbon offsetting has been championed as a win-win solution for climate change mitigation, rural development, and sustainability across the Global South. Zimbabwe, in particular, has seen the rise of large-scale carbon offset projects, such as Kariba REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) and Cicada Holdings, which promise to protect
- [Beyond the State: Traditional Authority in the Mediation of Protracted Conflict in Ghana](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2025/08/13/beyond-the-state-traditional-authority-in-the-mediation-of-protracted-conflict-in-ghana/) - At the heart of the protracted conflict in Ghana’s Upper East Region lies decades of complex chieftaincy disputes tracing back to colonial times.1 The Bawku conflict, as it is popularly referred to, involves the Mamprusi and Kusasi communities. It is driven by deeply rooted ethnic tensions and historical grievances, with each group laying claim to
- [President Ruto’s decision to scrap National ID vetting for Kenyan Somalis – A right to citizenship or political expediency?](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2025/08/06/president-rutos-decision-to-scrap-national-id-vetting-for-kenyan-somalis-a-right-to-citizenship-or-political-expediency/) - On February 5, 2025, President Ruto signed a Presidential Decree in Wajir, a county in northeastern Kenya, effectively abolishing a decades-old security vetting process that has disproportionately impacted Kenyan Somalis and other border communities seeking national identity cards.1 The President noted that: “We want the people of northern Kenya to feel equal to the rest
- [Book Review: The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa: A Commentary](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2025/07/09/book-review-the-protocol-to-the-african-charter-on-human-and-peoples-rights-on-the-rights-of-women-in-africa-a-commentary-2/) - Book Review: The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa: A Commentary, edited by Prof. Annika Rudman, Dr. Celestine Nyamu Musembi, and Prof. Trésor Muhindo Makunya, Pretoria, Pretoria University Law Press (9781920538985), 2023, 574 pp. The Maputo Protocol: A Revolution for Women’s Rights in Africa?
- [Book Review: The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa: A Commentary](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2025/07/09/book-review-the-protocol-to-the-african-charter-on-human-and-peoples-rights-on-the-rights-of-women-in-africa-a-commentary/) - Book Review: The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa: A Commentary, edited by Prof. Annika Rudman, Dr. Celestine Nyamu Musembi, and Prof. Trésor Muhindo Makunya, Pretoria, Pretoria University Law Press (9781920538985), 2023, 574 pp. The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’
- [Digital Pathways to Peace? Women’s Voices and the Risks of Online Engagement in Northwestern Nigeria](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2025/07/03/digital-pathways-to-peace-womens-voices-and-the-risks-of-online-engagement-in-northwestern-nigeria/) - Introduction Cultural norms, structural exclusion, and insecurity often constrain women's participation in peacebuilding processes in Northwestern Nigeria. However, digital communication technologies, particularly mobile phones and social media platforms, have opened new avenues for women to voice their concerns, mobilize communities, and advocate for peace. This article critically examines how women leverage these technologies, drawing on
- [Sit-at-Home Protest in Southeast Nigeria: Exploring the Socio-Economic and Security Impact](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2025/05/30/sit-at-home-protest-in-southeast-nigeria-exploring-the-socio-economic-and-security-impact/) - Introduction The Sit-at-Home protest, also known as “Ghost Town,” emerged in 2021 1 as a major source of crisis in Southeast Nigeria. This protest involved individuals voluntarily abstaining from engaging in their regular daily activities, including work, school, business, and social interactions in response to calls by the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) to adopt civil
- [Political and security implications of public reactions to unconstitutional changes of government in (West) Africa: The curious case of Burkina Faso](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2025/05/15/political-and-security-implications-of-public-reactions-to-unconstitutional-changes-of-government-in-west-africa-the-curious-case-of-burkina-faso/) - In the run-up of activities leading up to the 50th anniversary of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the West Africa Network for Peacebuilding (WANEP), the Social Science Research Council (SSRC), and the Conflict Research Network (CORN) - West Africa, organised a high-level policy dialogue from 15-16 April in Accra, Ghana, on “Understanding
- [Communities of Practice as a Transformative Strategy for Digital Peacebuilding in Africa](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2025/05/08/communities-of-practice-as-a-transformative-strategy-for-digital-peacebuilding-in-africa/) - Background As digital technologies continue to reshape the global peacebuilding landscape, new possibilities and challenges keep emerging. Some limitations relate to epistemic injustices and blindness toward local perspectives and experiences, partly due to a universalist assumption that technologies function uniformly across contexts.1 During my African Peacebuilding Network (APN) Individual Research Fellowship (2023/2024), I explored the
- [The Invisibility of the "Born Free" Generation in the New Namibian Cabinet](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2025/05/01/the-invisibility-of-the-born-free-generation-in-the-new-namibian-cabinet/) - Introduction The growing and improving presence of younger individuals in African parliaments offer potential for greater age balance, but whether their potential will be fully realized remains to be seen. Globally, the youth constitute the majority of the voting population but are severely underrepresented in political life.1 While people under the age of 30 account
- [The Dynamics of Conducting Field-based Research within Religious Spaces in South Africa: Challenges and Opportunities](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2025/04/23/the-dynamics-of-conducting-field-based-research-within-religious-spaces-in-south-africa-challenges-and-opportunities/) - Introduction This article is based on my experience conducting field research among African Pentecostal churches in the city of Johannesburg, South Africa. My research project involved conducting interviews and examining liturgical practices for the purpose of identifying processes of reconciliation in these churches. It also investigated how such practices could complement socio-political ideologies that were
- [Can Domestic Initiatives End the Conflict in Ethiopia’s Amhara Region?](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2025/04/17/can-domestic-initiatives-end-the-conflict-in-ethiopias-amhara-region/) - Introduction The Ethiopian government has faced serious problems in Ethiopia’s most influential regions – Tigray, Oromia, and now Amhara. A year has passed since the fighting between the Amhara ethnic militia, called Fano, and the federal defense force continued, causing immense suffering and devastation. Domestic initiatives for conflict resolution and peacebuilding hardly brighten the prospects
- [Aborted Democratic Peacebuilding in Sudan: A Tale of Western Apathy, Regional Encroachments, and Domestic Disillusionment](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2025/04/03/aborted-democratic-peacebuilding-in-sudan-a-tale-of-western-apathy-regional-encroachments-and-domestic-disillusionment/) - The views expressed here emanated from a panel discussion on “Trendlines and Transformations in African Democratic Governance: Lessons for US-Africa Relations,” held at the Woodrow Wilson International Centre for Scholars in Washington DC., on November 13, 2024. In December 2018, Sudan witnessed the third democratic uprising in its post-independent history. Led by a broad coalition
- [Is US-Africa Relations at the Crossroads: What does it mean for Africa?](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2025/04/03/is-us-africa-relations-at-the-crossroads-what-does-it-mean-for-africa/) - The views expressed here emanated from a panel discussion on “Trendlines and Transformations in African Democratic Governance: Lessons for US-Africa Relations,” held at the Woodrow Wilson International Centre for Scholars in Washington DC., on November 13, 2024. Introduction The world is undergoing momentous geopolitical transitions as the major powers, along with a growing number of
- [An Interview with Recent PhD Graduate and Next Gen Alumna, Susan Kung’u](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2025/04/02/an-interview-with-recent-phd-graduate-and-next-gen-alumna-susan-kungu/) - Dr. Susan Kung’u is a lecturer in Communication, Media and Gender Studies at the Presbyterian University of East Africa. She holds a Ph.D. in Communication and Information Studies from the University of Nairobi, a Master’s degree from the same university, and a Bachelors in Education degree from Kenyatta University, Kenya. Her doctoral dissertation studied the
- [An Interview with Recent PhD Graduate and Next Gen Alumnus, Dr. Magolanga Shagembe](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2025/03/27/an-interview-with-recent-phd-graduate-and-next-gen-alumnus-dr-magolanga-shagembe/) - Magolanga Shagembe is a lecturer, researcher, and social psychology consultant based in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at the University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. His teaching, research, and consulting areas are on social thought and behavior, work/organizational behavior and well-being, child and adolescents’ learning and development, as well as mental health and psychosocial
- [Is Religion Always Violent? Understanding Religious Peacebuilding, with a Focus on the Catholic Church](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2025/03/20/is-religion-always-violent-understanding-religious-peacebuilding-with-a-focus-on-the-catholic-church/) - Introduction Is God violent? Would the world be better off without religion, or can religion be a force for peace? In countries like Nigeria, where religion and religious actors are often associated with violence, can they also play a vital role in peacebuilding? This article addresses those pertinent questions by building on my doctoral research
- [Leveraging Person-Centered Communication to End FGM: In conversation with FGM Survivor, Habiba Haro](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2025/02/06/leveraging-person-centered-communication-to-end-fgm-in-conversation-with-fgm-survivor-habiba-haro/) - On February 6, 2025, the world marks the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) under the theme, "Stepping up the pace: Strengthening alliances and building movements to end FGM." On this day, UNFPA urges global solidarity in amplifying commitments to eradicate FGM by sharing stories, strategies, and successes using the hashtags #Unite2EndFGM
- [Commemorating and Celebrating Nigerian Armed Forces Remembrance Day: Making a Case for Civil Society Collaboration](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2025/01/29/commemorating-and-celebrating-nigerian-armed-forces-remembrance-day-making-a-case-for-civil-society-collaboration/) - Introduction The 15th of January is celebrated yearly as the Nigerian Armed Forces Remembrance Day (AFRD). This day is commemorated in honour of the high price paid by heroes of the Nigerian military, and in recognition of the sacrifices of serving soldiers and veterans who fought under challenging climatic, psychological, social and physical conditions to
- [The Economy of Mobility and Irregular Migration in South Africa’s Limpopo Province](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2024/11/06/the-economy-of-mobility-and-irregular-migration-in-south-africas-limpopo-province/) - INTRODUCTION Irregular migration in the Southern African region, particularly in the Limpopo Province between South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Botswana, has assumed the dimension of a whole market economy that affects the entire population of settlements in both countries. The economy of irregular migration marks just one of the several issues and dynamics in the region.
- [Advancing Peacebuilding in Africa: Marking 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence (2024) by Addressing Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2025/01/09/advancing-peacebuilding-in-africa-marking-16-days-of-activism-against-gender-based-violence-2024-by-addressing-female-genital-mutilation-fgm/) - “Peace without justice is at best fragile. Only through justice can sustainable peace be secured.” – Kirthi Jayakumar, 20141 Introduction Violence against women and girls remains one of the most prevalent and pervasive human rights violations around the world. Globally, almost one in three women have been subjected to physical and/or sexual violence, intimate partner/non-partner
- [Special Issue: Emerging Issues in Social Media, Artificial Intelligence, and Peacebuilding in Africa](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2024/12/17/special-issue-emerging-issues-in-social-media-artificial-intelligence-and-peacebuilding-in-africa/) - Introduction This special issue of Kujenga Amani focuses on the impacts and implications of social media and Artificial Intelligence (AI) on conflict dynamics, democracy and peacebuilding in Africa. It also delves into technological innovation and adaptation, digital activism, and Africa-centred policy and regulatory approaches to technology (especially AI), and how this policy environment supports or
- [Exploiting Pan-African Digital Peacebuilding Infrastructures in Kenya: The Case of Maskani](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2024/12/17/exploiting-pan-african-digital-peacebuilding-infrastructures-in-kenya-the-case-of-maskani-2/) - Introduction Maskani is an ambitious online and offline digital peacebuilding movement that was conceived in 2020. It involved six public universities in Western Kenya, and over sixty students, twelve faculty members, and members of their networks using WhatsApp, Facebook and Zoom. Maskani’s methodology was recently adopted in the review of Kenya’s digital peacebuilding architecture in
- [Social Media, Conflict, and Peacebuilding in Southern Africa: A Primer](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2024/12/17/social-media-conflict-and-peacebuilding-in-southern-africa-a-primer-2/) - Introduction Social media has become part of the everyday communicative, networking, and socialization routines of ordinary Africans. Given its social embeddedness in their lives, digital and social media platforms have assumed a much more pronounced role as conflict escalators and de-escalators. Since its inception, social media, like other technologies before it, has been accompanied by
- [Digital Repression? Unmasking the Salience of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Democratic Transitions and Peacebuilding in Africa](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2024/12/17/digital-repression-unmasking-the-salience-of-artificial-intelligence-ai-in-democratic-transitions-and-peacebuilding-in-africa-2/) - Introduction The emergence of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and its potential to make life better or worse has become the subject of global public discourse centered on the need for a robust regulatory policy framework. There is need for stronger digital voices from Africa to build the continent’s digital foreign policy and diplomacy, and to enable
- [Rethinking Artificial Intelligence (AI) Ethics for Peacebuilding Through African Epistemologies](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2024/12/17/rethinking-artificial-intelligence-ai-ethics-for-peacebuilding-through-african-epistemologies-2/) - Introduction The rapid advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has brought ethical concerns to the forefront, as AI now influences nearly every facet of modern life, from healthcare to peacebuilding efforts. Existing AI ethics frameworks, like many technological frameworks, are grounded primarily in Western epistemologies that emphasize autonomy, individual rights, and procedural transparency.1 While these principles
- [Framing Gen Z Protests Against the 2024 Finance Bill in Kenya: A Linguistic Assessment of TikTok](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2024/12/17/framing-gen-z-protests-against-the-2024-finance-bill-in-kenya-a-linguistic-assessment-on-tiktok-2/) - Introduction In 2024, Kenya witnessed significant opposition to the Finance Bill, with Gen Z1 activists leading protests that ultimately forced the government to reconsider its proposed tax policy. Despite repressive measures, such as increased police presence and threats of legal prosecution, the demonstrations grew stronger, fueled by frustrations over economic inequality, corruption, and exclusion from
- [An Intricate Landscape: Reframing Social Media in Peacebuilding in Nigeria](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2024/12/17/an-intricate-landscape-reframing-social-media-in-peacebuilding-in-nigeria-2/) - Introduction Social media is arguably the most widely used digital technology for peacebuilding in Nigeria, especially by civil society. For many scholars, practitioners and users, social media is a double-edged sword.1 While true, this framing obscures the nuances of social media’s role in peacebuilding.2 Framing social media as an intricate landscape acknowledges its complexity in peacebuilding
- [An Interview with Recent PhD Graduate and Next Gen Alumnus, Dr. Kafui Tsekpo](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2024/12/12/an-interview-with-recent-phd-graduate-and-next-gen-alumnus-dr-kafui-tsekpo/) - Kafui Tsekpo is a Next Generation Social Science Doctoral Dissertation (Next Gen) Completion Fellow (2022), and currently a Research Associate at the African Leadership Centre (ALC). His research explores the dynamics between society and the state, focusing on how social and political actors’ interactions within the polity influence leadership, security, and development. Over the past
- [An Interview with Recent PhD Graduate and Next Gen Alumnus, Dr. Garikai Chaunza](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2024/12/06/an-interview-with-recent-phd-graduate-and-next-gen-alumna-garikai-chaunza/) - Garikai Chaunza is a Research Assistant at the School of Journalism and Media Studies, Rhodes University, with interests in Media Activism, Radio & Decolonisation, Media Traditions, Journalism Norms & Practices, and the Political Economy of Media. He holds a PhD in Journalism and Media Studies from Rhodes University, with his dissertation focusing on Activist Radio
- [Analyzing Approaches to Governing Diversity: Insights from the Political Manifestoes of Ghana’s Political Parties](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2024/12/04/analyzing-approaches-to-governing-diversity-insights-from-the-political-manifestoes-of-ghanas-political-parties/) - Introduction One of the formidable challenges facing Ghana as it approaches the 2024 general elections is how the country can effectively manage its diversity against the backdrop of declining trust in state institutions, growing ethno-religious tensions, economic crisis, proliferation of illicit weapons and small arms, and inter-ethnic and inter-community conflicts.[i] Additionally, the resurgence of vigilantism,
- [Ghana: How the 2024 General Election Will Test the Pulse of the Country’s Democracy.](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2024/12/04/ghana-how-the-2024-general-election-will-test-the-pulse-of-the-countrys-democracy/) - Ghana faces yet another milestone in its democratic journey in December 2024, as the country heads to the polls to elect a new President and parliamentarians for the 275-member legislative chamber. This is the 9th successive general election since the country returned to democratic rule in 1992, with remarkable success translating into orderly transitions of
- [An Interview with Recent PhD Graduate and Next Gen Alumna, Dr. Keneuoe Thibello-Maphosa](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2024/11/26/an-interview-with-recent-phd-graduate-and-next-gen-alumna-dr-keneuoe-thibello-maphosa/) - Dr. Keneuoe Thibello-Maphosa is a Mosotho. She acquired a PhD in Development Studies from the Department of Anthropology, Archaeology and Development Studies from the University of Pretoria, in South Africa. Her research area was Migration, specifically the changes in migration trends (social mobility), and the main focus was Basotho Women’s informal cross-border traders with Botswana.
- [Transitional Justice, Conflict Prevention, and Violence in Post-War Sierra Leone: Gaps and Opportunities](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2024/11/21/transitional-justice-conflict-prevention-and-violence-in-post-war-sierra-leone-gaps-and-opportunities/) - Introduction The year 2024 marks two decades since the publication of the final report of the “Truth and Reconciliation Commission in Sierra Leone” (TRCSL). The report attempted to provide an antidote to future conflicts after reviewing evidence of the causes and nature of the Sierra Leonean Civil War (1991–2002). However, the events leading to, and
- [An Interview with Recent PhD Graduate and Next Gen Alumnus, William Musamba](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2024/11/20/an-interview-with-recent-phd-graduate-and-next-gen-alumnus-william-musamba/) - William Musamba (PhD, African History) is a lecturer at Uganda Martyrs University and Makerere University, Uganda. His research interests focus on the twentieth-century history of Busoga, eastern Uganda. His most recent work is “Record Keeping and Political Advocacy in Late Colonial Uganda: the case of Abataka Abasoga, Busoga, 1940 to 1950,” published by Social Dynamics,
- [An Interview with Recent PhD Graduate and Next Gen Alumnus, Solomon Danga](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2024/02/07/an-interview-with-recent-phd-graduate-and-next-gen-alumna-solomon-danga/) - Dr. Solomon Danga is currently a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow at the Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies of Children, Family and Society at the University of the Western Cape. In April 2023, he was awarded his PhD in Child and Family Studies from the University of the Western Cape, South Africa. Solomon obtained a Bachelor of Arts
- [An Interview with Recent PhD Graduate and Next Gen Alumnus, Issah Suhiyini Alhassan](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2024/06/06/an-interview-with-recent-phd-graduate-and-next-gen-alumna-issah-suhiyini-alhassan/) - Issah Suhiyini Alhassan holds a PhD in Silviculture and Forest Management from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Ghana; MPhil Agribusiness from the University of Ghana, Legon; Bachelor of Arts Degree in Integrated Development Studies from the University for Development Studies (UDS), Ghana; and Diploma in Education from the University of Education,
- [An Interview with Recent PhD Graduate and Next Gen Alumnus, Timothy Chibuike Anyanwu](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2024/07/10/an-interview-with-recent-phd-graduate-and-next-gen-alumna-timothy-chibuike-anyanwu/) - Timothy Chibuike Anyanwu is a lecturer at the Alex Ekwueme Federal University, Ndufu-Alike Ikwo, Ebonyi State, Nigeria. He holds a Ph.D. in History and International Studies from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, an M.Sc. in Peace and Conflict Studies from the National Open University of Nigeria, Abuja, and a B.A. in History and International Studies
- [An Interview with Recent PhD Graduate and Next Gen Alumnus, Nigel Mxolisi Landa](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2024/09/12/an-interview-with-recent-phd-graduate-and-next-gen-alumna-nigel-mxolisi-landa/) - Nigel Mxolisi Landa is a Lecturer at the Great Zimbabwe University and a Research Associate at the University of Johannesburg, South Africa. He holds a BSc (Hons) Degree in Sociology (University of Zimbabwe), a MSc Degree in Sociology and Social Anthropology (University of Zimbabwe), and a PhD in Sociology (University of Johannesburg, South Africa). His
- [Taiwan’s Diplomatic Push in Somaliland: A Pathway for Peacebuilding, Security, and Development?](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2024/10/23/taiwans-diplomatic-push-in-somaliland-a-pathway-for-peacebuilding-security-and-development/) - On September 27, 2024, I conducted an interview with Ambassador Allen Lou, Taiwan’s representative to Somaliland, in Hargeisa. Accompanied by Chris Lee, the office’s First Secretary, our conversation illuminated Taiwan’s strategic and diplomatic goals in Africa. The room where the interview took place, lined with photos from key diplomatic events, subtly reflected Taiwan’s journey toward
- [Book Review: Transnational Activities of Women-Focused Civil Society Actors in Southern Africa](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2024/10/09/book-review-transnational-activities-of-women-focused-civil-society-actors-in-southern-africa/) - Book Review: Transnational Activities of Women-Focused Civil Society Actors in Southern Africa by Cecilia Lwiindi Nedziwe and Oluwaseun Tella (ISBN 978-3-031-29536-2), 2023; London, Palgrave Macmillan, 281 pp. Introduction Transnational Activities of Women-Focused Civil Society Actors in Southern Africa by Nedziwe and Tella (2023) is an informative and thought-provoking co-authored book that explores the transformative role
- [The Notion of the “Veil of Ignorance” in Uganda’s 1995 Constitutional Reforms](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2024/09/18/the-notion-of-the-veil-of-ignorance-in-ugandas-1995-constitutional-reforms/) - Introduction Since John Rawls’ publication of “A Theory of Justice,” the notion of the “veil of ignorance” remains relevant to law-making since it has the potential to promote impartiality and justice.1 Since 1962, Uganda has adopted four constitutions: in 1962, 1966, 1967, and 1995. These constitutions have included several provisions and reforms such as the
- [African Union - European Union Partnership on Trade, Development, and Peace: Addressing Challenges and Finding Solutions](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2024/09/05/african-union-european-union-partnership-on-trade-development-and-peace-addressing-challenges-and-finding-solutions/) - Introduction The Joint Africa-European Union (EU) strategy launched in 2007 during the Lisbon Summit. The African Union (AU)-EU Partnership, was officially established at the first Africa-EU Summit held in Cairo in 2000 to boost sustainable development and economic cooperation between Africa and Europe.1 Overview Trade relations between Africa and Europe have gradually evolved over time
- [Is It Too Late for Peace as Zero Hour Approaches in Somalia?](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2024/08/29/is-it-too-late-for-peace-as-zero-hour-approaches-in-somalia/) - Against Koffi Anan’s (the UN Secretary General at the time) better judgement, yet at the insistence of the US, and to save Ethiopia from a protracted war of attrition, the African Union (AU) got involved in Somalia as a Peace enforcer.1 To offer compensation to the AU, and give the occupation a legal or humanitarian
- [Developing a Relevant and Context-Driven Peace Education Program for University Students in Ethiopia: An Overview](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2024/08/21/developing-a-relevant-and-context-driven-peace-education-program-for-university-students-in-ethiopia-an-overview/) - Introduction In recent years, university campuses across Ethiopia have witnessed intermittent clashes that signify conflicts among students of different ethnic and religious identities. It is argued that, while ethnic and religious difference are not the only causes of conflict, they can become a driving force behind violence if politics and democracy are not firmly anchored
- [Totems as a Research Method in Field Research: Some Experiences and Reflections](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2024/07/31/totems-as-a-research-method-in-field-research-some-experiences-and-reflections/) - Conducting field research in Africa, and Zimbabwe in particular, comes with some complexities. There are certain research approaches we take for granted as African researchers based in African countries, posing hurdles in our quest to co-create knowledge. Some of the research strategies and tools we teach in our research methods modules, or use in our
- [Book Review: America and the Production of Islamic Truth in Uganda](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2024/07/17/book-review-america-and-the-production-of-islamic-truth-in-uganda-2/) - Book Review: America and the Production of Islamic Truth in Uganda by Yahya Sseremba (ISBN 9781032412085), 2023; London and New York, Routledge, 216 pp. How should we read Yahya Sseremba’s America and the Production of Islamic Truth in Uganda? Sseremba’s book is a critical reminder of the legacies of colonialism that are still shaping the
- [Book Review: America and the Production of Islamic Truth in Uganda](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2024/07/17/book-review-america-and-the-production-of-islamic-truth-in-uganda/) - Book Review: America and the Production of Islamic Truth in Uganda by Yahya Sseremba (ISBN 9781032412085), 2023; London and New York, Routledge, 216 pp. America and the Production of Islamic Truth in Uganda provides an in-depth analysis of the impact of the war on terror on postcolonial states in Africa, focusing on American interventions in
- [Unionists and Secessionists in Ethiopia: War-Making and State-Making Since 1974](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2024/07/03/unionists-and-secessionists-in-ethiopia-war-making-and-state-making-since-1974/) - In the twenty-first century, war-making and state-making have become enduring global phenomena. The case of Ethiopia exemplifies this trend. Viewed through the lens of Charles Tilly's work on the connection between war and state-making, this essay explores Ethiopia’s political dynamics, including the activities of unionists and secessionists who have deployed various forms of crimes against
- [Strategic Diplomacy Beyond Recognition: Taiwan and Somaliland's People-Centered Relations in the Global Arena](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2024/06/27/strategic-diplomacy-beyond-recognition-taiwan-and-somalilands-people-centered-relations-in-the-global-arena/) - Introduction The 1961 Vienna Convention1 establishes a comprehensive framework for initiating, concluding, and sustaining diplomatic relations based on mutual consent among sovereign states. International diplomacy typically obliges countries to adhere to established diplomatic protocols that emphasize formal state-to-state interactions. In contemporary international relations, unique scenarios arise when entities such as Somaliland and Taiwan, which are
- [Book Review: Guerrillas and Combative Mothers: Women and the Armed Struggle in South Africa](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2024/06/18/book-review-guerrillas-and-combative-mothers-women-and-the-armed-struggle-in-south-africa/) - Book Review: Guerrillas and Combative Mothers: Women and the Armed Struggle in South Africa, by Siphokazi Magadla, Pietermaritzburg, University of KwaZulu Natal Press (9781869145163), 2023, 222 pp.; Oxon, Routledge (R255, 9781032597249), 2024, 248 pp. The book Guerrillas and Combative Mothers: Women and the Armed Struggle in South Africa by Siphokazi Magadla delves into the life histories
- [Book Review: Guerrillas and Combative Mothers: Women and the Armed Struggle in South Africa](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2024/06/18/book-review-guerrillas-and-combative-mothers-women-and-the-armed-struggle-in-south-africa-2/) - Book Review: Guerrillas and Combative Mothers: Women and the Armed Struggle in South Africa, by Siphokazi Magadla, Pietermaritzburg, University of KwaZulu Natal Press (9781869145163), 2023, 222 pp.; Oxon, Routledge (R255, 9781032597249), 2024, 248 pp. Guerrillas and Combative Mothers chronicles the lived experiences of women veterans of South Africa's anti-apartheid struggle in response to two primary
- [Towards Greater Security in the Gulf of Guinea: Challenges and Recommendations for Concerted Action](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2024/06/13/towards-greater-security-in-the-gulf-of-guinea-challenges-and-recommendations-for-concerted-action/) - Introduction For the past two decades, reports on the Gulf of Guinea (GoG) have been at the forefront of global news. The focus of these reports has not been on its abundant natural resources, which are highly coveted, or its increasingly strategic status as a maritime trade route. Instead, the reports have been on the
- [Traversing Horizons: Reflections on the Global South Conference in Bangkok, Thailand](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2024/06/05/traversing-horizons-reflections-on-the-global-south-conference-in-bangkok-thailand/) - Introduction As the Dreamliner Jet soared through the crystalline night, I found myself reflecting on the transformative experiences of the recently concluded Global South Caucus for International Studies (GSCIS) of the International Studies Association’s (ISA’s) regional conference held in Bangkok, Thailand.1 I was flying from Suvarnabhumi Airport, Bangkok, across the vast expanse of the Indian Ocean.
- [Limitations of Community-Based Wildlife Conservation for Conflict Prevention and Peacebuilding at Loliondo GCA, Tanzania](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2024/05/15/limitations-of-community-based-wildlife-conservation-for-conflict-prevention-and-peacebuilding-at-loliondo-gca-tanzania/) - Introduction Conservation strategies in Africa typically comprise a variety of approaches aimed at preserving biodiversity, safeguarding species, and conserving habitat. Such approaches are all critical measures for preserving ecosystems that benefit local communities and contributing to policies that conserve biodiversity and global environmental goals. Community-Based Approaches (CBA) offer a unique perspective by emphasising local involvement
- [Local Dynamics of Everyday Digital Peacebuilding in Africa](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2024/05/10/local-dynamics-of-everyday-digital-peacebuilding-in-africa/) - Introduction Africa’s peacebuilding landscape is increasingly animated by the intentional exploration and strategic use of digital technologies to prevent or respond to conflict, in the aim of building sustainable peace. This is taking place alongside growing calls for localizing peacebuilding in terms of advancing local ownership, leadership, and agency.1 Both trends are an opportunity to
- [An Interview with Recent PhD Graduate and Next Gen Alumnus, Jacob Katumusiime](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2024/04/22/an-interview-with-recent-phd-graduate-and-next-gen-alumnus-jacob-katumusiime/) - Jacob Katumusiime holds a Bachelor of Arts with Education–First Class, a Master of Philosophy, and an Interdisciplinary PhD in Social Studies from Makerere University. He is a recipient of the SSRC’s Next Generation Social Sciences in Africa (Next Gen) 2021 Doctoral Dissertation Research Fellowship and the 2023 Doctoral Dissertation Completion Fellowship. Jacob was also a
- [An Interview with Recent PhD Graduate and Next Gen Alumnus, Teverayi Muguti](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2024/04/17/an-interview-with-recent-phd-graduate-and-next-gen-alumna-teverayi-muguti/) - Teverayi Muguti is a Postdoctoral Fellow at Stellenbosch University, South Africa. He holds a BA Honors Degree in Economic History (University of Zimbabwe), an MSc in Intelligence and Security (Bindura University of Science Education - Zimbabwe) and a PhD in History (Stellenbosch University - South Africa). His research interests are African border studies and borderland
- [Alliance of Sahel States: Challenging Colonial Borders and UN Representation?](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2024/04/18/alliance-of-sahel-states-challenging-colonial-borders-and-un-representation/) - Introduction In September 2023, during the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly held in New York from September 18-26, Mr. Bassolma Bazie, the Minister of State for Burkina Faso, delivered a compelling speech1 advocating for fairness and justice. He spoke on behalf of Burkina Faso, emphasizing the nation's dedication to Pan-Africanism and addressing
- [Dysfunctional Capitalism in Africa and the Theory of Squanderation](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2024/04/10/dysfunctional-capitalism-in-africa-and-the-theory-of-squanderation/) - Introduction This article is largely derived from the theory of squanderation developed in my recent book, The Failure and Feasibility of Capitalism in Africa (Palgrave Macmillan, 2021), which won the Tana High-Level Forum on Security in Africa Book Award of the Year 2022. In this anthology, I argued that capitalism is largely dysfunctional in contemporary
- [An Interview with Recent PhD Graduate and Next Gen Alumna, Titilope F. Ajayi](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2024/04/04/an-interview-with-recent-phd-graduate-and-next-gen-alumna-titilope-f-ajayi/) - Dr. Titilope F. Ajayi is a pracademic and independent research, training, and facilitation consultant with specializations in gender, conflict, peace and security, civil society, and social movements. Her recent work covers women and violent extremism, gender and humanitarianism, and feminist movements and norm change around gender violence. With 18+ years of experience in international development,
- [“Why we joined armed groups”: Engaging former child soldiers of Boko Haram](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2024/03/28/why-we-joined-armed-groups-engaging-former-child-soldiers-of-boko-haram/) - Introduction Northeastern Nigeria has been of significant interest to the research community for one obvious reason: to study the decade-long insurgency ravaging the region. Scholarly inquiries into the phenomenon have produced useful findings, which border on a multitude of issues including the socio-economic and political origins of the conflict; state and international responses; impacts of
- [Ethiopia`s Pretoria Peace Agreement and the Fate of the ‘Contested’ Areas](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2024/03/20/ethiopias-pretoria-peace-agreement-and-the-fate-of-the-contested-areas/) - Introduction After two years of devastating war, the Federal government of Ethiopia and the Tigray People`s Liberation Front (TPLF) signed a Permanent Cessation of Hostilities Agreement in November 2022 in Pretoria, South Africa.1 At the core of the agreement is the TPLF recognizing and submitting to the authority of the Federal Government of Ethiopia by
- [Xenophobia, politics, and religion as we approach the 2024 elections in South Africa](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2024/03/12/xenophobia-politics-and-religion-as-we-approach-the-2024-elections-in-south-africa/) - Introduction This essay explores the linkages between xenophobia, politics and religion, in the run-up to the general elections in South Africa. Despite this year’s general elections coinciding with South Africa’s 30-year anniversary of democracy and freedom, there is very little to celebrate: while there have been gains in the promotion of human rights and democracy
- [Between “Go-and-See and Come-and-Tell” Visits: Reflections on the Repatriation Decision-Making Process of Rwandan Refugees in Uganda](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2024/03/06/between-go-and-see-and-come-and-tell-visits-reflections-on-the-repatriation-decision-making-process-of-rwandan-refugees-in-uganda/) - Introduction Uganda has a long history of refugee protection efforts. This can be traced to the 1940s, when the country hosted 7,000 Polish refugees fleeing the devastation of World War II (1939–1945). Currently, Uganda hosts over 1.5 million refugees due to the tumult in neighboring countries.1 Since October 2002, the Rwandan and Ugandan governments, along
- [Ethics and Intellectual Harm in Research with Refugees](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2024/02/21/ethics-and-intellectual-harm-in-research-with-refugees/) - Introduction The study of refugees has shifted from maintaining the customary homogenization of refugees, including the equation of flight with helplessness, to recognizing their agency. Yet relapses still occur, which perhaps indicates the challenge of balancing the necessarily humanitarian aspect of flight with the intrinsic human qualities of agency and resilience. In this article, I
- [The Role of Universities in Fostering Peace in Communities: The Case of Red Sea University in Sudan](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2024/03/05/the-role-of-universities-in-fostering-peace-in-communities-the-case-of-red-sea-university-in-sudan/) - Introduction Recently, many forms of violence and conflict are escalating due to multiple, often interrelated causes, such as poverty, insufficient development, inequitable resource distribution, competing political ideologies, and religious tensions. These issues have led to complex and prolonged violence. The importance of peace education in reducing conflict has been widely acknowledged,1 and universities can play
- [Living around Mole National Park: Grassroots Perspectives on Gendered Experiences of Protected Area Conflicts and Peacebuilding Strategies](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2024/02/28/living-around-mole-national-park-grassroots-perspectives-on-gendered-experiences-of-protected-area-conflicts-and-peacebuilding-strategies/) - Introduction Globally, conflicts are intrinsic to protected areas (PAs), given the multiple actors, varying interests, and institutional structures connected with PA management. Some experts argue that participatory approaches to natural resources management—especially when women’s views are incorporated—reduce conflicts, promote equity, and build local capacities.[1] Despite this argument, many policies and practices concerning natural resource conflict
- [Editorial: Special Issue on Zimbabwe’s Democracy at the Crossroads: An Analysis of the 2023 Elections](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2024/02/15/editorial-special-issue-of-kujenga-amani-on-zimbabwes-democracy-at-the-crossroads-an-analysis-of-the-2023-elections/) - In Zimbabwe, election disputes continue unabated. As in previous elections, critics dispute the elections held on August 23, 2023, highlighting serious electoral fraud and intimidation of rural voters, opposition political parties, local election monitors, and observers. These disputes cast aspersions on the credibility of the election outcome. They also raise questions about the legitimacy of
- [Policing and the Credibility of the 2023 Elections in Zimbabwe](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2024/02/15/policing-and-the-credibility-of-the-2023-elections-in-zimbabwe/) - Many observers described Zimbabwe’s 2023 harmonized elections to elect the president, the legislators, and local authority representatives as flawed, and the main opposition Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) led by Advocate Nelson Chamisa disputed the election outcome. The Southern African Development Community Election Observer Mission (SEOM) concluded in its report that some aspects of the
- [Electoral Disinformation during the Disputed 2023 Elections in Zimbabwe](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2024/02/15/electoral-disinformation-during-the-disputed-2023-elections-in-zimbabwe/) - Contemporary electoral contests are now synonymous with increased production, distribution, and consumption of false and misleading narratives about candidates, political parties, electoral management bodies, the voting processes, and the announcement of winners and losers. Electoral disinformation refers to the deliberate spreading of false and misleading information related to candidates, political parties, electoral management bodies, electoral
- [Traditional Leaders as Ruling Party Accomplices: A Reflection on Zimbabwe’s 2023 Elections](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2024/02/15/traditional-leaders-as-ruling-party-accomplices-a-reflection-on-zimbabwes-2023-elections/) - On August 23, 2023, the Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front (ZANU PF) and the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) faced off in a highly tense electoral contest. Most regional and international electoral observers, such as the Southern African Development Community (SADC) electoral observation mission[i] and the European Union electoral observation mission, described the
- [Zimbabwe’s Disputed Elections and the SADC Observer Mission](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2024/02/15/zimbabwes-disputed-elections-and-the-sadc-observer-mission/) - The Southern African Development Community (SADC) has long played a pivotal role in observing elections in Zimbabwe and other SADC member states. However, a notable departure from past practice occurred during Zimbabwe’s most recent elections, in August 2023, when the SADC observer mission issued an unprecedented preliminary report that was both negative and critical in
- [An Interview with Recent PhD Graduate and Next Gen Alumnus, Graham Oluteyo Amakanji](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2024/01/08/an-interview-with-recent-phd-graduate-and-next-gen-alumnus-graham-oluteyo-amakanji/) - Graham Oluteyo Amakanji is a Lecturer at the Department of Peace and Conflict Studies at Masinde Muliro University of Science & Technology (MMUST), Kenya. He is an early career scholar and a recipient of the Social Science Research Council’s Next Generation Social Sciences in Africa Program’s 2021 Doctoral Dissertation Research and 2022 Doctoral Dissertation Completion
- [An Interview with Recent PhD Graduate and Next Gen Alumna, Rosette Sifa Vuninga](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2023/12/13/rosette-sifa-vuninga-an-interview-with-recent-phd-graduate-and-next-gen-alumna/) - Dr. Rosette Sifa Vuninga is a National Institute for Humanities and Social Sciences Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Cape Town’s Historical Studies Department, South Africa. In 2023, she successfully completed her PhD and graduated from the University of the Western Cape's Department of Historical Studies. She is also a Social Sciences Research Council (SSRC)
- [Africa Peace Journalism: A Manual for Media Practitioners in East Africa](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2019/02/05/africa-peace-journalism-a-manual-for-media-practitioners-in-east-africa/) - Africa Peace Journalism: A Manual for Media Practitioners in East Africa is the outcome of the East Africa Regional Peace Journalism Training Workshop (March 2017) for journalists covering conflict and peacebuilding in East Africa. Organized by Rongo University’s Center for Media, Democracy, Peace, and Security (CMDPS) in partnership with the African Peacebuilding Network (APN) of the
- ["Extractive Enchantment:” Unveiling the Dynamics of Resource Governance in Mozambique](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2023/10/24/extractive-enchantment-unveiling-the-dynamics-of-resource-governance-in-mozambique/) - In June 2016, during an ethnographic research trip to Limbué, an administrative post in the Lugela district in Mozambique, I had an interesting conversation with the commercial motorcycle operator assigned to me by the district's permanent secretary to take me around the area. This operator, a resident of Lugela district, shared his perspective on the
- [Editorial: APN@10 Anniversary Essay Series](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2022/05/16/editorial-apn10-anniversary-essay-series/) - About the Series As one of the activities marking the 10th anniversary of the Social Science Research Council’s African Peacebuilding Network (APN), the program is launching the "APN@10" essay series on Kujenga Amani. The series offers a platform for invited fellows and alumni to share their personal experiences and reflections on how APN awards and activities have impacted their professional careers and lives. It
- [Introducing the African Peacebuilding Network’s and Next Generation Social Sciences in Africa’s 2022 Fellows](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2022/10/24/introducing-the-african-peacebuilding-networks-and-next-generation-social-sciences-in-africas-2022-fellows/) - The African Peacebuilding Network has awarded 18 Individual Research Fellowships and 1 Collaborative Working Group Fellowship to scholars who will conduct field-based research to enrich knowledge and practice in the field of peacebuilding in Africa. The Next Generation Social Sciences in Africa program has awarded 42 fellowships across its 3 competitions, supporting students and early-career
- [Special Issue on, “Peace, Trade, and Youth: Investing in US-Africa Cooperation.”](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2023/02/17/special-issue-on-peace-trade-and-youth-investing-in-us-africa-cooperation/) - The essays in this volume address several subthemes within the framework of peace, trade, and youth, by referencing African perspectives on US-Africa relations.
- [Genocidal Rape? The Tigray Conflict and Women’s Bodies as a Battleground](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2021/05/26/genocidal-rape-the-tigray-conflict-and-womens-bodies-as-a-battleground/) - In the early hours of November 4, 2020, the armed wing of the former ruling party of Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), attacked several federal military bases across Tigray including the military’s Northern Command headquarters in the capital Mekelle and killed or captured and detained soldiers and raided several armories.
- [Understanding Gender Complementarity in Igbo Society: The Role of Ụmụada and Ụmụnna in Peacebuilding](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2021/07/21/understanding-gender-complementarity-in-igbo-society-the-role-of-umuada-and-umunna-in-peacebuilding/) - Introduction This essay argues that gender roles and relations in peacebuilding in Igbo society are complementary against the background of some misconceptions about the social relationships and cultures of the Igbo people of Southeastern Nigeria. Of note is the portrayal of Igbo women by some scholars as being subservient, inferior, voiceless, and mere appendages to
- [The Challenge of Mothering in the Context of Violent Conflict: How War Is Impacting Women in Tigray, Ethiopia](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2021/08/11/the-challenge-of-mothering-in-the-context-of-violent-conflict-how-war-is-impacting-women-in-tigray-ethiopia/) - On June 22, 2021, the Ethiopian Air Force conducted an aerial bombardment of a busy marketplace in the village of Togoga, in Tigray, Ethiopia, causing the deaths of at least 64 people and injuring 180 others. Although Ethiopian military sources claimed that the victims were combatants, health-care workers and local residents who witnessed the incident
- [Reflections on Conducting Fieldwork during the Covid-19 Pandemic](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2021/09/02/reflections-on-conducting-fieldwork-during-the-covid-19-pandemic/) - The pandemic has necessitated the creation of new methodological tools and ethical practices, as well as the adaptation of older practices, to meet the challenges faced by researchers and the researched. Researchers have been confronted with the dilemma of either canceling field research, postponing it indefinitely, or continuing, with the attendant risks to their own health and the health of their informants.
- [Graduate Studies, the Makerere Factor, and the Future of Social Sciences in Uganda: A Conversation with Prof. Kasaija Phillip Apuuli](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2021/09/17/graduate-studies-the-makerere-factor-and-the-future-of-social-sciences-in-uganda-a-conversation-with-prof-kasaija-phillip-apuuli/) - Social sciences and humanities are as important as sciences. Understanding how society functions is as important as scientific inventions. Thus, these disciplines should be promoted in tandem. In my opinion, the future of the humanities is bright as we seek to understand phenomena like globalization, universal justice, human rights, integration, etc. It is only social science that can give an explanation of why such phenomena exist.
- [Natural Resource Governance and Peace in the African Great Lakes Region: A Legal Perspective to the Case of the Democratic Republic of the Congo](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2021/10/13/natural-resource-governance-and-peace-in-the-african-great-lakes-region-a-legal-perspective-to-the-case-of-the-democratic-republic-of-the-congo/) - Introduction Natural resource governance is widely recognized as an important international public policy issue. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goal 12.2 seeks to achieve, by 2030, “the sustainable management and efficient use of natural resources.” The African Union (AU) prioritizes natural resource governance in its “Agenda 2063: The Africa we want.” In a similar
- [Promoting Inclusive Peacebuilding in the African Great Lakes Region: A Case Study of the Democratic Republic of Congo](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2021/10/13/promoting-inclusive-peacebuilding-in-the-african-great-lakes-region-a-case-study-of-the-democratic-republic-of-congo/) - This Special Issue of Kujenga Amani brings together articles by Congolese scholars and researchers, largely from the University of Goma, examining peacebuilding efforts in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and prospects for the future. The DRC remains one of the most conflict-affected and unstable countries in the African Great Lakes Region (AGLR) because of
- [Towards Inclusive Peace and Development in the Democratic Republic of the Congo](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2021/10/13/towards-inclusive-peace-and-development-in-the-democratic-republic-of-the-congo/) - This essay is based on reflections on the following question: how can conflict prevention and resolution lay the foundation for inclusive, lasting peace and sustainable development in the DRC?
- [Fostering a Gendered Approach to Peacebuilding in the African Great Lakes Region: Perspectives from the Democratic Republic of Congo](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2021/10/13/fostering-a-gendered-approach-to-peacebuilding-in-the-african-great-lakes-region-perspectives-from-the-democratic-republic-of-congo/) - Introduction Since the late 1990s, the African Great Lakes Region (AGLR) and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), in particular, have been ravaged by interstate and intrastate conflicts. Negotiations were undertaken, under the supervision of the international community and regional organizations, in order to broker agreements among the belligerent parties and establish sustainable peace. These
- [Strategies for Building Inclusive Peace in the Democratic Republic of the Congo: A Reflection](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2021/10/13/strategies-for-building-inclusive-peace-in-the-democratic-republic-of-the-congo-a-reflection/) - This article critically examines the strategies for building inclusive peace in the DRC in the face of armed groups backed by neighboring states, foreign companies, and transnational actors seeking to exploit the country’s abundant natural resources.
- [Preventing Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) as a Peacebuilding Strategy: Opportunities and Insights from Northern Rwanda](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2021/11/09/preventing-intimate-partner-violence-ipv-as-a-peacebuilding-strategy-opportunities-and-insights-from-northern-rwanda/) - This essay addresses the challenges and opportunities for preventing women living in conflict-affected or post-conflict communities from becoming victims of Intimate Partner Violence (IPV). Violent conflict is a part of other factors that hamper human development and its effect can last long after the conflict ends. Furthermore, exposure of adults to high levels of war-related
- [Doing Research during the Covid-19 Pandemic: Coping with Risks, Managing the Consequences](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2021/11/10/doing-research-during-the-covid-19-pandemic-coping-with-risks-managing-the-consequences/) - This essay is based on my personal experience during this Covid-19 pandemic as a PhD student. I hope that my fellow PhD students can learn from my experiences during the pandemic, particularly about how to manage risks and develop strong coping strategies as they continue to conduct research during this period of great uncertainty.
- [Between Violent Separatist Agitation and Political Reforms? The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and the Crisis of Post-War Nigerian Federalism](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2022/01/26/between-violent-separatist-agitation-and-political-reforms-the-indigenous-people-of-biafra-ipob-and-the-crisis-of-post-war-nigerian-federalism/) - Igbo youths have mobilized themselves to agitate for the reform of a system they see as structured against them. Sensing that their agitation is not attracting any response to their grievances, some are demanding to opt out of a federal arrangement that is perceived as unfair.
- [Grassroots Perspectives on Building Sustainable Peace in the North West and South West Regions of Cameroon](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2022/02/02/grassroots-perspectives-on-building-sustainable-peace-in-the-north-west-and-south-west-regions-of-cameroon/) - Based on a qualitative research approach, this article analyzes some grassroots perspectives and voices captured through field interviews, focus group discussions, and collage-making sessions with local populations across the Anglophone regions. It revisits some critical implications of the conflict and prospects for peacebuilding processes in the restive regions.
- [Anticipating the new awful: Covid-19 and South Africa’s fragile peace](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2022/02/07/anticipating-the-new-awful-covid-19-and-south-africas-fragile-peace/) - The coronavirus and lockdown measures have had a crippling effect on the South African economy and her people. The pandemic exacerbated pre-existing conditions of economic hardship and marginalization in South Africa in many ways.
- [Editorial: Special Issue on AU-EU Partnership](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2022/02/14/editorial-special-issue-on-au-eu-partnership/) - This Special Issue brings together the foregoing research findings, offering a timely snapshot of the state of AU-EU cooperation along with actionable recommendations to inform the new partnership through the Summit and beyond.
- [EU-AU Trade and Development Partnership: Beyond the Aid Trap](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2022/02/14/eu-au-trade-and-development-partnership-beyond-the-aid-trap/) - With over two decades of EU-AU trade and development cooperation, there is a need for a renewed commitment to overcome structural impediments to a mutually beneficial relationship.
- [AU-EU Cooperation: Beyond Business as Usual?](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2022/02/14/au-eu-cooperation-beyond-business-as-usual/) - On the eve of its third decade, AU-EU cooperation is at the crossroads–having to choose between perpetuating ineffective practices of cooperation or going beyond business as usual to realize the partnership’s full potential.
- [AU-EU Relations on Peace and Security](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2022/02/14/au-eu-relations-on-peace-and-security/) - Although peace and security are likely to remain a priority in AU-EU cooperation given the magnitude of related challenges linking the two continents and the need for concerted action, the new financial architecture embodied by the EPF has significant implications for the future of the partnership.
- [Language, Conflict Mitigation and Mediation Processes in Kaduna State, Nigeria](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2022/03/02/language-conflict-mitigation-and-mediation-processes-in-kaduna-state-nigeria/) - Conflict is part of human everyday existence. Occasionally, conflict may become confrontational and culminate in physical violence. The approach to conflict in the essay is framed within the context of poor communication between certain groups and actors in society.
- [Prospects of using Theatre for Development (TfD) as a tool for resolving Farmers-Pastoralist conflict in Kilosa, Tanzania](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2022/03/10/prospects-of-using-theatre-for-development-tfd-as-a-tool-for-resolving-farmers-pastoralist-conflict-in-kilosa-tanzania/) - This essay establishes that TfD has immense potential in mediating and resolving farmer-pastoralist conflicts as it has the power to empower community members to reflect more on their conflicts and address conflicts through community members' proposed means.
- [The Unequal Burden of Water Insecurity during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Insights from Uganda](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2022/03/22/the-unequal-burden-of-water-insecurity-during-the-covid-19-pandemic-insights-from-uganda/) - The global importance of reliable access to safe water as being essential to containing the spread of the virus is more challenging for sub-Saharan African countries that were already vulnerable to water, food, and inadequate health systems.
- [An Interview with Bernadine Jones](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2022/04/19/an-interview-with-bernadine-jones/) - Bernadine Jones, former Next Gen fellow, recently published a book titled Election and TV News in South Africa (Palgrave Macmillan). Next Gen’s Shana Pareemamun, sat down to interview her on her book and the impact of the NextGen fellowship on her academic career.
- [Reintegration Challenges in the Post-2015 Amnesty Program for Former Foreign Fighters in Coastal Kenya](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2022/04/29/reintegration-challenges-in-the-post-2015-amnesty-program-for-former-foreign-fighters-in-coastal-kenya/) - This essay reflects on the reintegration challenges in the implementation of the post-2015 amnesty program for returning foreign Al-Shabaab fighters (hereafter returnees) in Coastal Kenya. Based on insights from fieldwork in Mombasa and Kwale Counties, it argues that reintegration is hampered by three key factors: trust deficits, community acceptance, and policy lacunas.
- [Navigating Violent Networks: Youth-led Everyday Peacebuilding in Zimbabwe](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2022/05/10/navigating-violent-networks-youth-led-everyday-peacebuilding-in-zimbabwe/) - Although many young people were and are implicated in long-term political violence in Mbare specifically and in the country more generally, some have resisted and denounced conscription into these violent networks in creative ways.
- [A Voice from Sudan: War Is Good for Nothing](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2022/05/16/a-voice-from-sudan-war-is-good-for-nothing/) - The APN’s 10thanniversary presents an opportunity to review the past and also look forward with hope towards a brighter future. The APN is in a unique position to promote peace-related research collaboration among African academic, research, and policy institutions.
- [Lifted Me Up, Took Me to Places, and Expanded My Networks](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2022/05/24/lifted-me-up-taken-me-to-places-and-expanded-my-networks/) - The APN opened up opportunities for me to meet and network with different scholars who work on Africa. Each forum has come along with different opportunities.
- [Transforming My Academic Trajectory](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2022/05/24/transforming-my-academic-trajectory/) - The courage, strength, persistence, and absolute commitment of the APN team and its leadership have succeeded in touching and transforming the lives of a vast number of African scholars on the continent.
- [A Turning Point in My Academic Career](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2022/06/01/a-turning-point-in-my-academic-career/) - I am confident now more than ever that there is so much we can do on the African continent to bring about peace and reconciliation and prevent future mass atrocities.
- [Making My Scholarship Intentionally African](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2022/06/01/making-my-scholarship-intentionally-africa/) - If I have to pick one lesson from the APN Training Workshops that I attended as part of the APN grant I received in 2017, it is Prof. Thomas Tieku’s insistence on the absolute necessity of making our scholarly research and works intentionally African.
- [Opening New Doors](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2022/06/09/opening-new-doors/) - APN transformed my scholarship. It empowers fellows to intellectually push themselves, and produce innovative knowledge that challenges established wisdom.
- [A Tour de Force for So Many](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2022/06/09/a-tour-de-force-for-so-many/) - I ask myself: why has the APN had this impact on us all? What sets the program apart?
- [A Springboard for My Academic Career](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2022/06/17/a-springboard-for-my-academic-career/) - In terms of developing a deep sense of conviviality and commitment to knowledge production, networking, and policy engagement, the APN marked an unforgettable milestone in my academic trajectory.
- [My Journey as a Three-Time APN Fellow](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2022/06/17/my-journey-as-a-three-time-apn-fellow/) - The collective nature of the workshops builds upon the ability and capacity of grantees to develop and sustain networks for their future work and career growth. This can be seen from my trajectory as a three-time grantee over the years.
- [Empowering African Scholars](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2022/06/23/empowering-african-scholars/) - The APN represents an important opportunity to fill this funding gap by supporting African scholars with relevant skills and resources for research and writing.
- [Building an African Scholarly Community with Purpose](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2022/06/23/building-an-african-scholarly-community-with-purpose/) - Without institutionalizing a new field of study, it is fair to say that the APN has nonetheless been gradually shifting the center of gravity of peacebuilding research in Africa.
- [Growing Confidence in Multidisciplinary Research](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2022/06/30/growing-confidence-in-multidisciplinary-research/) - The APN offers unique opportunities to young African peace researchers who feel excluded by Global North hegemonies and lack access to funds with which to conduct research on their terms and grow their agency and confidence in Afrocentric knowledge production processes.
- [Ugandan Queer Lives Matter: Humanizing Peacebuilding for the Ugandan Gay Community Through Queer Fiction](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2022/06/30/ugandan-queer-lives-matter-humanizing-peacebuilding-for-the-ugandan-gay-community-through-queer-fiction/) - I argue that some Ugandan writers embody Frederick Douglass’ discursive philosophy of telling the story of the oppressed because that of the oppressors has “never wanted for narrators.”
- [Redefining My Approach to African Peacebuilding](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2022/07/05/redefining-my-approach-to-african-peacebuilding/) - Looking back at what the APN has achieved in the last decade, I am sure it is poised to achieve more in the coming years even against mounting challenges.
- [Increased My Confidence and Commitment to Research](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2022/07/11/increased-my-confidence-and-commitment-to-research/) - As a mental health practitioner working in a post-conflict context, I advocate being an active part of a bourgeoning network at the forefront of envisioning and building peace in Africa. Promoting good health and healthy mindsets are key to nurturing peacebuilding.
- [Reflections on My Professional Development and Research Agenda](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2022/07/20/reflections-on-my-professional-development-and-research-agenda/) - In my reflections, I focus on two key areas, namely professional development and broadening my research agenda.
- [Lessons from the COVID-19 Vaccination Campaigns in Rwanda](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2022/07/28/lessons-from-the-covid-19-vaccination-campaigns-in-rwanda/) - Rwanda’s resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic can serve as a lesson to the global community on addressing public health challenges through national coherence and standing on resilient values.
- [Special Issue on the 2022 Kenyan Elections](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2022/08/05/special-issue-on-the-2022-kenyan-elections/) - This special issue on the election brings together alumni and fellows of both APN and Next Gen to reflect on some of the most pivotal issues defining the election.
- [The Return of Peace Messaging and the Path Towards Democratic Consolidation in Kenya](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2022/08/05/the-return-of-peace-messaging-and-the-path-towards-democratic-consolidation-in-kenya/) - The political class and indeed the political parties need to engage in peace messaging for their respective audiences.
- [Strengthening Kenya’s Infrastructure for Peace towards 2022 Elections](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2022/08/05/strengthening-kenyas-infrastructure-for-peace-towards-2022-elections/) - It is therefore critical for all state and non-state actors to work together towards strengthening the infrastructure for peace.
- [Political Parties, Democracy, and the 2022 Kenyan Elections](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2022/08/05/political-parties-democracy-and-the-2022-kenyan-elections/) - Some parties have been known to decline and even peter out with the political exit of their founders.
- [Kenya’s August 9th Presidential Election: The State of the Race, Who Is Ahead and Why](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2022/08/05/kenyas-august-9th-presidential-election-the-state-of-the-race-who-is-ahead-and-why/) - The stakes are high, and the polls predict a tight race.
- [Nurturing a New Generation of Peacebuilding Scholars in Africa](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2022/08/25/nurturing-a-new-generation-of-peacebuilding-scholars-in-africa/) - This year commemorates the 10th anniversary of the African Peacebuilding Network (APN). It is an opportunity to celebrate the contribution of the program to peacebuilding scholarship and document its role in the transformation of the careers of many African early and mid-career researchers based in the continent.
- [Impacted Positively on My Life and Academic Career](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2022/09/01/impacted-positively-on-my-life-and-academic-career/) - I learned through my participation in APN activities how to deepen research by focusing on its scientific, social, and political contributions and I am now more engaged in debates on African peacebuilding and conflict resolution.
- [Building My Reputation as a Young Researcher](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2022/09/08/building-my-reputation-as-a-young-researcher/) - As a member of the APN family, my role is to encourage others, particularly new members, to make use of the opportunities that the APN avails to help them grow in their scholarly and practitioner aspirations.
- [Changing Dynamics of Conflict and Peacebuilding Among Farmer-Herder Communities in Nigeria's Middle Belt Region](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2022/09/15/changing-dynamics-of-conflict-and-peacebuilding-among-farmer-herder-communities-in-nigerias-middle-belt-region/) - The escalation of the conflict in 2015, including its changing character, dynamics, and trajectories, was fueled by the emergence of other contending narratives that differ significantly in content and context.
- [Democratic Backsliding in Africa: Understanding the Current Challenges](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2022/09/20/democratic-backsliding-in-africa-understanding-the-current-challenges/) - The return of multiparty democracy, which followed the end of the Cold War is once again experiencing a decline.
- [Muslim Women’s Marital and Citizenship Rights in Ghana](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2022/10/05/muslim-womens-marital-and-citizenship-rights-in-ghana/) - Consequently, the question of Muslim women’s marital and citizenship rights is complex. Whichever form of marriage Muslim women choose has its own pros and cons, especially when conflicts arise.
- [Encouraging the Transformation of My Scholarly Passion into Reality](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2022/10/14/encouraging-the-transformation-of-my-scholarly-passion-into-reality/) - Generally, the APN has helped me to transform the scope of my research beyond urban studies to connect human security in a broader context.
- [Bridging Humanities and Social Science Research in Africa: My APN Experience](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2022/11/09/bridging-humanities-and-social-science-research-in-africa-my-apn-experience/) - The APN award has enabled me to navigate the fuzzy boundary between the humanities and social science research and has greatly impacted my career.
- [Supporting the Dissemination of My Research to Diverse Audiences](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2022/11/18/supporting-the-dissemination-of-my-research-to-diverse-audiences/) - Having a network of scholars that you can call upon at any time for co-authorship, external examination, and many other collaborations is every scholar’s dream, which the APN has succeeded in making a reality.
- [Building a Transformative Network: How APN Is Bridging the Gap between African Scholars](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2022/11/18/building-a-transformative-network-how-apn-is-bridging-the-gap-between-african-scholars/) - In my view, the most important achievement of APN has been its role in opening the door to opportunities for networking.
- [Combining Perspectives from the Humanities and Social Sciences: Developing a Critical Mindset](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2022/12/02/combining-perspectives-from-the-humanities-and-social-sciences-developing-a-critical-mindset/) - The funding I received from the APN provided the resources for fieldwork in Cameroon and broadened opportunities for professional development and networking. It also afforded me the opportunity to collect data that will be useful for my career as a researcher.
- [Reinvigorated My Spirit as a Scholar and Reignited My Passion for Research and Writing](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2022/12/02/47134/) - Looking forward to the next decade, I propose that more grants be awarded to African scholars to research topical issues that will positively impact Africans and Africa.
- [Navigating Academic Research, Networking, and Professional Development: My Post-APN Experience](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2022/12/14/navigating-academic-research-networking-and-professional-development-my-post-apn-fellowship-experience/) - APN funding supported my visit to the field to conduct interviews and collect data on the involvement of Umuada Igbo (daughters of the land) in intracommunal peacebuilding in selected Igbo-speaking communities in southeastern Nigeria.
- [An Approach to Sustainable Development: Understanding the Quadruple Nexus](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2022/12/22/an-approach-to-sustainable-development-understanding-the-quadruple-nexus/) - Maximizing the interlinkages of the pillars of peace/security, development, human rights, and humanitarianism while being fully cognizant of governance, external dynamics, institutions, and resources are conceptualized as the Situational Quadruple Nexus (SQN).
- [Rekindled My Self-Confidence, Creativity, and New Perspectives to Research](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2023/01/06/rekindled-my-self-confidence-creativity-and-new-perspectives-to-research/) - Being an APN-IRF fellow has been a huge blessing to me. I am indeed very thankful for this opportunity. It has not only helped to redirect my research focus but has also made me apply other research tools and designs I have been previously afraid of in my research.
- [The Impact of Climate Change on the Food Crisis in the Grand Sud of Madagascar](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2023/01/13/the-impact-of-climate-change-on-the-food-crisis-in-the-grand-sud-of-madagascar/) - Despite the support and aid offered to the people in the Grand Sud, the region is on the verge of a severe humanitarian crisis.
- [Casamance: Questioning the Significance of December 26, 1982](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2023/01/27/casamance-questioning-the-significance-of-december-26-1982/) - To get out of the "impasse of neither peace nor war" in Casamance, it is necessary, through a cultural approach, to establish a space of testimonies allowing various generations to renew and possibly reconcile their perspectives based on dialogues about the past.
- [Researching Constitutionalism and Democratization in Africa: My APN Experience](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2023/02/10/researching-constitutionalism-and-democratization-in-africa-my-apn-experience/) - I also note that the APN has been a mirror with which one can see, reflect, and project himself into the future as a top-level researcher and expert.
- [Critical Developments in Africa’s Youth, Peace, and Security Agenda](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2023/02/17/critical-developments-in-africas-youth-peace-and-security-agenda/) - The program was set up with the primary mandate of mainstreaming youth into the peace and security agenda of the Union.
- [Locating the Youth in US-Africa Cooperation and Investments](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2023/02/17/locating-the-youth-in-us-africa-cooperation-and-investments/) - Youth-led social movements in many African countries have since the much-heralded Arab Spring continued to play an important role in demanding democracy and holding governments accountable.
- [Youth’s Visibility for a Sustainable Africa and USA in a Changing Climate](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2023/02/17/youths-visibility-for-a-sustainable-africa-and-usa-in-a-changing-climate/) - Youth today are more educated than their parents are and could be empowered to conduct climate change research and help to implement climate change policies.
- [Economic Development: Investment and Industrialization Challenges in Africa](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2023/02/17/economic-development-investment-and-industrialization-challenges-in-africa/) - The continent’s priority should be to transform the structure of Africa’s participation in global trade through value-adding export policies.
- [Youth, Democracy, and Elections: Another Missed Opportunity to Reset US-Africa Engagement?](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2023/02/17/youth-democracy-and-elections-another-missed-opportunity-to-reset-us-africa-engagement/) - If democracy continues to falter in more African countries, it will be hard for the US, and key Western powers, to completely avoid the potential collateral damages and broader ramifications.
- [Will There Be an Upset in Nigeria’s Presidential Election?](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2023/02/23/will-there-be-an-upset-in-nigerias-presidential-election/) - Is Nigeria’s two-party system really institutionalized? Or can a third party defy the odds and create an electoral shock or upset?
- [Nigerian Youths’ Participation in the 2023 Elections: Defying the Odds and Forging Ahead](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2023/02/24/nigerian-youths-participation-in-the-2023-elections-defying-the-odds-and-forging-ahead/) - Thus, as the 2023 elections draw to a close, there is a need for youths to stay engaged and contribute actively to the consolidation of democracy.
- [Civil Society’s Contributions to Youths and Gender Participation in Nigeria’s Electoral Process: Gaps and Prospects](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2023/02/24/civil-societys-contributions-to-youths-and-gender-participation-in-nigerias-electoral-process-gaps-and-prospects/) - The elections not only present an opportunity for political change, but the outcomes would also impact Nigeria’s youth population, including the extent to which their voices are heard and their interests represented.
- [2023 Presidential Elections Pollsters and the Risk of Post-Election Violence](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2023/02/24/2023-presidential-elections-pollsters-and-the-risk-of-post-election-violence/) - Mindful of the fact that the 2011 election was “the best run and the most violent” based on lives and belongings lost, I posit that both active and latent causes of potential post-election violence in 2023 deserve attention.
- [2023 Presidential Elections and Nigeria’s Humanitarian Crises](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2023/02/24/2023-presidential-elections-and-nigerias-humanitarian-crises/) - In the face of worsening humanitarian crises across the country, it has been predicted that the 2023 presidential election will be the most challenging in the history of Nigeria.
- [Nigeria’s 2023 Elections: Which Way Democracy?](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2023/02/24/nigerias-2023-elections-which-way-democracy/) - Nigerians will reaffirm their democratic vows by trooping to vote on February 25 and March 11, 2023, in the third civilian-to-civilian transition since the inception of the Fourth Republic in 1999.
- [A Goal-Means Analysis of Security in Political Parties’ Manifestos for Nigeria’s 2023 Presidential Election](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2023/02/24/a-goal-means-analysis-of-security-in-political-parties-manifestos-for-nigerias-2023-presidential-election/) - Since Nigeria’s return to democratic rule in 1999 after decades of military authoritarianism, Nigerian politics have been characterized by different issues, especially weak infrastructure, poverty, and crises in the economic and educational sectors.
- [The Overlooked Spoilers Beclouding Nigeria’s 2023 Elections](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2023/02/24/the-overlooked-spoilers-beclouding-nigerias-2023-elections/) - As Nigeria’s February 2023 elections draw nearer, interest and debate are naturally intensifying around possible outcomes and the future fortunes of different presidential candidates. As significant as this is, multiple factors will shape the elections’ outcomes. In this piece, I reflect on the texture of the sociopolitical space in which Nigeria’s 2023 elections will occur,
- [Researching Community Engagement Against Violent Extremism: Lessons from the Field in Northern Ghana](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2023/03/24/researching-community-engagement-against-violent-extremism-lessons-from-the-field-in-northern-ghana/) - Although data analysis is ongoing, research-based observations and insights from study communities are already very instructive regarding the state of unpreparedness of frontier communities to prevent or counter VE infiltration into Ghana.
- [A Review of Ruth Murambadoro, John Mashayamombe, and uMbuso weNkosi (eds.), The PhD Experience in African Higher Education (London: Lexington Books, 2022).](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2023/03/31/a-review-of-ruth-murambadoro-john-mashayamombe-and-umbuso-wenkosi-eds-the-phd-experience-in-african-higher-education-london-lexington-books-2022/) - In the end, the book is more about the silences it produces around the power dynamics between the researcher, the researched, and the higher educational institutions in (South) Africa.
- [Gynocentric Lenses: Deconstructing Gender-Based Violence from Kenyan Soap Operas](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2023/04/07/gynocentric-lenses-deconstructing-gender-based-violence-from-kenyan-soap-operas/) - These gynocentric soaps are named after women and portray social issues involving women, rather than men. The titles, themes, and plots of the soap operas are based on the construction of social issues framed in a feminist narrative.
- [Taking on the Big Elephant in the Room? Nigeria after the 2023 General Elections](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2023/04/14/taking-on-the-big-elephant-in-the-room-nigeria-after-the-2023-general-elections/) - To support Nigeria, her international friends must avoid the temptation of placing their national economic, strategic, and geo-political interests ahead of the political rights and welfare of Nigerians by turning a blind eye to the excesses of the country’s political class and how they deliberately undermine democracy and governance priorities.
- [Against Mystification: Toward a Creative Practice of Writing](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2023/04/28/against-mystification-toward-a-creative-practice-of-writing/) - It would be a position of untold arrogance and bourgeois mystification to assume that this mode of thinking is only accessible to academics and that this mode of writing only exists in academic publications.
- [Digital Sovereignty in Africa: The Albatross of Digital Transformation and Autonomy](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2023/05/19/digital-sovereignty-in-africa-the-albatross-of-digital-transformation-and-autonomy/) - Digital Sovereignty is the call for greater strategic autonomy and self-determination in relation to technology.
- [Celebrating Every Effort to Build Peaceful Societies: The Experience of Two Peace Clubs in Bidibidi Refugee Settlement in Yumbe District, Uganda](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2023/05/19/celebrating-every-effort-to-build-peaceful-societies-the-experience-of-two-peace-clubs-in-bidibidi-refugee-settlement-in-yumbe-district-uganda/) - That the youth want to break the cycle of violence through storytelling and performance shows their resolve to be active agents in determining and shaping their future.
- [Artisanal Oil Refineries or Kpo-fire: A New Dimension of Petro-Insurgency in Nigeria’s Oil Producing Niger Delta Region?](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2023/06/29/artisanal-oil-refineries-or-kpo-fire-a-new-dimension-of-petro-insurgency-in-nigerias-oil-producing-niger-delta-region/) - In the Niger Delta region, which is associated with crude oil extraction and production, the marginalization of the host communities by oil companies has historically fueled non-violent and violent protests across the region.
- [Voter Suppression and Electoral Integrity Crisis in Nigeria’s 2023 General Elections](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2023/07/20/voter-suppression-and-electoral-integrity-crisis-in-nigerias-2023-general-elections/) - This article explores the key issues related to voter suppression and the overall integrity of the 2023 general elections in Nigeria.
- [Films, Fictional Works, and Social Media in Conflict Resolution in Nigeria: Harnessing a Non-Violent Communication Approach](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2023/08/10/films-fictional-works-and-social-media-in-conflict-resolution-in-nigeria-harnessing-a-non-violent-communication-approach/) - State promotion of the production and dissemination of artistic works that promote peace and harmony should be recognized as a viable avenue for promoting local peacebuilding.
- [Research Findings, Scholarly Writing, and Publishing: Reflections on Transcending the Hurdles](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2023/08/18/47396/) - To transcend means to overcome challenges on the path toward achieving these standards, including facing formidable pressure to meet the requirements for attaining such heights.
- [Introducing the African Peacebuilding Network’s and Next Generation Social Sciences in Africa’s 2023 Fellows](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2023/08/21/introducing-the-african-peacebuilding-networks-and-next-generation-social-sciences-in-africas-2023-fellows/) - Congratulations to this year’s APN-Next Gen Fellows!
- [Reflections on Christianity, Gender, Inequality, and Poverty in Zimbabwe](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2023/08/25/reflections-on-christianity-gender-inequality-and-poverty-in-zimbabwe/) - Female-led churches seem to have communicated a revolutionary message that women are equally as capable as men to be vanguards in the quest for a morally desirable society.
- [Reflections on the Challenges and Benefits of an Inter-Disciplinary PhD Study](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2023/09/05/reflections-on-the-challenges-and-benefits-of-an-inter-disciplinary-phd-study/) - My first-hand experience with sex workers has given me an in-depth understanding of their lived realities and this is primarily the reason for me electing to embark on a study that can be used to improve their lives.
- [Conflict and Peacebuilding in Northwest Nigeria: A Perspective on “The Bandit Warlords of Zamfara”](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2023/09/15/conflict-and-peacebuilding-in-northwest-nigeria-a-perspective-on-the-impact-of-bbc-africas-documentary-on-the-bandit-warlords-of-zamfara/) - We have now reached a point where some don’t know the meaning of peace. They were born into conflict.
- [Opposition as ‘Incumbent’ and ‘Incumbent’ as Opposition: Analyzing the Key Issues in Kenya’s 2022 Presidential Campaigns](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2022/08/05/opposition-as-incumbent-and-incumbent-as-opposition-analyzing-the-key-issues-in-kenyas-2022-presidential-campaigns/) - This essay argues that, while ethnic mobilization remains crucial in the Kenyan electoral process, issues such as the economy, integrity, and client-patron relations (clientelism) will shape the outcome of the presidential elections.
- [My Exciting Research Journey with the APN](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2022/05/16/my-exciting-research-journey-with-the-apn/) - The APN has been a major part of my exciting intellectual journey, especially in the last decade. The narrative of my initial contact and progressive engagements with the APN can be best explained within the changing dynamics of my research interests as a policy-engaged scholar.
- [Introducing the African Peacebuilding Network's and Next Generation Social Sciences in Africa's 2021 Fellows](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2021/10/22/2021-apn-next-gen-fellows-announcement/) - The African Peacebuilding Network has awarded 17 Individual Research Fellowships to scholars who will conduct field-based research to enrich knowledge and practice in the field of peacebuilding in Africa. The Next Generation Social Sciences in Africa program has awarded 41 fellowships across its 4 competitions, supporting students and early-career faculty with their doctoral dissertation and
- [An Interview with Erick Sourna](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2021/09/10/an-interview-with-erick-sourna/) - Erick Sourna Loumtouang, a 2020 APN Individual Research Fellow, recently granted interviews to Jeune Afrique and Africa Report and published an article in Kujenga Amani, in which he drew on his APN-supported research project titled “Governing Bodies in the Lake Chad Basin: Control, Repression, and Restrictions on Mobility in the Era of the Fight against Terrorism” to comment on the
- [Building Peaceful Masculinities in the Context of Covid-19: Reflections from Fieldwork among the Dagaaba of Northwestern Ghana](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2021/05/13/building-peaceful-masculinities-in-the-context-of-covid-19-reflections-from-fieldwork-among-the-dagaaba-of-northwestern-ghana/) - This article reflects on Dagaaba men’s constructions of masculinity and the implications of such perspectives for everyday peacebuilding amid the Covid-19 pandemic in Africa. The essay is motivated by the observation that, despite the debilitating ramifications of Covid-19, the pandemic may offer men the opportunity to embrace and practice alternative notions of masculinity in their
- [Between Hopes and Nightmares: A Reflection on Armed Conflict in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo Two Years into President Tshisekedi’s Administration](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2021/06/16/between-hopes-and-nightmares-a-reflection-on-armed-conflict-in-eastern-democratic-republic-of-congo-two-years-into-president-tshisekedis-administration/) - Two years into President Tshisekedi’s administration, people continue to go through harrowing experiences in the conflict zones of the eastern DRC.
- [An Interview with Ismail Rashid and Amy Niang](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2021/07/02/an-interview-with-ismail-rashid-and-amy-niang/) - On April 2, 2021, the Social Science Research Council’s (SSRC) African Peacebuilding Network (APN) held the virtual launch of the book, Researching Peacebuilding in Africa: Reflections on Fieldwork, Theory and Context, edited by Ismail Rashid and Amy Niang. Following the successful book launch, Natalie Bernstien, APN’s program assistant, interviewed both editors, posing questions about the
- [The Cognitive Empire and Gladiatory Scholarship](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2021/06/25/the-cognitive-empire-and-gladiatory-scholarship/) - The cognitive empire is underpinned by gladiatory scholarship. The cognitive empire invades the mental universe of its targets. Ngugi wa Thiong’o in his book, Decolonizing the Mind: the Politics of Language in African Literature, depicted the cognitive empire as that “metaphysical” formation which operates through the detonation of cultural bombs at the center of a people’s universe and through the removal of hard disks of previous knowledge and memory so as to download into their minds the software of another knowledge and another memory.
- [Transborder (In)security in the Honde Valley and the Specter of Covid-19](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2021/04/29/transborder-insecurity-in-the-honde-valley-and-the-specter-of-covid-19/) - Anxieties generated by military conflict, the Covid-19 pandemic, and the emergence of this jihadist militia have destabilized Honde Valley transborder communities’ modes of coexistence, which have been based on a long history of kinship as well as economic and political connections.
- [The Challenges of American Foreign Policy in the African Sahel: An Overview](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2021/04/21/the-challenges-of-american-foreign-policy-in-the-african-sahel-an-overview/) - Africa has occupied a rather marginal place in US policy over the past four years—save for in the security sector—although it did not escape a reduction in US financial contributions toward its military commitments in the fight against terrorism. The Trump administration likewise drastically reduced US development aid to the continent.
- [Resetting US–Africa Partnership for Peace after Trump](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2021/04/21/resetting-us-africa-partnership-for-peace-after-trump/) - Under the Biden administration, Africa and the US must work to reset their partnership toward achieving long-term sustainable peace. It is imperative that cooperation is not skewed toward prioritizing US economic interests, influence, and military adventurism in its relationship with Africa.
- [Implications of Trump’s Immigration and Asylum System on Africa to US Migration](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2021/04/21/implications-of-trumps-immigration-and-asylum-system-on-africa-to-us-migration/) - The Trump era saw the centering of American workers and industries in immigration policy as it was believed that immigrants were a “threat” to American values and security. To this end, most of the changes in immigrant and refugee policies were adopted through executive orders and existing laws, and not through traditional congressional approval.
- [Looking Back to Look Forward: Lessons Learnt from the Trump Administration and Prospects for Peacebuilding in Africa](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2021/04/21/looking-back-to-look-forward-lessons-learnt-from-the-trump-administration-and-prospects-for-peacebuilding-in-africa/) - Yet, in moving forward, we must look back to past mistakes, learn lessons, and prevent future shortcomings, particularly in relation to the peacebuilding dimensions of Africa-US relations.
- [Sponsoring Sufism as a Framework for Countering Violent Extremism in the Horn of Africa: The Ethiopia-US Alliance](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2021/04/21/sponsoring-sufism-as-a-framework-for-countering-violent-extremism-in-the-horn-of-africa-the-ethiopia-us-alliance/) - The governments of Djibouti, Somalia, Kenya, and Ethiopia have initiated policies and strategies to support the activities of Sufis in their fight against religious extremism and in their bid to secure US aid “invested for rehabilitating Sufi shrines and teachings across the world.”
- [Women, Peace, and Security in Africa during the Trump Years](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2021/04/21/women-peace-and-security-in-africa-during-the-trump-years/) - Boko Haram’s 2014 kidnapping of 276 female students from Government Girls Secondary School in Chibok, Borno State, marked an important transition in the Nigerian and global fight against violent extremism, and offers a useful lens into the vagaries of Trump’s policies on women, peace and security in Africa. His administration provided support to Nigeria’s armed
- [The Impact of Covid-19 on Female Genital Mutilation in Egypt](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2021/02/25/the-impact-of-covid-19-on-female-genital-mutilation-in-egypt/) - The Covid-19 pandemic is adversely affecting people in diverse regions of the world, especially those in vulnerable situations such as young girls and women. The pandemic is also hampering efforts to rein in the violation of reproductive rights, including the practice of female genital mutilation (FGM).
- [Kenya-US Relations under Joe Biden’s Presidency: Prospects and Challenges](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2021/02/10/kenya-us-relations-under-joe-bidens-presidency-prospects-and-challenges/) - Under Joe Biden’s presidency, there are certain expectations that the new US administration will pay more attention to and provide adequate support for addressing the fallouts of the terrorist attacks borne by Kenya over the years.
- [‘Electocracy’ Writ Large: Is Political Imagination under the Spell of Electoral Fundamentalism in Uganda?](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2021/02/04/electocracy-writ-large-is-political-imagination-under-the-spell-of-electoral-fundamentalism-in-uganda/) - The litany of predicaments of social existence in today’s Uganda—from systemic impoverishment of society by the neoliberal polity to political violence with remarkable impunity—are not simply incidental problems which the holding of periodic and popular elections can easily fix.
- [Tigray without the Tigray Peoples Liberation Front: What Next?](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2021/01/26/tigray-without-the-tigray-peoples-liberation-front-what-next/) - On November 4, 2020, Ethiopians and people all over the world woke up to the shocking news of the outbreak of war in the Tigray region. The war was triggered by an attack by the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) forces on the northern command of the Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) based in Tigray.
- [An Interview with Asher Gamedze, Theresia Philemon, and Godfrey Maringira at the First Ever Virtually Held APN and Next Gen Joint Workshop](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2021/01/15/an-interview-from-the-2020-apn-and-next-gen-workshop/) - 2020 Next Gen fellow Asher Gamedze and 2020 APN fellow Theresia Philemon were interviewed during the APN and Next Gen’s first virtual joint workshop held form August 31, 2020 and September 3, 2020. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. Tell us a little bit about yourself and how you heard about the
- [The African Union’s Shared Values: Why Democracy and Governance Must Be Fit for Purpose](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2021/01/07/the-african-unions-shared-values-why-democracy-and-governance-must-be-fit-for-purpose/) - This article explores the premise that democracy and governance are shared values, and therefore a business model which enables AU member-states to advance the course of Africa integration.
- [The Covid-19 Pandemic and Nigeria’s Economic Crisis: Between Pain and Reform?](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2020/12/03/the-covid-19-pandemic-and-nigerias-economic-crisis-between-pain-and-reform/) - The Covid-19 pandemic has arguably resulted in the most severe global economic crisis since the Great Depression of 1929, which changed the structure of the global economy. For Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country and one of its two largest economies, the pandemic has made a bad economic situation worse. Nigeria was already experiencing a severe economic crisis prior to the outbreak of the pandemic. Elements of the crisis included mounting public debt, a high unemployment rate, declining oil export earnings, and currency depreciation, among others. The pandemic has exacerbated the situation of a country already in dire economic straits.
- [African Agency and a Biden Administration: Lessons from Trump’s Presidency](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2020/11/17/african-agency-and-a-biden-administration-lessons-from-trumps-presidency/) - The choice of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris as President-elect and Vice-President-elect, respectively, has rekindled hope for a renewed impetus in United States’ foreign relations across the world, particularly in relation to its multilateral diplomacy, even as US interests fundamentally remain the same. For Africa, a Biden presidency presents a new opportunity to move past
- [Covid-19: A Closer Look at Emerging Trends in Africa](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2020/11/12/covid-19-a-closer-look-at-emerging-trends-in-africa/) - When the number of new coronavirus cases began to spike globally in March, gloomy predictions expected that Africa would become the epicenter of the pandemic. The reasons were obvious; foremost among them were the weak health-care systems in most countries on the continent. However, six months later, compared to cases and figures from other regions of the world, Africa continues to defy all these pessimistic predictions, a trend that requires critical examination for explanatory and other purposes.
- [Introducing SSRC’s Next Generation Social Sciences in Africa’s 2020-2021 Fellows](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2020/11/05/introducing-ssrcs-next-generation-social-sciences-in-africas-2020-2021-fellows/) - The Social Science Research Council’s Next Generation Social Sciences in Africa program is pleased to announce the forty-four fellows receiving the Post-Doctoral Writing Fellowship, the Doctoral Dissertation Completion Fellowship, the Doctoral Dissertation Research Fellowship, and the Doctoral Dissertation Proposal Fellowship. This year’s fellows are from Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Mozambique, and
- [Introducing SSRC’s African Peacebuilding Network’s 2020 Individual Research Fellows and Collaborative Working Group Research Fellows](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2020/11/05/introducing-ssrcs-african-peacebuilding-networks-2020-individual-research-fellows-and-collaborative-working-group-research-fellows/) - The African Peacebuilding Network (APN) of the Social Science Research Council (SSRC) is pleased to announce the 2020 recipients of its Individual Research Fellowship and Collaborative Working Group Research Fellowship. The program awards these fellowships to African researchers based in African universities, research institutes, and other policy-related and civil society institutions. Since 2013, the APN
- [The Future after the Covid-19 Pandemic: Remote Work in  South Africa](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2020/10/29/the-future-after-the-covid-19-pandemic-remote-work-in-south-africa/) - On the 11th of March, 2020, Covid-19 was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO). Since then, Covid-19 has upturned the whole world. One of the transformations linked to the pandemic is the nature and future of work. As a result of lockdowns and social distancing guidelines meant to prevent the spread of
- [#EndSARS Protest: More than a Call for Security Sector Reform in Nigeria?](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2020/10/22/endsars-protest-more-than-a-call-for-security-sector-reform-in-nigeria/) - As the protests continue to gain momentum, some argue that they point to a looming revolution in Nigeria.
- [Côte d’Ivoire’s October 2020 Presidential Election: Any Danger Ahead?](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2020/10/16/cote-divoires-october-2020-presidential-election-any-danger-ahead/) - With less than one month to go before the October 31, 2020 election in Côte d’Ivoire, there are several factors causing widespread concern within and outside the country.
- [African Migrants’ Remittances: An Avenue of Giving and Receiving Severely Disrupted during the Covid-19 Lockdown](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2020/10/01/african-migrants-remittances-an-avenue-of-giving-and-receiving-severely-disrupted-during-the-covid-19-lockdown/) - The lockdown measures imposed in many countries have not only restricted people’s freedom of movement but also disrupted their everyday lives. The costs of these stringent measures have been felt in all social strata.
- [Youth Masculinities, Marginalization, and Peacebuilding in Zimbabwe](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2020/09/24/youth-masculinities-marginalization-and-peacebuilding-in-zimbabwe/) - Marginalization from top positions in political parties and government has seen more young men pursuing alterative channels of inclusion in national affairs, particularly peacebuilding, where masculinity is uncoupled from political violence.
- [Mysterious Deaths in Bonny Island, Nigeria: Covid-19 Pandemic or Petro-Epidemic?](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2020/09/17/mysterious-deaths-in-bonny-island-nigeria-covid-19-pandemic-or-petro-epidemic/) - An Italian citizen who returned from Milan to Lagos, on February 25, 2020, was confirmed as Nigeria’s index Covid-19 case by the Federal Ministry of Health on February 27, 2020. This provided ample time for the Nigerian government to take necessary preventive measures, including the closure of borders and requiring individuals coming into the country
- [The United Nations Security Council Seat and Kenya’s Assertive Foreign Policy](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2020/09/10/the-united-nations-security-council-seat-and-kenyas-assertive-foreign-policy/) - Had Kenya succeeded in clinching the position of the AUC’s Chairperson, it would have marked the culmination of this renewed Afro-centric foreign policy approach. The country’s Afro-centric policy has been particularly successful in the areas of peacebuilding and security in the Horn of Africa especially through the auspices of the regional body, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) in Somalia and South Sudan.
- [Covid-19, Human Security Crisis, and the Responsibility to Protect](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2020/09/03/covid-19-human-security-crisis-and-the-responsibility-to-protect/) - The UNSC’s failure to pronounce Covid-19 a threat to international peace and security demonstrated the unwillingness of the Council, or at least of its members, to mobilize immediate multilateral action.
- ["Please, I Can't Breathe": The Liège Tag and European “Sadonarcissism”](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2020/08/27/please-i-cant-breathe-the-liege-tag-and-european-sadonarcissism/) - One might therefore ask: why does Europe not understand the slogan "Please, I can't breathe," or "Black Lives Matter," as a symbol for the tragedies that Black people have had to endure for several centuries and the perpetuation of white privilege? Why does Europe find it so hard to understand that the condition for a peaceful and shared world depends on looking at history in the face, and confronting its own injustices?
- [Africa and the Geopolitics of Covid-19](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2020/07/23/africa-and-the-geopolitics-of-covid-19/) - The Covid-19 pandemic has provoked multiple geostrategic uncertainties among nations and regions and schisms in various levels of global governance. Faced with the growing unpredictability of these developments, analysts are hard put as they gaze into the crystal ball to figure out global geopolitical trends and prospects in the coming months, let alone years. It
- [Regimes of Othering: Unpacking the Migration-Security Nexus](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2020/07/16/regimes-of-othering-unpacking-the-migration-security-nexus/) - Introduction As migration is increasingly securitized globally, many destination countries are fearful of the entry, and presence of migrants within their territories. This is especially the case for immigrants from other regions and cultures of the world associated with extremism and violence. The rise of populist right-wing parties in some countries of the global North
- [Responding to the Covid-19 Pandemic in Tanzania:  The Role of Solidarity, National Unity, and Peace](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2020/07/09/responding-to-the-covid-19-pandemic-in-tanzania-the-role-of-solidarity-national-unity-and-peace/) - This article explores responses to the new coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic by focusing on the role of the principles of solidarity, national unity, and peace, drawing on the case of Tanzania. At the time the World Health Organization (WHO) declared Covid-19 a global health emergency on March 11, 2020, no cases had yet been reported in
- [Refugees and Migrants – A Blind Spot in Ghana’s Covid-19 Response?](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2020/07/02/refugees-and-migrants-a-blind-spot-in-ghanas-covid-19-response/) - Some of the measures adopted by states to combat the Covid-19 pandemic pose challenges to non-citizens, particularly refugees, asylum-seekers, and migrants. As noted by the Assistant Commissioner of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), “not only have national responses to Covid-19 led to the denial of fundamental refugee rights, but they have also
- [Harnessing the Capacities of Community Health Workers to Prevent the Spread of Covid-19 in Kenya’s Urban Informal Settlements](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2020/06/25/harnessing-the-capacities-of-community-health-workers-to-prevent-the-spread-of-covid-19-in-kenyas-urban-informal-settlements/) - This essay considers the role that community health workers (CHWs) can play in preventing the spread, and reducing the adverse impact, of Covid-19 on Kenya’s urban informal settlements. It argues that CHWs can make a significant contribution to efforts aimed at reducing such impacts due to their proximity to the grassroots. In Kenya, the number
- [Covid-19 in Africa: Youth at the Fore](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2020/06/11/covid-19-in-africa-youth-at-the-fore/) - Covid-19 is among the deadliest pandemics the world has experienced in recent history. The African continent has, thus far, fared comparatively well with just under 150,000 confirmed infections and about 5,000 fatalities as of early June 2020. Even so, the heavy economic, social, and emotional toll of the pandemic on the continent is already clear, and
- [Covid-19 and Nigeria’s Counterinsurgency Operations in the Northeast](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2020/06/04/covid-19-and-nigerias-counterinsurgency-operations-in-the-northeast/) - This article explores the impact of Covid-19, including the government’s response to the pandemic, on military counterinsurgency operations in northeast Nigeria. Prior to the pandemic, Nigeria’s counterinsurgency operation in the region had not been impressive despite a budgetary expenditure of over NGN 4 trillion allocated to the defense sector since 2009. The successes of the
- [Coronized Lives in Response to Covid-19: Hopeful Lockdown or Haplessness?](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2020/06/04/coronized-lives-in-response-to-covid-19-hopeful-lockdown-or-haplessness/) - Introduction The prolonged Covid-19 lockdown in Uganda is exacting a huge toll on the people’s resilience. Although the pandemic is global, it is experienced differentially in various countries and locales around the world. Preventive measures such as lockdowns have a long history as nonpharmaceutical interventions to blunt the force of extreme mortality events. However, there
- [Between Religious Freedom and the Public Good: Reactions to Religious Restrictions to Prevent the Spread of Covid-19 in Nigeria](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2020/05/20/between-religious-freedom-and-the-public-good-reactions-to-religious-restrictions-to-prevent-the-spread-of-covid-19-in-nigeria/) - Background: Covid-19 in Nigeria Nigeria confirmed its first case of Covid-19 on February 27, 2020, when an Italian citizen on a business trip from Milan who had arrived in Lagos on February 25 tested positive for the virus. By March 22, when governments at both the federal and state levels began to intensify measures to
- [Violence against Women and Girls in the Shadow of Covid-19: Insights from Africa](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2020/05/20/violence-against-women-and-girls-in-the-shadow-of-covid-19-insights-from-africa/) - Activists, journalists, and the United Nations (UN) have drawn attention to a so-called shadow pandemic, an allusion to rising global levels of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) against women and girls, as a result of Covid-19 and state responses to it. Reports by global media highlight the situation in Europe, but Africa is not exempt.
- [Covid-19: Social Distancing and Lockdown in Black Townships in South Africa](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2020/05/07/covid-19-social-distancing-and-lockdown-in-black-townships-in-south-africa/) - Covid-19 has affected all forms of social and economic activity in and around the world. In response to the rapid spread of the novel coronavirus, governments have been forced to implement the global standard measures to curb the contagion. These measures include social distancing, quarantine, partial or total lockdown, and other restrictive measures. However, differences
- [Sub-Saharan Africa Will Most Likely Ride Out the Covid-19 Storm](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2020/05/14/sub-saharan-africa-will-most-likely-ride-out-the-covid-19-storm/) - Amid the ongoing Covid-19 carnage, there are fears that Africa will be blown apart by the virus. World Health Organization (WHO) Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus issued a chilling warning to African countries: “The best advice for Africa is to prepare for the worst.” It was not an idle warning. Africa has been the stage
- [Covid-19 and Eritrea’s Response](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2020/05/14/covid-19-and-eritreas-response/) - The challenge of responding to the Covid-19 pandemic is immense for poor countries like Eritrea. Eritrea has always depended on its people in responding to crises situations. This time, Eritreans are being effectively mobilized to confront the Covid-19 pandemic. On March 21, 2020, Eritrea’s information minister, Yemane Gebremeskel, confirmed the news that an Eritrean who
- [Reflections on the Two-Day Conference and Policy Forums in Washington, DC, March 5-6, 2020](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2020/05/06/reflections-on-the-two-day-conference-and-policy-forums-in-washington-dc-march-5-6-2020/) - On March 5 and 6, 2020 I was given the opportunity to be part of the Social Science Research Council’s (SSRC) African Peacebuilding Network (APN) and Search for Common Ground’s (SFCG) conference on “Rethinking Approaches to Chronic Crises in Africa: American and African Perspectives,” followed by a day of consultations with government agencies and think
- [Reflections on the Washington, DC Conference and Consultations, March 5-6, 2020](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2020/05/06/reflections-on-the-washington-dc-conference-and-consultations-march-5-6-2020/) - I was honored to be a part of a panel on “Understanding Chronic Crisis,” featuring myself and two other African Peacebuilding Network (APN) alumni, Titilope Ajayi and Pamela Chepngetich, at a conference on “Rethinking Approaches to Chronic Crises in Africa: American and African perspectives.” The conference was organized by the Social Science Research Council (SSRC)
- [Reflections on the Washington, DC Advocacy Trip, March 5-6, 2020](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2020/05/06/reflections-on-the-washington-dc-advocacy-trip-march-5-6-2020/) - Having worked in the gender-skewed field of conflict for over 15 years, I was very excited to be part of an all-women delegation of the Social Science Research Council’s (SSRC) African Peacebuilding Network (APN) alumnae to Washington, DC. We started our meetings with a panel discussion on “Understanding Chronic Crises,” at the conference held on
- [Editorial: Reflections on the SSRC-SFCG Conference and Consultations with Policy Makers and Practitioners, Washington, DC, March 5 - 6, 2020](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2020/05/06/editorial-reflections-on-the-ssrc-sfcg-conference-and-consultations-with-policy-makers-and-practitioners-washington-dc-march-5-6-2020/) - Reflections on the SSRC-SFCG Conference and Consultations with Policy Makers and Practitioners, Washington, DC, March 5 - 6, 2020.
- [Dealing with a Global Pandemic in an Interconnected World](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2020/05/07/dealing-with-a-global-pandemic-in-an-interconnected-world/) - As the world continues to search for biomedical and social solutions to mitigate the spread and effects of the fast-spreading global Covid-19 pandemic, I found myself, like other social scientists across the globe, reading more about sociological theories of health care and diseases. Covid-19 has not only overstretched the existing boundaries of scientific inquiry, it
- [Covid-19 Responses in Africa: Implications for Peace, Security, and Public Health](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2020/04/30/covid-19-responses-in-africa-implications-for-peace-security-and-public-health/) - Given the challenges that many African countries face with weak health systems, the implications of the Covid-19 pandemic on public health, peace, and security on the continent are dire.
- [Tribute to Koko Didi: A Woman of Peace (oko’o nga’a mo) in the Gbaya Community in Cameroon](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2020/04/15/tribute-to-koko-didi-a-a-woman-of-peace-okoo-ngaa-mo-in-gbaya-community-cameroon/) - In February 2020, one of the most influential women peacebuilders in Gbaya Community passed away at the age of 100 years. During her lifetime, Koko Didi was widely respected for her successes in the use of local cultural practices in preventing and resolving many local conflicts among the Gbaya communities and their neighbors in East-Central
- [Civil Society and the Global Oil Complex: Accessing Civil Society Engagements in Nigeria’s Niger Delta](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2020/04/02/civil-society-and-the-global-oil-complex-accessing-civil-society-engagements-in-nigerias-niger-delta/) - Introduction Many studies have interrogated the interactions between global oil actors and civil society, particularly the implications for vulnerable indigenous social groups in oil producing states of the Global South (Ikelegbe, 2001; Butcher, 2013). Some studies on Nigeria’s Niger Delta shows that despite protests by pan-Delta groups such as Movement for the Emancipation of the
- [Researching the Activities of Oil and Gas Corporations in the Niger Delta: Challenges and Lessons from the Field](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2020/03/13/researching-the-activities-of-oil-and-gas-corporations-in-the-niger-delta-challenges-and-lessons-from-the-field/) - Introduction This article is based on a study of how oil and gas corporation officials and community members understand and engage each other in relation to the concept and practice of corporate social responsibility (CSR). It will focus on some of the lessons and challenges from the oil-rich Niger Delta region of Nigeria. As part
- [Where Are the Women’s Voices? Local Water Governance and Inclusive Peacebuilding in Uganda](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2020/03/05/where-are-the-womens-voices-local-water-governance-and-inclusive-peacebuilding-in-uganda/) - In spite of the legal framework supporting inclusive local water governance, women’s formal participation still remains minimal and at best reduced to tokenism.
- [Survivors of Sexual Violence: Navigating Post-Conflict Environments in Nigeria’s Niger Delta](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2020/02/27/survivors-of-sexual-violence-navigating-post-conflict-environments-in-nigerias-niger-delta/) - This article is based on some of the findings from my APN-supported research in post-conflict oil producing communities of Nigeria’s Niger Delta. It focuses on women survivors of sexual violence in post-conflict communities and the various ways they cope with trauma and stigma.
- [Togolese Elections: Between Alternation and Continuity](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2020/02/21/togolese-elections-between-alternation-and-continuity/) - Despite the build up to the elections within the framework of constitutional reforms, no one can guarantee that term limits on the presidential mandate will not be called into question.
- [An Interview with Njoki Wamai, Current APN Individual Research Grant Recipient](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2020/02/18/an-interview-with-njoki-wamai-current-apn-individual-research-grant-recipient/) - The African Peacebuilding Network (APN) and Next Generation Social Sciences in Africa (Next Gen) held a joint training workshop in Peduase, Aburi, Ghana from the 24th to the 28th of June 2019. We had the opportunity to sit down with current APN Individual Research Grant grantee, Njoki Wamai, to ask a couple of questions. The
- [Gender Refugees and Border Lines: An Interview with Dr. B Camminga](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2017/05/19/gender-refugees-and-border-lines-an-interview-with-dr-b-camminga/) - B Camminga, a 2016-17 Next Generation Social Sciences Completion Fellow, studies transgender refugees establishing a new life in South Africa. SSRC staff, Francesca Freeman and Natalie Reinhart, interviewed B at a workshop in Nairobi, and B shared reflections on their dissertation research.
- [Pursuing an Integrative Approach to Ending Gender-Based Violence: A Conversation with Ruth Lekakeny](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2018/01/12/pursuing-an-integrative-approach-to-ending-gender-based-violence-a-conversation-with-ruth-lekakeny-2/) - Ruth Nekura Lekakeny, a 2017-18 Next Generation Social Sciences in Africa Doctoral Dissertation Completion fellow, is a feminist human rights lawyer from Kenya. She spoke with SSRC Program Director, Thomas Asher, about her current research and her take on the role of scholarship in social change movements.
- [Next Generation Social Sciences in Africa: A Stepping Stone for Emerging Scholars in Africa](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2017/10/20/commentary-next-generation-social-sciences-in-africa-a-stepping-stone-for-emerging-scholars-in-africa/) - Ruth Murambadoro, a three-time recipient of the Next Generation Social Sciences in Africa fellowship, is the first PhD candidate working on transitional justice and reconciliation in her department at the University of Pretoria. She credits the fellowship as a catalyst for her research and for enabling her to contribute to an African perspective on the peacebuilding discourse. This is the story of her journey to a
- [Next Generation Social Sciences in Africa: A Story of Transformation](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2017/09/07/next-generation-social-sciences-in-africa-a-story-of-transformation/) - The Next Generation Social Sciences program responds to an emerging dilemma within higher education in the global South caused by the extraordinary emphasis on increasing undergraduate enrollment without proportionate investment in faculty development. The change story series documents the impact of the program on the lives of the fellowship recipients.
- [Decolonization, Decoloniality, and the Future of African Studies: A Conversation with Dr. Sabelo Ndlovu-Gatsheni](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2020/01/30/decolonization-decoloniality-and-the-future-of-african-studies-a-conversation-with-dr-sabelo-ndlovu-gatsheni/) - As discussions of decolonization of academia grow, Duncan Omanga, program officer for both the African Peacebuilding Network and Next Generation Social Sciences in Africa, sat down with Sabelo Ndlovu-Gatsheni to discuss decolonization within African studies.
- [Twenty Years on the War on Terror in East Africa](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2018/08/07/twenty-years-on-the-war-on-terror-in-east-africa/) - Samar Al-Bulushi marks the twentieth anniversary of the bombings of the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania with a reflection on their legacy for the securitization of much of the African continent. Based on extensive field research in Kenya (supported by SSRC’s Dissertation Proposal Development and International Dissertation Research Fellowships), she analyzes the extension of American and European military presences in the region, the Kenyan military’s role in Somalia, and the ways in which police forces target Muslim citizens under the banner of antiterrorism. Even aid agencies and civil society organizations, Al-Bulushi argues, contribute to the discourse and practice of “countering violent extremism” with serious consequences.
- [Hon. Zulekha: Leading the Campaign for the Rights of Breast-feeding Working Mothers in Kenya](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2020/01/17/hon-zulekha-leading-the-campaign-for-the-rights-of-breast-feeding-working-mothers-in-kenya/) - Hon. Zulekha Hassan is a symbol of leadership, resilience, and determination. This second term member of the Kenya National Assembly and representative of Kwale County made history as the first woman parliamentarian to enter the chambers of the National Assembly with her baby. Her advocacy for a change in Kenya’s breast-feeding policy has attracted a
- [Book Review, UN Peacekeeping in Africa](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2017/10/04/book-review-un-peacekeeping-in-africa-a-critical-examination-and-recommendations-for-improvement/) - 2015 and 2016 saw a bumper crop of UN peace architecture reform proposals. These included three blockbuster reviews of UN peace operations and architecture: the High Level Independent Panel on UN Peace Operations (HIPPO), the Advisory Group of Experts on Peacebuilding (AGE), and the UN Global Study on Women, Peace and Security. Also released were
- [An Interview with Next Gen Alumnus Marion Atieno Ouma](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2019/11/29/an-interview-with-next-gen-alumnus-marion-atieno-ouma/) - The African Peacebuilding Network and Next Generation Social Sciences in Africa programs had the chance to attend the 3rd Biennial Conference of the African Studies Association of Africa, where several APN and Next Gen alumni and fellows were also in attendance. The conference took place at the United States International University-Africa (USIU-A) in Nairobi, Kenya
- [Building Bridges Initiative: Is the Kenyatta-Odinga Handshake the Panacea for Kenya’s Peacebuilding Agenda?](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2019/11/14/building-bridges-initiative-is-the-kenyatta-odinga-handshake-the-panacea-for-kenyas-peacebuilding-agenda/) - In the wake of the 2007 electoral conflict, international actors intervened to restore peace in Kenya. The African Union (AU)-mandated, Kofi Annan-led Panel of African Eminent Personalities, comprising of Graça Machel (former first-lady) of Mozambique and Benjamin Mkapa (former president) of Tanzania among others, mediated the conflict culminating in the signing of the National Accord
- [Ebola in the Congo: a forgotten conflict became a danger to world health](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2019/11/07/ebola-in-the-congo-a-forgotten-conflict-became-a-danger-to-world-health/) - The original article can be found at The Conversation here. Ayamar Nyenyezi Bisoka is an APN IRG alumnus (2017). Aymar Nyenyezi Bisoka, Université catholique de Louvain The World Health Organisation (WHO) has recognised the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Ebola epidemic as a “public health emergency of international concern”. Despite a quick response from the international
- [An Interview with Next Gen Fellow Titilope Ajayi](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2019/10/31/an-interview-with-next-gen-fellow-titilope-ajayi/) - The APN and Next Gen had the chance to attend the 3rd Biennial Conference of the African Studies Association of Africa, where several APN and Next Gen alumni, fellows, and grantees were also in attendance. The conference took place at the United States International University-Africa in Nairobi, Kenya from October 24-26, 2019. We had the
- [Notes on Uganda's "Refugee Paradise"](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2019/07/17/notes-on-ugandas-refugee-paradise/) - “…this thing is an industry; budgets are exploding…” An international refugee agency worker based in Kampala. By January 2018, media reports of a deal for Israel to deport rejected African asylum seekers and migrants to Uganda and Rwanda were still being denied. Believed to have started in 2013, deported African migrants gave testimonies to media insisting
- [Rethinking Responses to Displacement in Northeast Nigeria](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2019/09/27/rethinking-responses-to-displacement-in-northeast-nigeria/) - As a panelist at the maiden Kofi Annan Peace and Security Forum held in Accra in early September 2019, I was invited to reflect on the challenges facing internally and externally displaced populations in situations of violent extremism. In retrospect, I realize that there is a tendency and temptation to frame these primarily in terms
- [‘#ChurchToo’? The Women’s Rights Movement and the Sexual Emancipation of “Sacred” Spaces in Nigeria](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2019/07/29/churchtoo-the-womens-rights-movement-and-the-sexual-emancipation-of-sacred-spaces-in-nigeria/) - Sexual abuse is about predation and power and the Fatoyinbo spectacle exposes the dark side of Nigeria’s Pentecostal ‘erotic economy’ with omnipotent pastors perched grandiosely atop.
- [An Interview with 2019 APN Grantee Onyinyechukwu Onyido Durueke](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2019/10/23/an-interview-with-2019-apn-grantee-onyinyechukwu-onyido/) - Dr. Onyinyechukwu Onyido Durueke was interviewed during the APN-WANEP Policy Dialogue on “Mediating Natural Resource Conflict in Africa: Connecting Practice to Research” in Abuja, Nigeria. The interview has been edited for length and clarity. APN: Please tell us a little bit about yourself and your APN-supported research project? Onyinyechukwu Onyido Durueke: My name is Onyinyechukwu
- [A Researcher’s Dilemma: Reflections on Conducting Fieldwork in the Volatile Terrain of North Central Nigeria](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2019/10/18/a-researchers-dilemma-reflections-on-conducting-fieldwork-in-the-volatile-terrain-of-north-central-nigeria/) - As a member of a collaborative research team awarded a research grant by the African Peacebuilding Network (APN) of the Social Science Research Council (SSRC) to carry out a study on “Herders-Farmers Conflicts in Africa: Historical Trajectories: New Issues, Responses and Lessons for Peacebuilding,” I conducted fieldwork in the conflict-affected Plateau state, in North Central
- [An Interview with APN Alumnus Dr. Admire Mare](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2019/10/10/an-interview-with-apn-alumnus-dr-admire-mare/) - The APN held a Media Experts Consultative Meeting on “Model Curriculum for Conflict-Sensitive Journalism in Africa,” in Accra, Ghana in collaboration with the University of Ghana from June 19th-20th, 2019. We had the opportunity to sit down with APN alumnus (IRG 2013) Admire Mare and ask him a few questions. The interview has been edited
- [An Interview with 2019 APN Grantee Abubakari Ahmed](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2019/10/04/an-interview-with-2019-apn-grantee-abubakari-ahmed/) - The African Peacebuilding Network, in collaboration with the West Africa Network for Peacebuilding, held a Policy Dialogue on “Mediating Natural Resource Conflict in Africa: Connecting Practice to Research” in Abuja, Nigeria from the 25th to the 26th of September. We had the opportunity to sit down with current APN Grantee (IRG 2019) Abubakari Ahmed to
- [An Interview with Patricia Serwaa Afrifa, Next Generation Social Sciences in Africa Alumnus](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2019/09/19/an-interview-with-patricia-serwaa-afrifa-next-generation-social-sciences-in-africa-alumnus/) - Dr. Patricia Serwaa Afrifa holds a PhD in African studies from the University of Ghana, Legon. She obtained a Bachelor of Arts (Honors) in linguistics and sociology and a Master of Philosophy degree in African studies from the same university. Her teaching and research interests are family studies (with specific emphasis on childhood studies), gender
- [My PhD Journey: Reflections on the Next Gen Fellowship as a Game Changer](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2019/09/13/my-phd-journey-reflections-on-the-next-gen-fellowship-as-a-game-changer/) - The Next Gen fellowship awards made a great difference in the trajectory of my PhD journey from inception to completion in September 2018.
- [Points of Tension between African States and the International Criminal Court](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2019/08/27/points-of-tension-between-african-states-and-the-international-criminal-court/) - The International Criminal Court (ICC) has been accused of unfairly targeting African states. The ICC began operating in 2002 and it is the first permanent court that has the power to prosecute individuals for acts of genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and crimes of aggression, which are considered as the “core crimes.” Accusations of
- [An Interview with 2019 APN Grantee Umar Ahmed](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2019/08/23/an-interview-with-2019-apn-grantee-umar-ahmed/) - Umar Ahmed is a lecturer at Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, Nigeria. He received both his BA and MA degrees from the Department of Modern European Languages and Linguistics, Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, Nigeria, and an MPhil in TESL (Applied Linguistics) from the University of Ghana, Legon. He later got his PhD in languages and literatures
- [Introducing SSRC’s African Peacebuilding Network’s 2019 Grant Recipients](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2019/07/22/introducing-ssrcs-african-peacebuilding-networks-2019-grant-recipients/) - The African Peacebuilding Network (APN) of the Social Science Research Council (SSRC) is pleased to announce the 2019 recipients of its Individual Research Grants (IRG) and Book Manuscript Completion Grants (BMG). The program awards these two unique grants to African researchers based in African universities, research institutes, and other policy-related and civil society institutions. Since 2013, the
- [An Interview with Professor Sarah Ssali](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2019/08/16/an-interview-with-professor-sarah-ssali/) - The African Peacebuilding Network (APN) and Next Generation Social Sciences in Africa (Next Gen) held a joint training workshop in Peduase, Aburi, Ghana from the 24th to the 28th of June, 2019. We had the opportunity to sit down with Dr. Sarah Ssali, Associate Professor and Dean of the School of Women and Gender Studies
- [Navigating the Research Terrain for Graduate Students in Africa: A Reflection](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2019/08/09/navigating-the-research-terrain-for-graduate-students-in-africa-a-reflection/) - Early this year, a woman I know from her public engagement in Uganda walked up to me after I had spoken at an event, politely requesting some of my time for a brief chat. We stepped aside and she poured out her heart—her master’s dissertation was not going well. She wanted me to give her
- [Introducing SSRC’s Next Generation Social Sciences in Africa’s 2019-2020 Fellows](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2019/07/22/introducing-ssrcs-next-generation-social-sciences-in-africas-2019-2020-fellows/) - The Social Science Research Council’s Next Generation Social Sciences in Africa program is pleased to announce the thirty-six fellows receiving the Doctoral Dissertation Completion Fellowship, Doctoral Dissertation Research Fellowship, and Doctoral Dissertation Proposal Fellowship. This year’s fellows are from Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, Rwanda, and Tanzania. The Next Gen program supports tertiary education in
- [Securing Peace and Stability in Africa: An Interview with Dr. Chukwuemeka Eze](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2019/07/11/securing-peace-and-stability-in-africa-an-interview-with-dr-chukwuemeka-eze/) - The African Peacebuilding Network (APN) and Next Generation Social Sciences in Africa (Next Gen) held a joint training workshop in Peduase, Aburi, Ghana from the 24th to the 28th of June, 2019. We had the opportunity to sit down to ask Dr. Chukwuemeka Eze, Executive Director of West Africa Network for Peacebuilding (WANEP) who delivered a keynote speech on the first day of the workshop, a few questions.
- [Rural Banditry in Zamfara state, Northwest Nigeria](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2019/06/13/rural-banditry-in-zamfara-state-northwest-nigeria/) - Rural banditry by all accounts is undermining security, peace, and development in Nigeria’s northwest. While the unfolding crisis could be linked to a set of factors, the threat to security in a region already reeling from the effects of a decade-long Boko Haram insurgency in the Northeast cannot be over-stated.
- [Podcast: Monde Muyangwa of the Wilson Center Africa Program](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2018/12/07/podcast-monde-muyangwa-of-the-wilson-center-africa-program/) - "I think that if peace is to be sustainable, it has to be locally owned. It cannot be driven from the outside. And what we have seen overall, as you look back over the years, is that in many cases African voices and African knowledge is missing from our approach to peace and peacebuilding."
- [Life as an APN Alumnus: An Interview with Dr. Amanda Coffie](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2019/06/04/life-as-an-apn-alumnus-an-interview-with-dr-amanda-coffie/) - The Social Science Research Council’s African Peacebuilding Network (APN) had the opportunity to sit down with Dr. Amanda Coffie, an APN alumnus and a Research Fellow at Legon Center for International Affairs and Diplomacy (LECIAD) at the University of Ghana. The interview was conducted at the 2019 International Studies Association Annual Convention in Toronto, Canada,
- [Civil Society Organization and Counter-Terrorism in Northeastern Nigeria: A Conversation with Emeka Thaddues Njoku](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2019/05/17/civil-society-organization-and-counter-terrorism-in-northeastern-nigeria-a-conversation-with-emeka-thaddues-njoku/) - Emeka Thaddues Njoku is an alumnus of the Next Generation Social Sciences in Africa Doctoral Dissertation Proposal Fellowship (2015) and Doctoral Dissertation Completion Fellowship (2016). He holds a PhD in Political Science from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria. His research focuses on the intersection of civil society organizations and security governance, particularly post-9/11 international and
- [An Interview with Sisanda Mguzulwa](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2019/05/10/an-interview-with-sisanda-mguzulwa/) - At our July 2018 bi-annual fellows workshop in Kampala, Uganda, program staff sat down with Sisanda Mguzulwa, a 2016 and 2018 Next Gen fellow and PhD candidate at the University of Cape Town:
- [A Perspective on Next Generation Peacebuilding in Africa: What Next?](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2019/04/24/a-perspective-on-next-generation-peacebuilding-in-africa-what-next/) - Between April 10-12, 2019, seven alumni of two SSRC programs—the African Peacebuilding Network (APN) and Next Generation Social Sciences in Africa (Next Gen)—joined some of the world’s leading thinkers, practitioners, and funders in the field of peacebuilding for a two-day high-level conference organized by Wilton Park in the United Kingdom. The theme of the meeting,
- [Nigeria’s 2019 General Elections: A Postscript](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2019/04/19/nigerias-2019-general-elections-a-postscript/) - The expectation of free and fair elections was dampened by the perception among some observers of bias by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), whose neutrality had been a key factor in the success of the 2015 elections.
- [The Disappearing Lake](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2019/04/18/the-disappearing-lake/) - Is climate change likely to be a threat multiplier in conflict-prone regions? Under what conditions? What can be done to ameliorate it? These questions broadly capture the focus of my research. Much literature has sought to quantify the strength of climate-conflict linkages by taking advantage of improvements in climate and conflict data and data computing
- [Researching China in Africa](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2019/04/03/researching-china-in-africa/) - My initial attraction to the study of China’s activities in Africa stemmed from an intellectual imbalance I noticed while writing two separate MA theses. Many of the best-known scholars, including those that I respect on the subject, are non-African. In Nigeria, only a few scholars have fundamentally contributed to the subject. My interest was further
- [Empowering Kenyan Voices in Peacebuilding Discourse Through Talk Radio](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2019/04/12/empowering-kenyan-voices-in-peacebuilding-discourse-through-talk-radio/) - There can be no peace without development and no development without peace. Report of the UN Secretary-General, September 2013 As the media strives to uphold freedom, independence, and professionalism in a digitalized media environment, the world comes together on February 13 every year to mark World Radio Day. On this day, we celebrate the unique
- [2019 Presidential Elections in Senegal:  Reflections on a West African Model-Democracy and the Challenge of Decolonization](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2019/04/03/2019-presidential-elections-in-senegal-reflections-on-a-west-african-model-democracy-and-the-challenge-of-decolonization/) - Perhaps the most defining issue of the election was the debate about decolonization, a first in the history of postcolonial Senegal.
- [An Interview with Next Gen Fellow Sisanda Mguzulwa](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2019/03/27/an-interview-with-next-gen-fellow-sisanda-mguzulwa/) - Next Gen fellow Sisanda Mguzulwa (2016-2018) is passionate about her research on youth violence in South Africa. Here’s a sneak peek at a conversation we had with her about her work and experience as a fellow.
- [The Waning Foreign Policy Influence of Tanzania under President Magufuli](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2019/03/26/the-waning-foreign-policy-influence-of-tanzania-under-president-magufuli/) - Tanzania’s post-independence foreign policy was modeled on “liberation diplomacy.” As a result, the country and its leadership have played a critical role in regional and continental affairs.
- [Ethiopia’s Political Transition at a Crossroads](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2019/03/19/ethiopias-political-transition-at-a-crossroads/) - Authorities should adopt a participatory and transparent approach in demarcating the boundary between Oromia and Addis Ababa, and in renegotiating relations between the regions and the political center within the country’s federal framework.
- [Renegotiating Gender during Fieldwork in Conflict-Affected Settings: Overcoming Some Challenges](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2019/03/14/renegotiating-gender-during-fieldwork-in-conflict-affected-settings-overcoming-some-challenges/) - Despite the ethical challenges that conflict settings pose, conducting fieldwork in such places provides great opportunities to generate data essential for designing post-conflict peacebuilding activities.
- [In Memoriam: Professor Pius Adesanmi](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2019/03/11/in-memoriam-professor-pius-adesanmi/) - He was a thorn in the flesh of Africa’s political class, especially the Nigerian political elite. Everyone who knew him was struck by his decency, humor, intellect, and capacity to connect with others.
- [Understanding Selfhood among Young People Who Were Born Out of Genocide Rape in Rwanda](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2019/03/08/understanding-selfhood-among-young-people-who-were-born-out-of-genocide-rape-in-rwanda/) - One Saturday afternoon in 2013, I was at home in Kigali, Rwanda watching television when I randomly came across a documentary by filmmaker Ingeborg Beugel on Al Jazeera English. The film, titled “Rwanda: Children of Bad Memories,” was a poignant and moving story about a 12-year-old Rwandan boy named Shyaka. Shyaka’s mother, Goretti, was gang-raped
- [Zimbabwe’s Cyber-Shutdown: A Counterproductive Economic Decision or a Politically Retrogressive Move?](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2019/03/06/zimbabwes-cyber-shutdown-a-counterproductive-economic-decision-or-a-politically-retrogressive-move/) - Not only has it recently become more difficult for Zimbabweans to meet their basic needs, but the government has also prevented them from exercising their human rights.
- [The Challenge of Electoral Management in Nigeria](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2019/02/22/the-challenge-of-electoral-management-in-nigeria/) - Why did INEC not anticipate the challenges facing the long-scheduled elections in advance and respond proactively to avoid a last-minute postponement? Its failure to do so suggests an avoidable lapse in judgment and an inability to read the situation accurately.
- [Special Issue: Perspectives on the Postponement of Nigeria’s 2019 Elections](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2019/02/22/special-issue-perspectives-on-the-postponement-of-nigerias-2019-elections/) - The postponement of Nigeria’s elections, just hours before the commencement of voting on Saturday last week, sent shockwaves across the country and beyond. Many people were concerned not just about the readiness of the country’s electoral management institution but also about the fate of democratic peace and security in Africa’s most populous country. Nigerians vote
- [The Postponement of the 2019 Nigerian Elections: Implications for Democracy, Peace, and Security](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2019/02/22/the-postponement-of-the-2019-nigerian-elections-implications-for-democracy-peace-and-security/) - This article explores the implications—for democracy, peace, and security—of the postponement of Nigeria’s 2019 elections, initially set for February 16 (presidential and national assembly) and March 2 (governor and state assembly). Both elections have now been rescheduled to February 23 and March 11, respectively. Nigeria’s electoral history is replete with poll postponements since the military
- [Repeating Past Failures: Nigeria’s Election Umpire and the Legacy of Poll Cancellations](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2019/02/22/repeating-past-failures-nigerias-election-umpire-and-the-legacy-of-poll-cancellations/) - By 2:30 am in the morning of February 16, 2019, less than six hours before the polls were scheduled to open, the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mahmood Yakubu, announced the postponement of presidential and national assembly elections citing logistical and operational problems. Predictably, INEC’s decision was widely condemned by Nigerians who
- [The Postponement of Nigeria’s 2019 Elections: Is Democracy on Hold?](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2019/02/22/the-postponement-of-nigerias-2019-elections-is-democracy-on-hold/) - At about 2:30 am on February 16, 2019, five hours before the polls were due to open, the chairman of Nigeria’s Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mahmood Yakubu, announced in a press release that Nigeria’s general elections had been rescheduled to February 23, with state elections moved to March 9. At a stakeholders meeting later that
- [The International Community and Nigeria’s 2019 Elections](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2019/02/15/the-international-community-and-nigerias-2019-elections/) - Compared to past elections it would appear that the 2019 election has received less attention from the international community.
- [Not Ready to Run? Youth and Nigeria’s 2019 General Elections](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2019/02/15/not-ready-to-run-youth-and-nigerias-2019-general-elections/) - Despite the landmark legislation aimed at increasing the political participation of youth, early indications regarding youth political empowerment are not very encouraging.
- [Bullets and Ballots: Exploring Insecurities and the 2019 Elections in Nigeria](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2019/02/15/bullets-and-ballots-exploring-insecurities-and-the-2019-elections-in-nigeria/) - Several groups have appealed to the government and politicians not to make pronouncements or take actions that may escalate existing political tensions.
- [Security Agencies and the 2019 Elections in Nigeria](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2019/02/15/security-agencies-and-the-2019-elections-in-nigeria/) - In Nigeria, incidents of violence are due to the zero-sum approach to political competition and the militarization of elections.
- [Women and Nigeria’s 2019 Elections](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2019/02/15/women-and-nigerias-2019-elections/) - Gender inequality manifests in Nigeria’s politicosphere as a deeply held belief by many, including some women, that men are superior to women and leadership is a man’s business.
- [Special Issue: Nigeria’s 2019 Elections in Perspective](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2019/02/15/special-issue-nigerias-2019-elections-in-perspective/) - In the run-up to the hotly contested elections, the political atmosphere has been charged by intense party campaigns, sporadic incidents of political violence, and rising expectations. Political tensions are also being fueled by the high stakes of the presidential election.
- [Displaced but not Disenfranchised? IDPs and the 2019 Nigerian Elections](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2019/02/15/displaced-but-not-disenfranchised-idps-and-the-2019-nigerian-elections/) - Apart from being denied their right to peace and security, some IDPs face the risk of also being disenfranchised.
- [Political Campaigns in the 2019 Election: Economic Debate Takes a Backseat](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2019/02/15/political-campaigns-in-the-2019-election-economic-debate-takes-a-backseat/) - A review of the campaign documents of the two leading candidates, Muhammadu Buhari’s Next Level and Abubakar Atiku’s Let’s Get Nigeria Working Again, reveals that both are high on promises but short on specifics.
- ["Who Debates Epp?"](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2019/02/11/who-debates-epp/) - “Epp” is a slang word used by Nigerian youth meaning “help.” In other words, the title asks: "who have debates helped?" Since their popularization in the United States in 1960, televised political debates between candidates for office have become an integral part of campaigns in the buildup to elections. They are often targeted at people
- [One Year After: Has the National Peace and Reconciliation Commission Act Failed Zimbabweans?](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2019/02/07/one-year-after-has-the-national-peace-and-reconciliation-commission-act-failed-zimbabweans/) - The situation in the country—marked by high-handed responses to public protest, political unrest, and a worsening economic crisis—continues to pose serious challenges to peace and justice.
- [Decolonizing Mediation: Exploring Questions of Knowledge and Power Shaping African Mediation](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2019/01/29/decolonizing-mediation-exploring-questions-of-knowledge-and-power-shaping-african-mediation/) - These hierarchies of knowledge and power can be identified in various aspects of African mediation. While most African societies historically relied on mediation to resolve conflicts, there is a lack of confidence in African approaches to conflict resolution which is rooted in colonial thinking.
- [Biya’s Renewed Presidency, Economic Revival, and the Anglophone Question in Cameroon](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2019/01/14/biyas-renewed-presidency-economic-revival-and-the-resolution-of-the-anglophone-question-in-cameroon/) - Following the presidential poll on October 7, 2018, largely boycotted by the country’s English-speaking regions, Cameroon’s constitutional court declared the long-term incumbent Paul Biya of the Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement (CPDM) the winner on October 22. The official results indicated that Biya got 71.28 percent of the votes. He is currently serving his seventh term after
- [Peacebuilding through Community Health Work in Nairobi's Informal Settlements](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2019/01/22/peacebuilding-through-community-health-work-nairobi-informal-settlements/) - Nairobi’s informal settlements experience a range of violence, including political, ethnic, religious, resource-related, and gender-based violence. The link between peace, development, and health is a direct one as conflicts and violence can directly impact health or cause a disruption in social and economic systems leading to a decline in health.
- [Call for Proposals: African Peacebuilding Network-Social Science Research Council 2019 Research Grants](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2018/10/05/call-for-proposals-african-peacebuilding-network-social-science-research-council-2019-research-grants/) - In order to advance African debates on peacebuilding and promote African perspectives, the APN offers competitive research grants annually and is currently accepting grant proposals for the 2019 cycle.
- [Life as an APN Alumnus: An Interview with Dr. Admire Mare](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2018/12/21/life-as-an-apn-alumnus-an-interview-with-dr-admire-mare/) - When you fund the research of young and middle-career academics, you are enabling them to make sure that the knowledge produced in Africa actually goes onto the global stage and that’s very important, especially now when people are talking about decolonizing knowledge.
- [Women in Terror: Ending Gender-Based Violence in Borno State, Northeast Nigeria](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2018/12/13/women-in-terror-ending-gender-based-violence-in-borno-state-northeast-nigeria/) - The silence surrounding sexual violence in Borno makes it difficult to investigate and prosecute rapes in an environment of violent conflict. The shame and stigma associated with abuse and the preoccupation with preserving individual and family dignity, as well as the marriage prospects of abused girls and young women, prevents victims from reporting to the police.
- [Bolsonaro’s Victory Is Likely to See Brazil Scale down Africa Interests](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2018/12/05/bolsonaros-victory-is-likely-to-see-brazil-scale-down-africa-interests/) - This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. His first son is a senator for the state of Rio do Janeiro. His second son a municipal councillor in the city of Rio, and his third is a federal deputy for the state of São Paulo. And he
- [Life as an APN Alumnus: An Interview with Dr. Rose Jaji](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2018/11/27/life-as-an-apn-alumnus-an-interview-with-dr-rose-jaji/) - The Social Science Research Council’s African Peacebuilding Network (APN) had the opportunity to sit down with Dr. Rose Jaji, an APN alumnus (Individual Research Grant 2017) and senior lecturer at the University of Zimbabwe. The interview was conducted at the APN’s Training Workshop on Research Methods held in Accra, Ghana in June 2017. It has
- [Kofi Annan: In Service of the World](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2018/08/29/kofi-annan-in-service-of-the-world/) - Kofi Annan’s contributions to peace and security were wide-ranging, encompassing efforts to discourage needless conflicts, support peace operations, create or nurture institutions for peacebuilding, and develop norms and policies to promote inclusive development.
- [Resolving the Omo Onile land-related crisis in Lagos, Nigeria](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2018/10/30/resolving-the-omo-onile-land-related-crisis-in-lagos-nigeria/) - Part of the crisis threatening peace in Africa is the struggle over land and natural resources. This crisis is rooted in a series of structural, historical, and socioeconomic factors. It is also driven by increasing urbanization, land-grabbing, demographic pressure, inadequate property rights, and conflicting land tenure systems. This essay is based on a land-related crisis
- [Kujenga Amani Podcast: Lena Slachmuijlder of Search for Common Ground](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2018/11/06/kujenga-amani-podcast-lena-slachmuijlder-of-search-for-common-ground/) - For the latest episode of the African Peacebuilding Network’s Kujenga Amani podcast, we sat down with Search for Common Ground's vice president of programs, Lena Slachmuijlder, an accomplished journalist, editor, human rights defender, director, producer, performing artist, cultural facilitator, trainer, and project manager with over twenty-five years of experience in peacebuilding. Lena joined
- [The State and the Environmental Clean-Up in Ogoni: Building Peace or the Continuation of Oil Politics in the Niger Delta?](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2018/09/18/the-state-and-the-environmental-clean-up-in-ogoni-building-peace-or-the-continuation-of-oil-politics-in-the-niger-delta/) - In 2008, the Nigerian government invited the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) to undertake an environmental impact assessment of oil exploitation in Ogoniland. The government’s action was in response to claims by Ogoni people that Shell, the Anglo-Dutch oil company which has been extracting oil from Ogoniland for decades destroyed their ecosystem through gas flaring
- [Life as an APN Alumnus: An Interview with Dr. Fana Gebresenbet](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2018/10/16/life-as-an-apn-alumnus-an-interview-with-dr-fana-gebresenbet/) - African Peacebuilding Network: Can you begin by telling us about yourself and your research prior to receiving your APN grant? Fana Gebresenbet: I was born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. I completed my first degree in plant sciences at Haramaya University in 2003 and my master’s degree in physical land resources at Ghent University (Belgium) in
- [Kujenga Amani Podcast: Paul D. Williams on the African Peace and Security Architecture](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2018/10/05/kujenga-amani-podcast-episode-3-paul-d-williams-on-the-african-peace-and-security-architecture/) - Since the founding of the African Union (AU) in 2002, its role in promoting peace and security on the continent has evolved considerably. Compared with its predecessor, the Organization of African Unity, the AU has played a more active role in peacekeeping and peace support operations. For the third episode of the APN’s Kujenga Amani podcast, we
- [Post-Conflict Peacebuilding Process and Environmental Governance: Implications for Peace and Security in Nigeria’s Niger Delta Region](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2018/09/18/post-conflict-peacebuilding-process-and-environmental-governance-implications-for-peace-and-security-in-nigerias-niger-delta-region/) - At the heart of the violent conflict in the Niger Delta region is the struggle over a non-renewable resource—crude oil—Nigeria’s chief revenue earner, mainly extracted by multinational oil corporations in the oil-producing region since the late 1950s. Unfortunately, the exploitation of oil has resulted in the disruption of local communities’ traditional livelihoods and the pollution
- [Women, Petro-Insurgency, and Peacebuilding in Nigeria’s Niger Delta Region](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2018/09/18/women-petro-insurgency-and-peacebuilding-in-nigerias-niger-delta-region/) - While some recent studies have focused on the gender dimension of the struggle for environmental justice in the Niger Delta, limited attention is devoted to the role of women in the oil-related conflict and the implications for peacebuilding in the Niger Delta. The feminist essentialist notion that women are naturally peaceful is being challenged by
- [Special Issue: The Present and Future of Peacebuilding in the Niger Delta](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2018/09/18/special-issue-the-present-and-future-of-peacebuilding-in-the-niger-delta/) - Since 2009 when the Nigerian government declared a Presidential Amnesty for militants in the restive oil-producing Niger Delta, the fragile peace in the region has faced several challenges. The situation is not unconnected to the continued environmental degradation resulting from the operations of the oil industry, weak implementation of policies and developmental projects in the
- [Samir Amin: The Exit of an Intellectual Giant](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2018/09/06/samir-amin-the-exit-of-an-intellectual-giant/) - Even when Marxism became unpopular after the collapse of the Berlin Wall and the fall of the Soviet Union and many leftists made a turn, either becoming centrists or moving a “little to the right,” Amin remained convinced of his ideological stance and faithful to what he believed.
- [Down, but Not yet Out: Boko Haram and the Concept of "Technical Defeat"](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2018/08/23/down-but-not-yet-out-boko-haram-and-the-concept-of-technical-defeat/) - The president may have correctly captured the situation in the war against Boko Haram, but the jury is still out on when “technical” defeat will result in total defeat. Total defeat can only be the result of a combination of military success and winning over the hearts and minds of sympathizers of Boko Haram’s extremist ideology.
- [How Rwanda is Teaching Peace Education Through Ubumuntu Conversations](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2018/08/14/how-rwanda-is-teaching-peace-education-through-ubumuntu-conversations/) - As we close the curtain on the annual Kwibuka period here in Rwanda, the Ubumuntu Conversations have challenged those of us who attended to play our part, however small, in making the world more peaceful.
- [Post-Election Violence in Zimbabwe’s 2018 Election: Can a Future Recurrence Be Avoided?](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2018/08/08/post-election-violence-in-zimbabwes-2018-election-can-a-future-recurrence-be-avoided/) - This round of post-election violence has demonstrated the persistence of election-related violence in Zimbabwe. Even though President Mnangagwa has promised to appoint an independent commission of inquiry to investigate the causes of the violence, it remains to be seen how this will prevent a future recurrence.
- [Mali’s Upcoming Presidential Elections: What Prospects for Peace and Security?](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2018/07/28/malis-upcoming-presidential-elections-what-prospects-for-peace-and-security/) - The newly elected president will also need to successfully negotiate with the many rebel armed groups in the central and northern regions of Mali. There are enough reasons to be hopeful that the upcoming presidential election, despite the tensions surrounding it, will, nonetheless, contribute to the consolidation of peace in Mali.
- [Life as an APN Alumnus: An Interview with Dr. Azeez Olaniyan](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2018/07/18/life-as-an-apn-alumnus-an-interview-with-dr-azeez-olaniyan/) - It’s tough to be a scholar in a country like Nigeria because while you want to compete with your colleagues all over the world who have these facilities, you face certain challenges. You have to put in a lot of effort and self-sacrifice to measure up to your colleagues all over the world.
- [Introducing the APN’s 2018 Grant Recipients](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2018/07/03/introducing-the-apns-2018-grant-recipients/) - The African Peacebuilding Network (APN) of the Social Science Research Council (SSRC) is pleased to announce the 2018 recipients of its Individual Research Grants, Collaborative Working Group Grants, and Book Manuscript Completion Grants. The program awards these three unique grants to African researchers based in African universities, research institutes, and other policy-related and civil society institutions. Since
- [Life as an APN Alumnus: An Interview with Dr. Mary Boatemaa Setrana](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2018/07/03/life-as-an-apn-alumnus-an-interview-with-mary-boatemaa-setrana/) - The Social Science Research Council’s African Peacebuilding Network (APN) had the opportunity to sit down with APN Alumnus Dr. Mary Boatemaa Setrana (Individual Research Grant recipient 2017), a lecturer at the Centre for Migration Studies, University of Ghana. The interview was conducted on December 13, 2017, during the APN’s Training Workshop on Writing and Dissemination for 2017 grantees held in
- [Reflections on World Press Freedom Day in Accra](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2018/05/22/reflections-on-world-press-freedom-day-in-accra/) - Just a few weeks ago on May 2 and 3, events celebrating the 25th World Press Freedom Day (WPFD) were held in Accra, Ghana—attended by more than nine hundred participants from around the world. Convened by UNESCO, many of the proceedings highlighted the numerous dangers those who bring news and information to the world continue
- [The Usefulness of African Academics in the Diaspora to African universities](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2018/06/05/the-usefulness-of-african-academics-in-the-diaspora-to-african-universities/) - The issue of the usefulness of African academics in the diaspora to African universities is no longer in doubt for two main reasons. First, many African universities are short of teachers and researchers with doctoral and post-doctoral qualifications and expertise. According to several studies, most African countries are currently facing a shortage of highly qualified
- [What is “the Local”? Exploring grassroots justice systems as a means of understanding the local](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2018/04/17/what-is-the-local-exploring-grassroots-justice-systems-as-a-means-of-understanding-the-local/) - The liberal peacebuilding framework has been extensively critiqued and increasing attention is being given to "the local” in peacebuilding. What “local” means, though, still needs to be more deeply understood. What are the norms, values, and power dynamics, for example, that characterize diverse local contexts? An ongoing research project in Southern and Central Africa provides
- [Life as an APN Alumnus: An Interview with Dr. Duncan Omanga](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2018/05/15/life-as-an-apn-alumnus-an-interview-with-dr-duncan-omanga/) - The Social Science Research Council’s African Peacebuilding Network (APN) had the opportunity to sit down with APN Alumnus Dr. Duncan Omanga (Individual Research Grant 2014), a lecturer and head of the Department of Publishing and Media Studies at Moi University, Kenya. The interview was conducted on December 13, 2017, during the APN’s Training Workshop on
- [Gang Violence in Gugulethu, South Africa: Notes from the field](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2018/04/25/gang-violence-in-gugulethu-south-africa-notes-from-the-field/) - Gang violence continues unabated in South Africa, particularly in impoverished black and “coloured” communities. This essay focuses on black communities. We reveal how young men living in majority Xhosa-speaking black townships become part of a gang and how the gang relationship is forged and sustained over time. We pay attention to how the gang relationship
- [Can Peace Education Help Heal a Divided Kenya?](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2018/03/27/can-peace-education-help-heal-a-divided-kenya/) - The political impasse in Kenya Kenya needs national healing and reconciliation. This can be attributed to the protracted and hotly contested 2017 elections that re-opened ethnic divisions and tensions. Elections in Kenya since the return to multipartyism in 1991 have deepened divisions in the country, often resulting in ethnic clashes. The August 8, 2017 presidential
- [Internal Party Reforms or Power Consolidation by African Ruling Parties?](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2018/04/11/internal-party-reforms-or-power-consolidation-by-african-ruling-parties/) - There is a discernible behavioral shift in some of Africa’s ruling parties, particularly those that emerged out of national liberation movements. Two events signpost the unfolding political era. First, the “nine presidential lives” of Jacob Zuma recently came to an end with his resignation on February 14, and second, Hailemariam Desalegn’s sudden resignation in the
- [Eastern Nile Cooperation at a Crossroads: The Costs of Missing Another Opportunity](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2018/03/14/eastern-nile-cooperation-at-a-crossroads-the-costs-of-missing-another-opportunity/) - "The Nile constitutes a common destiny; we either sink or swim together, and we chose to swim together." Ethiopia's Former Prime Minister, Hailemariam Desalegn, Speech at Egypt's Economic Conference, March 13, 2015. "I invite you to write a new chapter in the history of Egyptian-Ethiopian relationships… We have the opportunity today to set a new
- [Celebrating Army Generals in Zimbabwean Politics?](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2018/04/04/celebrating-army-generals-in-zimbabwean-politics/) - Considering that former President Robert Mugabe was a long-time ally of the Zimbabwean military, no one expected that he would be overthrown by the military. Mugabe had favored the military as one of the bulwarks against challenges to his regime, so why would they then turn against a man who had for more than four
- [Pursuing an Integrative Approach to Ending Gender-Based Violence: A Conversation with Ruth Lekakeny](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2018/02/22/pursuing-an-integrative-approach-to-ending-gender-based-violence-a-conversation-with-ruth-lekakeny/) - This is a cross-post from Research Matters, a digital forum that focuses on emerging research in the social sciences by those who have been recipients of Social Science Research Council funding. Ruth Nekura Lekakeny is a feminist human rights lawyer from Kenya. Her research, litigation, and advocacy work focuses on the use of domestic, regional, and
- [Vitória é Certa! The Future Belongs to African Women](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2018/03/15/vitoria-e-certa-the-future-belongs-to-african-women/) - African women have much to celebrate. We have historic and recent examples of women’s leadership at the highest levels of the state and international organizations. Amina J. Mohammed of Nigeria is the current deputy secretary-general of the United Nations (UN). She succeeded Asha-Rose Migiro of Tanzania in that role. Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka of South Africa is the current executive director of UN
- [Sierra Leone’s Fourth Post-War Elections and the Trial of Democracy](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2018/03/05/sierra-leones-fourth-post-war-elections-and-the-trial-of-democracy/) - Sierra Leone’s fourth post-war presidential, parliamentary, and local elections, scheduled for March 7, 2018, will be the litmus test to assess whether democratic principles are entrenched in the country’s post-conflict electoral politics. This is because the upcoming elections are the first to be organized solely by the government since the end of the civil strife in January
- [Examining the Role of Youth in the Maï-Maï Yakutumba Insurgency](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2018/02/01/examining-the-role-of-youth-in-the-mai-mai-yakutumba-insurgency/) - Youth in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)—as everywhere else—are the main participants in violent conflict. They constitute the vast majority of the national army and the plethora of armed militias in Eastern DRC. One of the most recent self-styled 'resistance’ movements attracting hundreds of young fighters to join its ranks is Maï-Maï Yakutumba.
- [Religious Conflict in Ethiopia: An Interview with APN grantee Meron Zeleke Eresso](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2017/10/24/religious-conflict-in-ethiopia-an-interview-with-apn-grantee-meron-zeleke-eresso/) - This is a cross-post from AcademiaNet, a database of profiles of excellent female researchers from all disciplines. In 2016, Dr. Meron Zeleke Eresso was an African Peacebuilding Network Individual Research Grant recipient. Throughout history and down to the present day, religion has been used as a pretext for conflict and violence. Indeed, too often religion and conflict
- [The Snake and the Hedgehog: Managing Farmer-Herder Conflicts in Nigeria](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2018/03/08/the-snake-and-the-hedgehog-managing-farmer-herder-conflicts-in-nigeria/) - The recent escalation in violence in the farmer-herder conflict poses a serious threat to peace and security across Nigeria. These incidents have claimed an estimated annual average of two thousand lives between 2011 and 2016, led to massive destruction of property, and tens of thousands of displaced persons. The attacks are reportedly carried out by militant pastoralists
- ["Two Rams Cannot Drink from the Same  Bowl": Supremacy Battles and Peacebuilding Challenges in Arogbo-Ijaw Area of Ondo State, Nigeria](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2018/02/14/two-rams-cannot-drink-from-the-same-bowl-supremacy-battles-and-peacebuilding-challenges-in-arogbo-ijaw-area-of-ondo-state-nigeria/) - Conflict within and between militant groups in the Arogbo-Ijaw area of Ondo State in Nigeria are the result of struggles for supremacy. Such violent communal conflict has emerged as one of the features of local communities in Nigeria’s oil producing states. Although most studies of oil-related conflict in the Niger Delta focus on violence in
- ["No Cattle Would Be Left Out": Farmer-Herder Conflict and the Challenge of Peacebuilding from Below in Ghana](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2018/02/21/no-cattle-would-be-left-out-farmer-herder-conflict-and-the-challenge-of-peacebuilding-from-below-in-ghana/) - Farmer-Herder conflicts have grown in frequency across the Sahel region of West and Central Africa, including in Ghana, where they have evolved over time in phases. This article explores the drivers of farmer-herder conflict and the challenges it poses to sustainable peacebuilding in Ghana, using Agogo Traditional Area (ATA) in the Ashanti region of Ghana
- [Life as an APN Alumnus: An Interview with Dr. Rawia Tawfik](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2018/01/16/life-as-an-apn-alumnus-an-interview-with-dr-rawia-tawfik/) - The Social Science Research Council’s African Peacebuilding Network (APN) had the opportunity to sit down with Dr. Rawia Tawfik, a 2017 Individual Research Grant recipient. This interview was conducted on June 21, 2017, during the APN 2017 Training Workshop on Research Methods in Accra, Ghana. It has been edited for length and clarity. APN: Could you
- [Life as an APN Alumnus: An Interview with Dr. Tendai Joseph Chari](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2018/01/16/life-as-an-apn-alumnus-an-interview-with-dr-tendai-joseph-chari/) - The Social Science Research Council’s African Peacebuilding Network (APN) had the opportunity to sit down with Dr. Tendai Joseph Chari, a 2017 Individual Research Grant recipient. This interview was conducted on June 21, 2017, during the APN 2017 Training Workshop on Research Methods in Accra, Ghana. It has been edited for length and clarity. APN: Could you
- [Development and Statebuilding at the Cost of Peacebuilding? The Case of the Lower Omo Valley, Ethiopia](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2018/01/23/development-and-statebuilding-at-the-cost-of-peacebuilding-the-case-of-the-lower-omo-valley-ethiopia/) - Building state institutions, providing services, and promoting economic development in conflict-affected regions are usually considered integral to peacebuilding. This essay interrogates that position by drawing on empirical evidence from fieldwork conducted in Ethiopia’s lower Omo Valley—a marginalized region inhabited by agro-pastoralist groups such as the Mursi and Mela (Bodi) of Salamago district. There are several
- [Next Generation Social Sciences in Africa: A Stepping Stone for Emerging Scholars in Africa](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2017/11/01/next-generation-social-sciences-in-africa-a-stepping-stone-for-emerging-scholars-in-africa/) - This is a cross-post from Research Matters, a digital forum that focuses on emerging research in the social sciences by those who have been recipients of Social Science Research Council funding. Ruth Murambadoro is a three-time recipient of the Next Generation Social Sciences in Africa fellowship, and is the first PhD candidate working on transitional justice and
- [Transforming Youth Anti-Crime Networks into Job Opportunities in Bukavu, Democratic Republic of the Congo](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2017/11/09/transforming-youth-anti-crime-networks-into-job-opportunities-in-bukavu-democratic-republic-of-the-congo/) - The dangers associated with the youth unemployment crisis in Africa have often been linked to political violence and civil unrest, with some experts referring the current situation on the continent as a “ticking time bomb.” A World Bank survey in 2011 showed that roughly forty percent of those who joined rebel movements claim they were
- [A Call for Constructive Engagement: Youth, Violence, and Peacebuilding in the Mano River Basin Area](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2017/11/09/a-call-for-constructive-engagement-youth-violence-and-peacebuilding-in-the-mano-river-basin-area/) - For the last six decades, political elites have disadvantaged, marginalized, and infantilized young people in the Mano River Basin, a region comprising Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. In the 1980s many youths in this region found themselves unemployed and in search of a means of survival, identity, and a place in their society.
- [Obstacles to, and Prospects for Youth Mobilization and Emancipation in Africa](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2017/11/09/obstacles-to-and-prospects-for-youth-mobilization-and-emancipation-in-africa/) - As the group with least control over the means of production, and who, on account of their age have the largest stake in Africa’s future, it is unsurprising that Africa’s youth remain in the vanguard of opposition politics. Take for example Kenya’s political opposition, which draws support largely from the youth, or Cameroon, where youth have
- [Interfaith Dialogue on Violent Extremism: Putting Youth in the Driver's Seat!](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2017/11/09/interfaith-dialogue-on-violent-extremism-putting-youth-in-the-drivers-seat/) - Since 2000, the issue of violent extremism has risen to the highest levels of national, regional, and global concern. While prevention is generally pursued through coercive hard power such as military-dominated peace support operations and surveillance, this has proven effective only to a certain extent. It has also come at a high cost, both financially
- [New Threats to Africa’s Peace and Security: the Role of Youth in Preventing Conflicts and Building Sustainable Peace](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2017/11/09/new-threats-to-africas-peace-and-security-the-role-of-youth-in-preventing-conflicts-and-building-sustainable-peace/) - Today, more than 600 million young people globally live in fragile and conflict-affected areas, a large proportion of them in Africa. [1. “UNDP Youth Strategy 2014-2017: Empowered Youth, Sustainable Future.” United Nations Development Programme, New York (2014). http://www.undp.org/content/dam/undp/library/Democratic%20Governance/Youth/UNDP_Youth-Strategy-2014-17_Web.pdf.] Considering that a rising youth population in Africa—the fastest growing in the world —intersects with a number
- [Special Issue: “African Youth—Generation Next for Peacebuilding? Trends and Prospects”](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2017/11/09/special-issue-african-youth-generation-next-for-peacebuilding-trends-and-prospects/) - Africa is currently experiencing unprecedented population growth, characterized in part by a booming youth demographic. “Youth”—defined by the African Union’s African Youth Charter as individuals between the ages of fifteen and thirty-five—today constitute roughly three-fifths of Africa’s total population. The United Nations estimates that by 2050 there will be 2.5 billion people in Africa; in
- [Ending Impunity in the Central African Republic Still a Bridge Too Far](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2017/11/14/ending-impunity-in-the-central-african-republic-still-a-bridge-too-far/) - At the end of July 2017, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) announced that the number of internally displaced people (IDPs) in the Central African Republic (CAR) had reached 600,000. The number of refugees, most of whom are in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Cameroon, had reached 480,000. This recent
- [Moving the Battlefields: Foreign Jurisdictions and Environmental Justice in Nigeria](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2017/11/22/moving-the-battlefields-foreign-jurisdictions-and-environmental-justice-in-nigeria/) - This is a cross-post from Items, a Social Science Research Council digital forum that renews and reimagines the Council’s former newsletter as a space for engagement with our work and with the social sciences more generally. Ebunoluwa O. Popoola was a Next Generation Social Sciences in Africa fellow in 2012. After six decades of oil production
- [Silencing the Guns by 2020: How Realistic is this Timeline?](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2017/12/06/silencing-the-guns-by-2020-how-realistic-is-this-timeline/) - This essay previously appeared in the first issue of the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) newsletter, "Governance Link" (November-December 2017). The APRM was established in 2003 by the African Union in the framework of the implementation of the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD). Member countries use the APRM to self–monitor all aspects of their governance and
- [Call for Proposals: African Peacebuilding Network-Social Science Research Council 2018 Research Grants](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2017/11/01/call-for-proposals-african-peacebuilding-network-social-science-research-council-2018-research-grants-2/) - Launched in 2012, the African Peacebuilding Network (APN) supports independent African research on conflict-affected countries and regions on the African continent, as well as the integration of evidence-based knowledge into scholarly discourses, and the practices of regional and global policy communities. In order to advance African debates on peacebuilding and promote African perspectives, the APN
- [Life as an APN Alumnus: An Interview with Dr. Abosede Babatunde](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2017/12/13/life-as-an-apn-alumnus-an-interview-with-dr-abosede-babatunde/) - The Social Science Research Council’s African Peacebuilding Network (APN) had the opportunity to sit down with Dr. Abosede Babatunde, an APN alumnus (Individual Research Grant 2016) and lecturer at the Center for Peace and Strategic Studies, University of Ilorin, Nigeria. The interview was conducted at the Social Science Research Council, Brooklyn, New York on June
- [Study on African Mediation Highlights the Significance of the Mandate](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2018/01/31/study-on-african-mediation-highlights-the-significance-of-the-mandate/) - This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article. Laurie Nathan, University of Pretoria Every mediation to resolve a major conflict in Africa is based on a mandate that shapes the process and outcome of peacemaking. This is true of mediations in Burundi, Congo, Kenya, Namibia, Sudan, Zimbabwe and many other countries.
- [Challenges to the African Union’s Security Engagement in North Africa and the Sahel](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2018/01/09/challenges-to-the-african-unions-security-engagement-in-north-africa-and-the-sahel/) - The persistence of insecurity and instability in parts of North Africa and the Sahel belt has benefited the numerous armed non-state actors in the region including separatist groups, terrorists, and transnational criminal networks engaged in the smuggling of drugs, weapons, and people. The African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA), the African Union’s (AU) set of
- [Westgate and the Future of Security in Africa](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2013/12/04/westgate-and-the-future-of-security-in-africa/) - The time has come to reflect soberly on the significance of the Westgate mall siege and other terrorist attacks, and what lessons must be drawn to prevent another tragedy. The imminent danger remains the inability of our states’ security institutions and our regional and continental security instruments to effectively tackle extremism-related acts of violence and terrorism. A vast movement must take place to ready the continent to meet this clear and present danger.
- [Terrorism Demands Rethinking of National and Regional Security](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2013/12/04/terrorism-demands-rethinking-of-national-and-regional-security/) - The Westgate Mall terror attack of September 21 has raised many questions about the nature of national security in Kenya and regional security in Eastern Africa and the Horn of Africa. These questions call for a rethinking of how security operations are conceived and executed, as well as an understanding of how the war on terror has raised new stakes and demanded different approaches to security.
- [Westgate, Counterterrorism, and Good Governance in Africa](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2013/12/04/westgate-counterterrorism-and-good-governance-in-africa/) - The September 21 Al-Shabaab attack was a significant blow to the difficult process of state building on the continent, producing a sort of fear that prompts advocates of good governance to give states a blank check in the so-called ‘war on terror.’ People in Somalia and other countries touched by Somalia’s instability should, above all else, rededicate themselves to the fight for good governance and try to recapture the respect for human rights (including those of terrorists), as well as the commitment to the rule of law (including when dealing with terrorists) that such attacks tempt us to cast aside.
- [Responding to the Westgate Attack: Enforcing the Rule of Law](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2013/12/04/responding-to-the-westgate-attack-enforcing-the-rule-of-law/) - Following the Westgate Mall attack in September, a range of proposals have been put forth about what Kenya needs to do in order to protect itself and prevent such a tragedy from happening again. However, the panic and fear arising from the Westgate attack may lead to draconian measures that are neither legal nor effective and in direct contradiction to the Kenyan constitution. This piece argues that terrorism cannot be effectively controlled without reforms that are both principled and legal.
- [The "Somali Question" and Ghosts of Past Security Dialogues in Africa](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2013/12/04/the-somalia-question-and-ghosts-of-past-security-dialogues-in-africa/) - The Westgate mall attack in Kenya–one of the most recent indicators of the continuing rise in the use of terror by a network of insurrectionary groups in Africa and globally–compels us to reflect on extant approaches to national and regional security. The challenge that confronts Kenya (and indeed the rest of the continent and elsewhere) is whether it can conceive the security of Somalia and Somalis as an integral part of the security of the Kenyan state and people, as well as the neighboring region.
- [The 9/21 Attack on Westgate Mall: Understanding the Youth Factor in Violent Radicalization in Eastern Africa and the Horn of Africa](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2013/11/15/the-921-attack-on-westgate-mall-understanding-the-youth-factor-in-violent-radicalization-in-eastern-africa-and-the-horn-of-africa/) - Al-Shabaab has begun to mobilize support by taking advantage of political and socio-economic vulnerabilities of the youth in Somalia's neighboring countries. After two and a half decades of counterproductive military interventions, peacebuilding processes may need to be reconsidered and instead focus on inclusive ideas that do not overlook the importance of the youth.
- [The Westgate Terrorist Attack: Any Lessons for Kenya’s Approach to Regional Security?](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2013/11/15/the-westgate-terrorist-attack-any-lessons-for-kenyas-approach-to-regional-security/) - With the embers of the Westgate Mall attack slowly cooling off, the Kenyan government’s policies have faced heavy scrutiny. As the global security environment changes and instances of terrorism increase throughout the East African region, countries within this region should progressively invest more resources into enhancing their capacities for security, both domestically and regionally, while encouraging greater cooperation and joint security efforts.
- [Why Peacebuilding in Eastern Congo Often Goes Wrong, and Why It Is So Hard to Get Right](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2013/10/18/why-peacebuilding-in-eastern-congo-often-goes-wrong-and-why-it-is-so-hard-to-get-it-right/) - Why is building peace in a context such as the Congolese conflicts so hard? Despite many efforts, including the presence of the largest United Nations peacekeeping mission, international treaties, and peace talks, peacebuilding in eastern Congo has become a difficult task with a myriad of complexities. Havenith and Vogel seek to understand these challenges.
- [The Globalization Paradox: Why Global Markets, States, and Democracy Can’t Coexist, by Dani Rodrik](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2013/11/20/the-globalization-paradox-why-global-markets-states-and-democracy-cant-coexist-by-dani-rodrik/) - As the world continues to experience the most severe financial crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930s, new and multiple forms of geo-economic and geo-political power, and unprecedented aftershocks in the Euro zone and complex global transformations, Dani Rodrik’s intervention could not have been better timed. The book’s strength lies in the innovative ways
- [Al-Shabaab Terror in Kenya: Implications for Peace and Security in the Region](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2013/10/15/al-shabaab-terror-in-kenya-implications-for-peace-and-security-in-the-region/) - With the terrorist group Al-Shabaab coming forward and taking responsibility for the recent Westgate Attack in Nairobi, the debate over the implications for security across the region has been rejuvenated. Shadrack W. Nasong'o's analyzes these through several lenses: doubts about the efficiency of the Kenyan intelligence and security agencies, Kenya's continued military presence in Somalia, the recruitment of non-Somali East Africans among Al-Shabaab, and the desperate nature of this specific attack in light of Al-Shabaab's own defeat within Somalia.
- [More Than an Inspirational Freedom Fighter: A Tribute to Nelson Mandela](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2013/12/06/more-than-an-inspirational-freedom-fighter-a-tribute-to-nelson-mandela/) - Nelson Mandela inspired our entire continent and its people, and had an immense influence on the changing face of Africa as a whole. Hamba kahle, Madiba. We will never forget you.
- [The Recent Conflict in the Central African Republic: Which Way Out of the Crisis?](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2014/01/31/the-recent-conflict-in-the-central-african-republic-which-way-out-of-the-crisis/) - "With regime changes by coups d’états as the rule, the political reality in the CAR has been characterized by regimes lacking in legitimacy, a dysfunctional public sector and institutions, and weak state power .... In this regard, it can be said that the crisis has in fact been brewing for long and conditions for an open conflict to emerge were given."
- [AU Plays, UN Pays: The New Normal in AU-UN Security Cooperation](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2012/11/19/au-plays-un-pays-the-new-normal-in-au-un-security-cooperation-2/) - In the momentous Security Council debate that took place in January 2012 on cooperation between the United Nations and regional organizations, the US Ambassador to the UN, Susan Rice, rebuked African members on the Council for suggesting that it formally mandate the African Union (AU) to take the lead role in maintaining peace and security
- [Prospects for Peacebuilding in Eastern Congo?](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2012/12/20/prospects-for-peacebuilding-in-eastern-congo/) - After controlling Goma for 11 days, M23 has now left the city. This is, unfortunately, not the end of the conflict. Not only must a more lasting settlement be reached, but what happened when the Congolese army (FARDC) ran away and the world’s largest peacekeeping force, the United Nations Organization Stabilizing Mission in the Democratic
- [Transnational Threats to Peace in Africa](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2013/09/26/transnational-threats-to-peace-in-africa/) - This article illustrates the scope and magnitude of threats within Africa by focusing on drug- trafficking, the proliferation of small arms and light weapons (SALW), and terrorism and will offer suggestions for effectively combating them and promoting peace and security within the continent.
- [Towards More Effective Partnership Peacekeeping in Africa](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2012/11/19/towards-more-effective-partnership-peacekeeping-in-africa/) - Partnership peacekeeping involves official or unofficial attempts by multiple actors to coordinate the objectives of their peace operations. In Africa, the last two decades have seen partnership peacekeeping become more and more common. This is the result of several interrelated trends, but perhaps foremost among them is the widespread recognition that no single international organization has either a monopoly on peacekeeping or the capabilities to deal with Africa’s conflict-management challenges alone.
- [The Consolidation of Democracy in Ghana: The 2012 General Elections in Perspective](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2013/10/10/the-consolidation-of-democracy-in-ghana-the-2012-general-elections-in-perspective/) - This essay examines the connection between elections and democracy, drawing on the case of Ghana. It evaluates the role played by civil society and the Ghanaian Electoral Commission (EC) before and during the election and analyzes the impact of the death of President Atta Mills on the electoral fortunes of his National Democratic Congress (NDC). The decision of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) to go to court to contest the outcome of the elections is also examined.
- [Refilling the Vacuum: Responding to the Boko Haram Insurgency](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2014/02/25/refilling-the-vacuum-responding-to-the-boko-haram-insurgency/) - "If the Boko Haram insurgency is to be tackled effectively, a combination of well-thought-out development plans and security strategies is needed .... Bringing the State back into the lives of the people could make a significant difference in addressing youth unemployment and alienation and contribute toward institutionalizing new forms of democratic leadership, accountability, and social harmony."
- [South Sudan and the Complications of Peacebuilding through Statebuilding](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2014/03/12/south-sudan-and-the-complications-of-peacebuilding-through-state-building/) - “The struggle for power between factions at the center depends on building and undermining state institutions simultaneously—a process international assistance has not been able to rein in. The international technical support for state building appears overwhelmed by the dynamics of state formation, which is inherently political and often violent. Meanwhile, peacebuilding interventions are increasingly overshadowed by the urgency to build the state.”
- [Central African Republic Crisis: Conflating Form with Substance?](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2014/03/21/central-african-republic-crisis-conflating-form-with-substance/) - “As insecurity persists, the conflict complexes continue to feed contending networks on the CAR stage, which will add to the intractability of the current conflict. If peacebuilding initiatives are to be developed that give equal importance to statebuilding, everyday politics, and human security, a more thorough analysis of the conflict is needed that clearly distinguishes its form from its substance.”
- [Post-Amnesty Reintegration and Peacebuilding Challenges in Nigeria’s Niger Delta Region: The Way Forward](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2014/04/07/post-amnesty-reintegration-and-peacebuilding-challenges-in-nigerias-niger-delta-region-the-way-forward/) - “Policies that are implemented for reintegration, if they are to be truly successful, must be linked to the security and human development of oil-based communities, which have suffered untold hardships and borne the major burdens of exploration, exploitation, and violence. Effectively and efficiently rehabilitating all ex-militants and fulfilling their specific needs without turning them into a privileged group within their communities remains a considerable challenge.”
- [Replacing Boko Haram with an “Attractive Revolution”](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2014/04/25/replacing-boko-haram-with-an-attractive-revolution/) - "Restarting this process of building mass literacy could be a good way to revitalize all of NEAZDP’s components, rebuild trust, resurrect peace, and open the door to other community-driven integrated development initiatives .... Carried out by and for the people, such initiatives would replace the slogan 'education is bad' with 'education is good,' and thereby begin to address the integrated problems of generations going back to the 1970s."
- [Peacebuilding in the African Union: Law, Philosophy and Practice, by Abou Jeng](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2013/01/16/peacebuilding-in-the-african-union-law-philosophy-and-practice-by-abou-jeng/) - Despite its encounters with the international community in the past five centuries, Africa’s socioeconomic, legal, and political development remains a source of grave concern for many observers and scholars. While some trace the source of the continent’s underdevelopment to the foundational problems embedded in its historical engagements with the western world, others maintain that the
- [From Ethnic Violence to Seeds of Peace: Pastoralists, Youth, and Intercommunity Peacebuilding in Northwestern Kenya](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2013/02/11/from-ethnic-violence-to-seeds-of-peace-pastoralists-youth-and-inter-community-peacebuilding-in-northwestern-kenya/) - Introduction Northwestern Kenya has been a theatre of violent conflict pitting the Pokot, Samburu, and Turkana communities against one another in a fierce and deadly competition. This has been catalyzed by diminishing pasture and water resources, the proliferation of small arms and light weapons, political incitement, disputes over land and ethnic boundaries, the absence of
- [Liberia's Truth and Reconciliation Commission: The Importance of Documentation in Postwar Education and Reconciliation](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2013/04/29/liberias-truth-and-reconciliation-commission-the-importance-of-documentation-in-postwar-education-and-reconciliation/) - Truth and Reconciliation Commissions (TRCs) are temporarily established to investigate and document war atrocities committed against civilian populations They promote reconciliation between erstwhile enemies, as well as victims and perpetrators, and make recommendations to the post-conflict governments that have supported their establishment on how to avoid any recurrence of abuses. Despite the engagement of national
- [Congolese Crisis and Demographic Problems in the African Great Lakes](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2013/04/29/congolese-crisis-and-demographic-problems-in-the-african-great-lakes/) - The frequent violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is part of a series of interlinked, complex conflicts encompassing the African Great Lakes region. The DRC, Rwanda, Burundi, and Uganda all appear to be connected by geographical and historical factors and the legacies of decades of conflict interspersed by episodes of peace. Conflict in
- [Recurrent Crisis in the Eastern DRC: Petty Imperialism and Reconceptualizing the Peace Process](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2013/06/17/recurrent-crisis-in-the-eastern-drc-petty-imperialism-and-reconceptualizing-the-peace-process/) - The eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is one of the richest regions in the country, with diverse mineral deposits and vast arable lands. Even more than the rest of the country, however, this region has been ravaged by widespread war, sexual brutality against girls and women, theft of natural resources, and ongoing
- [The Role of the Security Sector in Ghana’s Democracy: A Case Study of the December 2012 Elections](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2013/07/11/the-role-of-the-security-sector-in-ghanas-democracy-a-case-study-of-the-december-2012-elections/) - While many attribute the generally peaceful nature of elections to the efficiency of the Ghanaian Electoral Commission (EC), it is important to emphasize that other state institutions, such as the security forces, have played significant roles in ensuring the consolidation of democracy in the country. This paper provides some insights into the specific roles played by the security forces during the December 2012 elections in Ghana.
- [The 2012 Ghanaian Election: Implications for the Consolidation of Democracy](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2013/07/18/the-2012-ghanaian-election-implications-for-the-consolidation-of-democracy/) - This essay focuses on an issue related to the Ghanaian party system and the consolidation of democracy: the transition of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) from a personalistic party under the stranglehold of former president Jerry John Rawlings to a formal, autonomous party, bringing greater stability to the two-party system in Ghana.
- [Ghana's Elections 2012: Some Observations](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2013/08/15/ghanas-elections-2012-some-observations/) - The 2012 Presidential and Parliamentary elections took place in an entirely different context than those before them. This paper explores new initiatives undertaken by the Electoral Commission (EC) of Ghana and how they enhanced the credibility of the electoral process.
- [The Westgate Mall Siege: Reassessing Kenya’s Security Architecture](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2013/09/30/the-westgate-mall-siege-reassessing-kenyas-security-architecture/) - The Westgate siege affirms an observation made by many concerned Kenyans over the years, and more fervently since March: that there is a nexus between the high levels of insecurity in the country and the operational weaknesses of our security forces. This paper looks inward at the state of Kenya's security system and lessons that can be learned from the Westgate siege.
- [I Did It to Save My Life: Love and Survival in Sierra Leone, by Catherine E. Bolten](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2012/12/03/i-did-it-to-save-my-life-love-and-survival-in-sierra-leone-by-catherine-e-bolten/) - Sierra Leone’s was a complicated war. One of the first post-Cold War conflicts, and seemingly one of the more intractable and bizarre, there is still no consensus explanation for what happened in Sierra Leone and neighboring Liberia throughout the 1990s. Scholars from political science, anthropology, history, psychology, and sociology have looked to this small West
- [AU-UN Synergy: Envisioning Credible Ownership of African Peace and Security Architecture?](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2012/11/19/au-un-synergy-envisioning-credible-ownership-of-african-peace-and-security-architecture/) - At the heart of African peace and security architecture (APSA) is the aspiration for enhanced African autonomy, often referred to as the "African solutions to African problems" agenda. When the AU commissioner for peace and security addressed the AU Peace and Security Council (AUPSC) in January 2012, he identified the primary element in strengthening the
- [Africa and the Emerging Powers: An Evolving Analytical Inquiry?](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2012/11/19/africa-and-the-emerging-powers-an-evolving-analytical-inquiry/) - As the 2015 MDG benchmark approaches, there is much to reflect on especially with respect to Africa’s global revitalization in international relations. Undoubtedly, the rise of Southern actors (such as Brazil, China, India, the Gulf States, South Korea, and Turkey) as part of Africa’s political and economic landscape has set off a new wave of
- [Achebe's Acts of Memory](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2012/11/19/achebes-acts-of-memory/) - The brouhaha over Chinua Achebe’s There Was A Country: A Personal History of Biafra, as throngs who hadn't read the book stood up to vociferously vilify or champion it, represented a grave disservice to a book that is extraordinarily important, a carefully calibrated document that is at once a great labor of love and yet,
- [Why is the 18th July AU decision to adopt a new funding model so important?](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2016/08/03/why-is-the-18th-july-au-decision-to-adopt-a-new-funding-model-so-important/) - In an effort towards reducing the African Union’s (AU) financial dependency on external donors, the organization adopted a new funding mechanism at the recently concluded 27th AU Summit held in Kigali, Rwanda. The adopted approach, a tax levy of 0.2 percent on ‘eligible’ imports of all of its member states, had been recommended by a
- [“To Remain Silent Is a Position”: A Look into the #ThisFlag citizen’s movement in Zimbabwe](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2016/07/27/to-remain-silent-is-a-position-a-look-into-the-thisflag-citizens-movement-in-zimbabwe/) - From its inception in mid-April 2016, the #ThisFlag citizens’ movement has been challenging the government of Zimbabwe through social media, making demands related to the dire socioeconomic situation facing the people. Hardships confront the majority of the country’s citizens, especially the economically active among the population who cannot afford to provide the basic necessities for
- [An Insight into the Race for the Position of Deputy Chairperson of the African Union Commission](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2016/07/12/an-insight-into-the-race-for-the-position-of-deputy-chairperson-of-the-african-union-commission/) - The elections of the 10-member African Union Commission (AUC) have dominated the discourse around the 27th African Union Summit holding from July 10 to 18, 2016 in Rwanda. Analyses, speculations, commentaries and gossip within diplomatic circles have mainly focused on the selection of the replacement of Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, who is not seeking re-election. The
- [Gender Mainstreaming in Local Strategies for Conflict Transformation](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2017/05/02/gender-mainstreaming-in-local-strategies-for-conflict-transformation/) - Conflict transformation implies multiple changes at different levels of society in order to deepen and sustain peace, and can be the result of individual or collective efforts. Since all conflicts reflect highly contextual dynamics, they require a thorough analysis of local conditions. Such an understanding increases the possibility of producing strategies that make the most
- [My APN Experience: Aloysius Ngalim](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2016/08/27/interview-aloysius-ngalim/) - The following is an interview with Aloysius Ngalim, a 2013 APN grantee. It explores his experience as a grantee, including the impact of APN training workshops and networking opportunities on his work as an African researcher and teacher. Dr. Ngalim explains how the program has also contributed to his capacity to introduce new research methods
- [Ghana’s Media Comes of Age in Elections Coverage](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2017/01/12/ghanas-media-comes-of-age-in-elections-coverage/) - Media coverage of elections have come a long way since the transition elections of 1992. However, despite improvements, challenges still persist. Some commentators note that election coverage often fails to properly interrogate electoral issues, campaign promises and manifestos in a manner that demands accountability or enables the voters to make well-informed choices at the polls. Also,
- [Boko Haram: Cash Cow of the Sahel or Part of a Grand Strategy?](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2016/09/07/boko-haram-cash-cow-of-the-sahel-or-part-of-a-grand-strategy/) - [Photo: A petrol station attendant counts Nigerian's currency, the naira, in Abuja, Nigeria. Photographer: Suzanne Plunkett/Bloomberg] Between 2002 and 2011, the BBC and the British newspaper, The Guardian, consistently rated Nigerians as the world’s happiest people.[1] In sharp contrast, by 2013 a Forbes Magazine survey ranked Nigeria as the twentieth saddest place to live on
- [The Response to Epidemics in Africa Should be Gender Sensitive](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2016/10/06/my-apn-experience-fatma-ibnouf/) - Governance and Health in Africa During the launch of the Report of the High Level Roundtable on the Governance Issues in the Multi-Stakeholder Response to the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) in West Africa, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on August 26, 2016, the APN team sat down with 2016 APN grantee from University of Khartoum, Sudan, Dr.
- [Coping with Uncertainties: The Predicament of Nomadic Pastoralists in Southern White Nile State, Sudan](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2016/09/15/coping-with-uncertainties-the-predicament-of-nomadic-pastoralists-in-southern-white-nile-state-sudan/) - Uncertainty is a permanent and constant risk for pastoralists, both in terms of the physical environment and the socioeconomic and political conditions surrounding them. The Southern White Nile State in Sudan is home to many such groups that have faced uncertainty for a long time as they have practiced the tradition of moving between north
- [“Africanizing” Media Coverage of Threats to Peace and Security on the Continent](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2016/10/26/africanizing-media-coverage-of-threats-to-peace-and-security-on-the-continent/) - A recent surge of terrorism has compounded preexisting threats to Africa’s peace and security, manifesting in complex forms of conflicts that are undermining the continent’s developmental ambitions. Creative solutions are needed to mitigate conflict and address the new threats, which include religious fundamentalism and extreme forms of violence. Of particular note is terrorism, now mutated
- [Do Religious Communities Hold the Key to Counter-Radicalization in Kenya?](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2016/10/12/do-religious-communities-hold-the-key-to-counter-radicalization-in-kenya/) - In the post-9/11 environment, religious communities have been considered vital partners in efforts to counter radicalization widely believed to be a factor that drives acts of violent extremism. Violent extremism is considered a transition phase in the radicalization process and is marked by the mobilization of violence. One notion of community defines it as individuals
- [Africa’s Development: The Paradox of Continental Integration and Closed Borders](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2016/10/19/africas-development-the-paradox-of-continental-integration-and-closed-borders/) - By: Obijiofor Aginam[1] The Crux of the Argument The decolonization of most of Africa which largely occurred in the decade of the 1960s - heralded by the independence of Ghana in 1957 - led to the formation of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) on 25 May, 1963. One of the primary aims of OAU
- [South Africa’s Withdrawal from the Rome Statute: A Commentary on Moral Equivalence in International Relations](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2016/11/22/south-africas-withdrawal-from-the-rome-statute-a-commentary-on-moral-equivalence-in-international-relations/) - Although not entirely unexpected, South Africa’s announcement that it had taken steps to withdraw from the Rome Statute, the founding treaty of the International Criminal Court (ICC), has baffled many observers. South Africa is generally seen as a champion of human rights, given its liberal constitution, the existence of a strong civil society advocacy for
- [‘My Wife, My Sister, My Mother’ : Electing More Women to Parliament in Ghana [1]](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2017/01/12/my-wife-my-sister-my-mother-electing-more-women-to-parliament-in-ghana-1/) - In Ghana’s 2016 election six more women were elected to parliament than were elected in 2012; this brought the number of women members of parliament (MPs) to 36, or 13.1 percent of the total – up from 30 women MPs or 10.9 percent of the total in 2012. This is a 20 percent increase over
- [Assessing the Performance of the First Female Chairperson of Ghana’s Electoral Commission](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2017/01/12/assessing-the-performance-of-the-first-female-chairperson-of-ghanas-electoral-commission/) - Ghana’s recent presidential and parliamentary elections were presided over by the country’s first female chair of the Electoral Commission (EC). Mrs Charlotte Kesson-Smith Osei, a 45-year-old lawyer who chaired the National Commission on Civic Education (NCCE) before being appointed in June 2015 to head the EC. Mrs Osei’s replaced Dr Kwadwo Afari-Gyan, who had chaired
- [Ghana: Another Peaceful Alternation of Power](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2017/01/12/ghana-another-peaceful-alternation-of-power/) - On December 7 2016, Ghana held its seventh national elections since the beginning of the Fourth Republic. [1] In the run up to the elections two questions stood out prominently. First, will the Electoral Commission (EC) be neutral and fair? Second, will there be violence during and after the elections? The first question did arise
- [Consolidating Democracy in Ghana: An Overview](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2017/01/12/consolidating-democracy-in-ghana-an-overview/) - A few days after the December 2016 elections in Ghana, a cartoon appeared in Uganda’s Sunday Monitor depicting a civics lesson in a classroom where the teacher asked the question: What is democracy? The response from the pupils was “Ghana.” This satirical take by a Uganda-based newspaper on the December elections was one of numerous
- [Writing on African Peacebuilding: Reflection on Personal Experiences](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2017/01/09/writing-on-african-peacebuilding-reflection-on-personal-experiences/) - Since everyone writes differently, formulating a standard set of advice on how best to pull together your research into an effective book, book chapter, article, or policy paper or brief is very difficult. In offering my personal experiences as a guide, I want to highlight choices and challenges I have faced, decisions I have made,
- [Peaceful Negotiations: Implications for the Release of Twenty-One Chibok Girls from Boko Haram Captivity](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2017/01/25/release-of-twenty-one-chibok-girls-from-boko-haram/) - In April 2014, militant Islamist group Boko Haram abducted 276 schoolgirls from Chibok—a town in Borno State, northeastern Nigeria—making global news [1]. Widespread concern generated by the incident soon culminated in a global social media campaign, “Bring Back Our Girls,” with an accompanying Twitter hashtag, #BringBackOurGirls, that featured Tweets from notable world leaders and international
- [New Wealth, New Security Challenges: The Impact of Energy and Mega-Infrastructure Projects in the Greater Horn of Africa](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2017/03/21/new-wealth-new-security-challenges-the-impact-of-energy-and-mega-infrastructure-projects-in-the-greater-horn-of-africa/) - The Greater Horn of Africa is one of the most complex and challenging regions in the world in terms of conflict and instability. Currently, there are internal conflicts in South Sudan, southern Somalia, Sudan (Darfur), and eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), while armed inter-communal clashes are common throughout. Areas where conflict is concentrated are
- [Challenges to Food Security in Nigeria's Oil-Rich Niger Delta Region](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2017/02/03/challenges-to-food-security-in-nigerias-oil-rich-niger-delta-region/) - Introduction Although narratives of environmental degradation in the Niger Delta region are increasingly shifting attention to the human security challenges affecting the area,[1] one significant component of human security—food security—has received limited scholarly attention. It is important to analyze food security in the context of livelihood security because food security is crucial to the sensitivity,
- [Review of Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2017/02/09/half-of-a-yellow-sun-book-review/) - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Half of a Yellow Sun offers a heart-wrenching account of the Biafran War (1967-1970), beautifully wrapped in a story of love, loyalty, betrayal, resilience, and hope. She places a human face on a war that has been far removed from historical memory outside of Nigeria. As a result of the massacre of
- [Silence and Denial as Impediments to Peace in Post-Colonial Zimbabwe, 1980-2016](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2017/02/17/silence-and-denial-as-impediments-to-peace-in-post-colonial-zimbabwe-1980-2016/) - Introduction This appraisal is an interlocution of the twin cultures of silence and denial inherent in Zimbabwe’s post-colonial peacebuilding praxis. It evokes the exigency of placing victimhood, rather than political expediency, at the center of the country’s post-conflict architecture. Zimbabwe’s episodic cycles of violence are customarily resolved through state-mediated reconciliation pronouncements (1980), amnesty ordinances (1979,
- [Life as an APN Alumnus: An Interview with Dr. Asebe Regassa Debelo](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2017/03/28/life-as-an-apn-alumnus-an-interview-with-dr-asebe-regassa-debelo/) - The SSRC’s Conflict Prevention and Peace Forum and African Peacebuilding Network recently collaborated with the American Friends Service Committee and Quaker United Nations Office to host the China-Africa Knowledge Project’s Peace and Security Fellows for a two-day event to discuss the fellows’ field research and a forthcoming manuscript. Dr. Asebe Regassa Debelo, an APN Individual
- [Meet the APN’s New Advisory Board Chair: Professor Ismail Rashid](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2017/05/10/meet-the-apns-new-advisory-board-chair-professor-ismail-rashid/) - Last week, Professor Ismail Rashid officially began his tenure as the African Peacebuilding Network's Advisory Board chair. The following interview with Professor Ismail Rashid was conducted during an event on “Peacebuilding in Africa: Sustaining Inclusive Civil Society Engagement,” hosted by the APN in collaboration with Wilton Park and the African Leadership Centre (ALC), at Wiston
- [Whither Peacebuilding Initiatives? The Escalation of Herder-Farmer Conflicts in Nigeria](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2017/04/07/whither-peacebuilding-initiatives-the-escalation-of-herder-farmer-conflicts-in-nigeria/) - There is a growing trend towards episodic, low-intensity conflicts across Nigeria, particularly in its north-central and southern zones. These conflicts often involve nomadic Fulani herdsmen and sedentary agricultural communities, and result in the unmitigated decimation and sacking of rural communities. Herder-farmer conflicts have escalated in the last decade and assumed a deadly dimension over the
- [Intimate Partner Violence: The Hidden Threat to Women’s Security](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2017/03/06/intimate-partner-violence-the-hidden-threat-to-womens-security/) - When the problem of violence against women during and after conflict is discussed, it is often in reference to non-partner-perpetrated sexual violence. Intimate partner violence is, however, another form of violence that plagues the lives of women in conflict-affected settings with harmful physical, psychological, and social consequences. The World Health Organization describes this violence as
- [Ignored Heroine? Maimuna Siraj, Social Media Activist, Strives for Peace and Women’s Empowerment in Mombasa, Kenya](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2017/03/08/ignored-heroine-maimuna-siraj-social-media-activist-strives-for-peace-and-womens-empowerment-in-mombasa-kenya/) - Peace is costly, but it’s worth the expense. - Kenyan Proverb Kenya is currently in a volatile period heading towards its general elections. Election periods in Kenya and around the world are often characterized by very active social media participation discussing a wide range of topics, including politics, religion, economy, tribal profiling, and geopolitical marginalization.
- [Combattants: Activists or Criminals? A Reflection on Ethnoregionalism and Political Violence among Congolese Immigrants in South Africa](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2017/03/14/combattants-activists-or-criminals-a-reflection-on-ethnoregionalism-and-political-violence-among-congolese-immigrants-in-south-africa/) - Most studies on African immigrants in South Africa focus on xenophobia, illegal immigration, and corruption within the South African Department of Home Affairs, while leaving unexamined some aspects of immigrants’ everyday life in the country. Saint José Inaka highlights “ethno-regionalism and political conflicts among immigrants” as one issue that existing studies have glossed over. Inaka’s
- [Life as an APN Alumnus: An Interview with Dr. Fekadu Adugna Tufa](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2017/04/14/life-as-an-apn-alumnus-an-interview-with-dr-fekadu-adugna-tufa/) - The APN Team recently had the opportunity to sit down with several of our Alumni, including Dr. Fekadu Adugna Tufa (Individual Research Grant 2016), to discuss their research and the role of the APN in their careers thus far. This interview is one of a series that we will be publishing detailing “Life as an
- [Insecurity, Conflict, and Militancy in the Maghreb and Sahel Regions](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2017/04/21/insecurity-conflict-and-militancy-in-the-maghreb-and-sahel-regions/) - Throughout the Maghreb and Sahel regions of Africa, many communities are struggling under the strain of new patterns of violence that emerged after the Arab Spring as well as episodic cycles of violence that have resurfaced every few years for several decades. The following piece offers key takeaways from a series of recent events—a forum
- [Life as an APN Grantee: An Interview with Diana Gibson](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2017/04/25/life-as-an-apn-grantee-an-interview-with-diana-gibson/) - The APN Team had the opportunity to sit down with a current APN grantee and Lead Investigator of an APN Collaborative Working Group, Professor Diana Gibson of the University of the Western Cape, at our recent conference on Peacebuilding in Africa: Sustaining Inclusive Civil Society Engagement. The conference took place in collaboration with the African
- [Morocco and the African Union: Back into the Fold](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2017/02/25/morocco-and-the-african-union-back-into-the-fold/) - Morocco’s triumphant return to the African Union after a thirty-three-year break marked the culmination of a lengthy and intense diplomatic offensive designed to expand its circle of African allies to key nations in regions far from its historic sphere of influence in the Sahel, as well as in West and Central Africa. Now that the
- [Military Humanitarianism and Africa’s Troubling “Forces for Good”](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2017/05/16/military-humanitarianism-and-africas-troubling-forces-for-good/) - This article was concurrently published on Items, the SSRC’s digital essay forum, a space for engagement with the Council’s work and with the social sciences more generally. Monrovia, Liberia. August 20, 2014 ― Early in the morning, the Ebola Task Force, a joint operation led by the Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL), institutes a surprise
- [Life as an APN Alumnus: An Interview with Kizito Sabala](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2017/05/23/life-as-an-apn-alumnus-an-interview-with-kizito-sabala/) - The APN Team had the opportunity to sit down with Kizito Sabala, an Alumnus of the APN Collaborative Working Group Research Grant (2014-2016), at our recent conference on Peacebuilding in Africa: Sustaining Inclusive Civil Society Engagement. The conference took place in collaboration with the African Leadership Center and Wilton Park at Wiston House, West Sussex,
- [Book Review: The Limits of Democracy and the Postcolonial Nation State: Mali’s Democratic Experiment Falters, while Jihad and Terrorism Grow in the Sahara](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2017/05/30/book-review-the-limits-of-democracy-and-the-postcolonial-nation-state-malis-democratic-experiment-falters-while-jihad-and-terrorism-grow-in-the-sahara/) - The Limits of Democracy and the Postcolonial Nation State: Mali’s Democratic Experiment Falters, while Jihad and Terrorism Grow in the Sahara By Robin Edward Poulton and Raffaella Greco Tonegutti For several decades, Mali has been trapped in a difficult past and a more contentious present, characterized by conflicts in the north of the country, military
- [News from the African Peacebuilding Network](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2017/06/09/news-from-the-african-peacebuilding-network/) - We've officially launched "News from the African Peacebuilding Network," the newsletter of the African Peacebuilding Network (APN) program of the Social Science Research Council (SSRC). Read all about our recent events, see a photo captured by one of our grantees while conducting fieldwork in Sudan, and check out some of our recent publications. The newsletter also features interviews with
- [Life as an APN Alumnus: An Interview with Professor Audrey Gadzekpo](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2017/06/24/life-as-an-apn-alumnus-an-interview-with-professor-audrey-gadzekpo/) - Professor Audrey Gadzekpo, an Alumnus (Individual Research Grant 2014) of the Social Science Research Council’s African Peacebuilding Network (APN), has just launched her book, Conflict-Sensitive Coverage: A Manual for Journalists Reporting Conflict in West Africa, on June 22, 2017, at the Legon Centre for International Affairs and Diplomacy, University of Ghana – Legon, Accra, Ghana.
- [Life as an APN Alumnus: An Interview with Dr. Jimam Lar](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2017/07/18/life-as-an-apn-alumnus-an-interview-with-dr-jimam-lar/) - The African Peacebuilding Network (APN) recently had the opportunity to sit down with Dr. Jimam Lar, an APN Alumnus (IRG 2016) and lecturer in the University of Jos’s Department of History and International Studies. Dr. Lar was in Washington, DC, for a conference on “Militancy and Conflict in the Sahel and Maghreb,” hosted at the
- [Introducing the APN's 2017 Grant Recipients](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2017/07/21/introducing-the-apns-2017-grant-recipients/) - The African Peacebuilding Network (APN) of the Social Science Research Council (SSRC) is pleased to announce the 2017 recipients of its Individual Research Grants and Book Manuscript Completion Grants. The 2017 Individual Research Grant cohort features sixteen individuals from twelve countries, including the APN’s first Individual Research Grant recipients from Egypt, Morocco, and Rwanda. Their
- [Special Issue: Kenya's 2017 Presidential Elections](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2017/08/04/special-issue-kenyas-2017-presidential-elections/) - Kenyans go to the polls on August 8, 2017. President Uhuru Kenyatta of the ruling Jubilee Party is up against Raila Odinga, the veteran opposition leader from the National Super Alliance (NASA). While electoral contests involving incumbents are seen as routine processes with predictable outcomes in many African countries, the same cannot be said of
- [Party Doesn’t Matter: Ethnic Parties and Multiethnic Coalitions in Kenya](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2017/08/04/party-doesnt-matter-ethnic-parties-and-multiethnic-coalitions-in-kenya/) - Since the historic merger of opposition parties ahead of the 2002 elections, political party formation and composition in Kenya has changed dramatically. In those elections, the National Alliance Rainbow Coalition (NARC)—the coalition of major opposition parties—was able to oust the Kenya African National Union (KANU) that had been in power for close to four decades.
- [The Ethnicity Factor and Risk of Conflict in the 2017 Kenyan Elections](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2017/08/04/the-ethnicity-factor-and-risk-of-conflict-in-the-2017-kenyan-elections/) - Kenya has held elections every five years since it obtained independence in 1963. The August 8, 2017, elections will be the country’s sixth since the end of one-party rule in 1991, and the second since the introduction of a new constitution in 2010. The elections also mark a decade since the worst political violence ever
- [The Bankruptcy of Peace, and of the Constitution, in Kenya’s 2017 Elections](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2017/08/04/the-bankruptcy-of-peace-and-of-the-constitution-in-kenyas-2017-elections/) - The 2010 Constitution of Kenya is transformative, to say the least. It is, however, bankrupt on peace; so is the country. The word “peace” appears a paltry four times in the constitution: first in the Preamble, second in Article 37 on the right to “peaceable” demonstrations, third in Article 238 (1) on threats to national
- [The Land Question in Kenya’s 2017 General Election: A Historical Review](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2017/08/04/the-land-question-in-kenyas-2017-general-election-a-historical-review/) - All major violent conflicts in Kenya have had a connection to land. Presently, villagers have vacated large swathes of land in Baringo North, Laikipia, and Elgeyo-Marakwet, as well as along the Meru-Isiolo border and Kitui-Tana River border, having fled from cattle rustlers. There are low-intensity conflicts and potential conflicts in scores of other areas: for
- [Not Yet Uhuru: Is This the Making of Kenya’s First One-Term President?](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2017/08/04/not-yet-uhuru-is-this-the-making-of-kenyas-first-one-term-president/) - In his 2017 New Year message, President Uhuru Kenyatta expressed confidence at being reelected. Indeed, polls showed him likely to win by over 50 percent if elections were called. But things have since changed, and President Kenyatta faces the possibility of being Kenya’s first one-term president. The latest polls released this week show a statistical
- [Imagining Canaan: Singing Opposition Party NASA’s Vision in Kenya’s 2017 Elections](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2017/08/04/imagining-canaan-singing-opposition-party-nasas-vision-in-kenyas-2017-elections/) - Music and songs have been deployed in variegated contexts and for diverse concerns. However, the focus of this article is specifically on the mobilization of music and song in promoting political messages and visions. There are numerous examples of the overt deployment of music and song in politics and civic activism. Interesting instances abound from
- [Peacebuilding and the Academy in Africa](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2017/08/11/peacebuilding-and-the-academy-in-africa/) - It is becoming increasingly clear that the effectiveness of peacebuilding in Africa is intertwined with the health of African higher education. Long-term peace in Africa will not be possible without greater African involvement, but African contributions will only be successful when they are grounded in strong research. In May 2017, Carnegie Corporation of New York
- [Life as an APN Alumnus: An Interview with Dr. Amy Niang](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2017/08/15/life-as-an-apn-alumnus-an-interview-with-dr-amy-niang/) - The African Peacebuilding Network (APN) recently had the opportunity to sit down with Dr. Amy Niang, an APN Alumnus (IRG 2013) and senior lecturer in international relations at the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa. Dr. Niang was in Washington, D.C., for a conference on “Militancy and Conflict in the Sahel and Maghreb,” hosted at
- [Open, Perceptive, and Public-Spirited: A Tribute to Abdul Raufu Mustapha (1954–2017)](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2017/08/21/open-perceptive-and-public-spirited-a-tribute-to-abdul-raufu-mustapha-1954-2017/) - For the thirty-seven years that I knew him, Abdul Raufu Mustapha, who departed this life on August 8, 2017, lived a life of courage, commitment, and fulfillment. A versatile scholar and an internationalist, he had an incredibly open, perceptive, and critical mind. He prioritized the public interest, whether in terms of his persistent questioning of
- [The “Anglophone Problem” in Cameroon: Is Another Crisis Brewing?](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2017/08/23/the-anglophone-problem-in-cameroon-is-another-crisis-brewing/) - A new episode of what is commonly known as the “Anglophone problem” in Cameroon has been spurred by the demonstration of English-speaking lawyers, teachers, and students against the systematic marginalization of Anglophones in the legal and educational sectors in a supposed bilingual and bi-cultural country. The government’s response was initially characterized by Gestapo-style harassment and
- [KhoiSan Rastafarianism: A Path to Peace in the Western Cape, South Africa](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2017/08/29/khoisan-rastafarianism-a-path-to-peace-in-the-western-cape-south-africa/) - To the untrained eye, Rastafarians represent an alien culture of violent and unkempt ganja-smoking individuals who seek to wreak havoc in their communities. However, on the contrary, Rastafarianism is one of the most novel religious and social movements to come out of the African Diaspora in the twenty-first century. At its founding in Jamaica, the
- [Life as an APN Alumnus: An Interview with Dr. Peace Medie](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2017/09/12/life-as-an-apn-alumnus-an-interview-with-dr-peace-medie/) - The Social Science Research Council’s African Peacebuilding Network (APN) recently had the opportunity to sit down with Dr. Peace Medie, an APN Alumnus (BMC 2016; IRG 2015) and research fellow at the Legon Centre for International Affairs and Diplomacy (LECIAD) at the University of Ghana. Dr. Medie has recently been appointed a co-editor of African
- [Security Implications of Hosting Refugees: The Case of South Sudanese Refugees in Gambella, Southwestern Ethiopia](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2017/09/19/security-implications-of-hosting-refugees-the-case-of-south-sudanese-refugees-in-gambella-southwestern-ethiopia/) - This is a cross-post from Africa Up Close, the blog of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars Africa Program. Fana Gebresenbet Erda was a Wilson Center Southern Voices Network for Peacebuilding Scholar in 2014, and was an African Peacebuilding Network Individual Research Grantee of the Social Science Research Council in 2017. Ethiopia appears in
- [The Media and Fresh Presidential Elections in Kenya: Some Emerging Issues](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2017/09/22/the-media-and-fresh-presidential-elections-in-kenya-some-emerging-issues/) - The place of the media in society in the run-up of events leading to the election, particularly how the election is represented to the citizens, will have far-reaching implications for post-election peace and security in Kenya. Current reports in Kenya’s mainstream media on the recent elections seem to lean towards the ruling coalition. Following the
- [Life as an APN Alumnus: An Interview with Dr. Ibrahim Bangura](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2017/09/26/life-as-an-apn-alumnus-an-interview-with-dr-ibrahim-bangura/) - The Social Science Research Council’s African Peacebuilding Network (APN) recently had the opportunity to sit down with Dr. Ibrahim Bangura, an APN Alumnus (IRG 2016) and lecturer at the Department of Peace and Conflict Studies, Fourah Bay College, University of Sierra Leone. The interview was conducted at the International Studies Association’s 2017 Annual Convention, on
- [A New Political Landscape of Petro-Insurgency in the Niger Delta](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2017/10/19/a-new-political-landscape-of-petro-insurgency-in-the-niger-delta/) - The Niger Delta has repeatedly produced natural resources that give the region a significant role in the global economy – from the slave trade in the sixteenth century to the palm oil trade in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and most recently, petroleum extraction since the mid-twentieth century. In Nigeria oil and gas, account for
- [Fees Must Fall: Lessons from Student Struggles in South Africa](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2017/01/05/fees-must-fall-lessons-from-student-struggles-in-south-africa/) - South Africa is currently undergoing a resurgence in student protests, with students agitating for free, decolonized education. The most prominent of these movements are Rhodes Must Fall and Fees Must Fall. What, exactly, are RMF and FMF? In a nutshell, they are an expression of a deep problem haunting “post-colonial” Africa in general and South
- [Post-Conflict Peacebuilding in South Sudan: The Security Dilemma in a Transitional Government of National Unity](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2016/08/17/post-conflict-peacebuilding-in-south-sudan-the-security-dilemma-in-a-transitional-government-of-national-unity/) - [Photo: A wide view of the historic Independence Ceremony of the Republic of South Sudan (UN PHOTO/Eskinder Debebe)] An uneasy peace descended upon South Sudan in April 2016, when Riek Machar, leader of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement—In Opposition (SPLM-IO) and former vice president of South Sudan, returned to the capital Juba after months in
- [Violent Extremism in Kenya: Some Thoughts on Reversing the Trend](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2016/08/11/violent-extremism-in-kenya-some-thoughts-on-reversing-the-trend/) - Photo: Police officers with police dogs face demonstrators in Nairobi's Eastleigh neighbourhood [Carl de Souza/AFP] Kenya has been both a target and a victim of violent extremism and terrorism, which has resulted in changes to the country’s security landscape. Most recently, al-Shabaab, an al-Qaeda-affiliated group with roots in Somalia, has claimed responsibility for several attacks against
- [#FeesMustFall Uprising 2015: The Emergence of Youth Agency in South Africa’s Largest Post-Apartheid Protests](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2016/07/19/feesmustfall-uprising-2015-the-emergence-of-youth-agency-in-south-africas-largest-post-apartheid-protests/) - In October 2015, South African students took to the streets for weeks of protests under the slogan #FeesMustFall. The magnitude of the protests compelled all higher education institutions in the country to suspend educational activities, including tests and examinations. These events represented a bid to find a panacea to the looming cataclysm of increasing tuition
- [Inter-ethnic tensions in an urban setting: Recurring clashes between Yoruba and Hausa in Mile 12 Market, Lagos, Nigeria](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2016/07/12/inter-ethnic-tensions-in-an-urban-setting-recurring-clashes-between-yoruba-and-hausa-in-mile-12-market-lagos-nigeria/) - Sixteen years after Nigeria returned to democratic rule, interethnic tensions appear to be deepening, marked by episodic incidents of violent conflict. These have taken place in both rural and urban locales (often between those considering themselves indigenes versus “settlers” who they consider as “outsiders) across the country. No urban area in Nigeria appears to be
- [Thandika Mkandawire: A Personal Tribute to an Icon of Social Science](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2016/06/04/thandika-mkandawire-a-personal-tribute-to-an-icon-of-social-science/) - "From humble beginnings in Malawi, Thandika Mkandawire has risen to become one of the best thinkers in African—and indeed global—social science scholarship. He represents the broadest and deepest possibilities of knowledge, the gains of rigor and perseverance, the endurance of the human spirit, and the triumph of excellence, originality, and creativity. Thandika is a pan-African scholar par excellence."
- [The Role of Journalists in Improving Media Coverage of Conflict and Peacebuilding in West Africa](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2016/05/12/the-role-of-journalists-in-improving-media-coverage-of-conflict-and-peacebuilding-in-west-africa/) - "Journalists should let the stories tell themselves; if you tell a compelling story, people will get it. They just have to trust that people will get it and be moved enough to do something."
- [“If I Die, Let Me Be the Last”: Reflecting on Dr. Lukwiya and Uganda’s Efforts Against Ebola](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2016/05/02/if-i-die-let-me-be-the-last-reflecting-on-dr-lukwiya-and-ugandas-efforts-against-ebola/) - "Promoting public awareness about the disease and developing mechanisms of social support to victims and affected communities is extremely critical because the outbreaks of virus diseases such as Ebola are social issues inasmuch they are medical issues, and go beyond biomedical concerns alone. None of these tactics, however, are possible without good governance and effective leadership, which we as Africans must advocate for and hold our leaders accountable."
- [Congolese Soldiers as Victims: Military Prosecution and Punishment](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2016/04/13/congolese-soldiers-as-victims-military-prosecution-and-punishment/) - "Some soldiers are victimized by the very military they serve through court martial proceedings that often delay prosecution and then serve up an unfair and tedious process. What is needed at the policy level is independent civilian jurisdiction to prosecute soldiers who commit offenses."
- [On the Role of Women in Building Peace in Somalia](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2016/03/25/on-the-role-of-women-in-building-peace-in-somalia/) - "Many Somalis now believe that there is no other direction but forward. Our people need to believe in their country and be committed to sustaining it. Somalia is for Somalis."
- [Second Time Around: Why Did the African Union Say “No” to a Peace Intervention Force in Burundi?](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2016/03/21/second-time-around-why-did-the-african-union-say-no-to-a-peace-intervention-force-in-burundi/) - "In February 2016, the African Union announced its decision not to send an intervention force into Burundi without the consent of the country’s government. What were its reasons for this decision?"
- [Sharia or Shura: Contending Approaches to Muslim Politics in Nigeria and Senegal, by Sakah Saidu Mahmud](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2016/03/10/sharia-or-shura-contending-approaches-to-muslim-politics-in-nigeria-and-senegal-by-sakah-saidu-mahmud/) - "Mahmud’s Sharia or Shura makes an interesting read for anyone interested in learning about some of the factors that explain the differences in approaches to Muslim politics in northern Nigeria and Senegal."
- [“Kill Us Together or Leave Us Alone”: The Beginning of the End of Al-Shabaab Menace in Kenya](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2016/02/17/kill-us-together-or-leave-us-alone-the-beginning-of-the-end-of-al-shabaab-menace-in-kenya/) - "The media in Kenya need to take their public interest role seriously and stop behaving as fear mongers or as cheerleaders for militants’ heinous acts. Instead, they should cheer on and celebrate the acts more worthy of attention—like those of the Muslims on that ambushed bus—to help bring the Al-Shabaab menace in Kenya to an end."
- [The Crisis in Burundi: A Call to Regional Actors](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2016/02/01/the-crisis-in-burundi-a-call-to-regional-actors/) - "Given Burundi’s refusal to allow the AU’s peacekeeping force and the UN’s admitted lack of preparedness, what role can the East African Community play in diffusing the situation and ensuring long-term peace that benefits not only Burundi but also the entire region?"
- [Burundi: The Problem with “Give War a Chance”](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2016/02/01/burundi-the-problem-with-give-war-a-chance/) - "Surely, Burundi has exposed us in East Africa the same way Somalia continues to. However, we need innovative thinking on how to address our crises and conflicts that reflect our histories, experiences, and struggles. We cannot ignore the context in which these scenarios are bred. It is important not to subscribe to a mindset based on flawed arguments, but rather embrace a more positive turn towards 'no more war, give peace a chance.' "
- [Human Rights Abuses against the Bakassi People: Are Nigeria and Cameroon Liable?](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2016/01/11/human-rights-abuses-against-the-bakassi-people-are-nigeria-and-cameroon-liable/) - "For the Nigeria–Cameroon border conflict, however—deemed settled between the contesting parties by the Greentree Agreement in 2006—the continuing violation by one or both parties of the rights of the people living in the disputed Bakassi Peninsula raises questions with regard to the functionality of the settlement and the processes that brought it about."
- [The Governance of the Ebola Virus Disease in Sierra Leone](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2015/12/17/the-governance-of-the-ebola-virus-disease-in-sierra-leone/) - "While it is true that the three most affected EVD countries have weak health care systems—partly due to the legacy of years of political instability and civil wars—the extremely high rate of infection observed in Sierra Leone is attributable to poor governance, mishandling, and the politicization of EVD in the country. Sierra Leone’s weak postwar governance structures were ill-equipped to handle regular public health demands and completely unprepared for a crisis of the magnitude occasioned by the outbreak of EVD. As a result, lives that could have been saved by effective prevention measures, quick intervention, and efficient management were needlessly wasted."
- [How Is the Securitization of Africa Addressing Human Insecurity?](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2015/12/07/how-is-the-securitization-of-africa-addressing-human-insecurity/) - "The securitization of Africa has changed academic discourse in several ways by broadening the concept of “security” and its role in reshaping the relationship between the continent and global powers. And yet, in facilitating the process of securitization, African leaders avoid the real challenge of addressing the roots of human insecurity within their countries and regions."
- [The South Sudan Peace Deal and Prospects for Peacebuilding](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2015/11/04/the-south-sudan-peace-deal-and-prospects-for-peacebuilding/) - "Post-conflict peacebuilding and reconstruction present a complex challenge to any nascent state emerging from war. In South Sudan, negotiated tradeoffs among political elites were inevitable. Although the war has had a devastating impact, the IGAD peace agreement offers a renewal and a platform for rebuilding the state."
- [The Path to the Ivoirian Presidential Elections: Past Strife and Current Challenges](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2015/10/23/the-path-to-the-ivoirian-presidential-elections-past-strife-and-current-challenges/) - "The next few weeks will see heightened political tensions in Côte d’Ivoire, and key actors, particularly the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), will have to pay close attention to unfolding events. The threats to political stability will also not disappear with the election of a president."
- [APN Announces New Resources Page](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2015/10/17/apn-announces-new-resources-page/) - Resources is a digital collection of research-based professional, political, and contemporary news materials and information on peacebuilding in Africa. It is designed to be a one-stop, free online source of knowledge on conflict, peace, security, and development in Africa for individuals, organizations, and policymakers across the world.
- [Development and Justice in the Polluted Waterscape of the Niger Delta](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2015/10/11/development-and-justice-in-the-polluted-waterscape-of-the-niger-delta/) - "Narratives of resource control and ownership in the Niger Delta have not adequately addressed its water crises, especially with respect to a newly emergent neoliberal water market, social justice, and development; instead, most studies of the region have focused on oil. This essay, therefore, draws on a four-year ethnographic study in the region to examine how the emergent water market, driven by an 'invisible hand,' reconfigures contours of social justice and development in the affected communities."
- [Mediating Electoral Violence in a Polarized Society: The Case of Zimbabwe](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2015/09/30/mediating-electoral-violence-in-a-polarized-society-the-case-of-zimbabwe/) - "Although the media...are expected to observe, investigate, and subsequently report news as objectively as possible, these institutions are powerful political and cultural actors, influenced by political and economic forces to take subjective positions. In a polarized environment such as Zimbabwe, they are not neutral arbiters of electoral information and images. Rather, the media carry the most basic characteristics of the journalism of war and violence: their reporting is propaganda oriented, elite oriented, and victory oriented."
- [President Buhari’s War Against Terror](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2015/09/18/president-buharis-war-against-terror/) - "Despite whatever gains have been made, a cursory look at President Buhari’s first hundred days in office and the activities of his administration reveal an emphasis more on winning the battle than winning the war."
- [Peace at Stake in Burundi: Could the Crisis Escalate, and Is There a Way Out?](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2015/09/11/peace-at-stake-in-burundi-could-the-crisis-escalate-and-is-there-a-way-out/) - "The commitment of a section of the opposition to unseating Nkurunziza’s regime, coupled with divisions within the military and the police, could turn the conflict into a civil war, while state responses to repress the opposition could lead to the spreading of violence across the country...Hope remains that peace can be achieved in Burundi, but the window of opportunity is closing fast."
- [APN Grantee on the Future of Democracy and Peace in West Africa](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2015/08/18/apn-grantee-on-the-future-of-peace-and-democracy-in-west-africa/) - The following is an interview with APN 2013 grantee Professor Oluwafunmilayo J. Para-Mallam, on the sidelines of a policy dialogue jointly organized by the African Peacebuilding Network (APN), the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) West Africa, and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). The event, which took place in Abuja, Nigeria, July 27–28, 2015, highlighted the current state of democracy, peace, and stability in West Africa. It also examined the role ECOWAS has played in the region and the challenges it faces, and offered practical suggestions to consolidating peace and democracy in the future.
- [African Peace Support Operations: Sites for Deepening the United Nations’ Cooperation with Regional Organizations](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2015/08/18/african-peace-support-operations-sites-for-deepening-the-united-nations-cooperation-with-regional-organizations/) - "Against a backdrop of a dynamic and changing peace and security environment, the UN’s interaction with ROs is being redefined. Given the security realities of the continent, Africa is at the forefront of this historical dynamism, and African PSOs are instrumental in shaping the existing contours of the UN–RO relationship."
- [A Reflection on Peacebuilding and Statebuilding in Africa](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2015/08/03/a-reflection-on-peacebuilding-and-statebuilding-in-africa/) - "There is the belief that if you build competitive institutions and a structure of government, these elements of statebuilding will lead to state stability. It is more than just democratic competence of the state, however; it is also about the strength of the nation. The question to be asked is, How do you building a strong and stable state, but also a strong nation?"
- [Redefining Peacekeeping: The Force Intervention Brigade in the Democratic Republic of Congo](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2015/07/26/redefining-peacekeeping-the-force-intervention-brigade-in-the-democratic-republic-of-congo/) - "The coming together of the UN, AU, SADC, and ICGLR to conceptualize and operationalize the FIB demonstrates that hybridization in peacekeeping can work, especially if each intergovernmental organization is allowed to bring to the table its interoperable strengths. African countries provide the troops and equipment to form the brigade, while the UN provides the funding and logistical coordination. When peacekeeping operations are undertaken cooperatively, positive results are easier to achieve."
- [A Soft Power Approach to Eradicating Extremism in Africa](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2015/07/08/a-soft-power-approach-to-eradicating-extremism-in-africa/) - “Leaders, clerics, and scholars at all levels should devise effective strategies to tackle the root causes of extremism and terrorism. The idea is to cultivate a culture of peace, tolerance, and acceptance of unity in diversity, based on diverse African values.”
- [Engaging Gender, Peace, and Security through the Lens of Terrorism: The Case of Boko Haram](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2015/06/17/engaging-gender-peace-and-security-through-the-lens-of-terrorism-the-case-of-boko-haram/) - "Evolving security concerns have globally and continentally provided an entry point to discussing gender, peace, and security, mainly by focusing on SGBV in conflict situations. If we look at these issues through the lens of terrorism, what new insights emerge?"
- [Women’s Involvement in Peacebuilding and Conflict Resolution among the Igbo of Southeastern Nigeria](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2015/05/28/womens-involvement-in-peacebuilding-and-conflict-resolution-among-the-igbo-of-southeastern-nigeria/) - "As the Igbo case demonstrates, governments and international organizations—in Nigeria and elsewhere in Africa—have to ensure a narrative that extends beyond the usual stories of women as victims to how they use their agency and mobilize themselves to work for peace at home and within the community, and how those efforts may be formally recognized, documented, and scaled up on a continent striving for peace."
- [Press Freedoms and the Need to Repeal Draconian Media Legislation in Tanzania](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2015/05/11/press-freedoms-and-the-need-to-repeal-draconian-media-legislation-in-tanzania/) - "Press freedom is an important element of the democratization process. The freedom to report critically and question decisions promotes transparency and accountability and helps build robust, open, and democratic institutions .... Increased media freedoms and citizens’ access to information are essential to attaining these goals and consolidating democratic governance and political stability."
- [Journeys of Peace: Ex-combatants from Azania People’s Liberation Army in South Africa](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2015/04/23/journeys-of-peace-ex-combatants-from-azania-peoples-liberation-army-in-south-africa/) - "This essay summarizes the conclusions drawn from a study funded by the African Peacebuilding Network of the Social Science Research Council. It seeks to explore the ways in which ex-combatants make the transition from the use of violence to peace. These conclusions challenge the view that ex-combatants have continued to be violent in post-apartheid South Africa, and they establish that, even though ex-combatants have held onto their military skills, they are peaceful citizens."
- [Are Female Peacekeepers Making a Difference, and If Not, Why Not?](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2015/04/09/are-female-peacekeepers-making-a-difference-and-if-not-why-not/) - "What is clear is that female peacekeepers suffer under a hypermasculine military culture because they are 'othered' on many levels that affect their performance. The literature suggests that where women do seem to have made a difference, they were deployed in all-female units and served in predominantly constabulary roles. Some criticize these units because they are gender segregated, but, ironically, they are the ones most often praised for their success."
- [Nigeria's 2015 General Elections](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2015/03/23/nigerias-2015-elections/) - Coordinated with the help of Dr. Nkwachukwu Orji, this special section highlights the most significant issue(s) in Nigeria’s 2015 general elections, to be held March 28, 2015, after a six-week postponement. As Africa’s largest democracy prepares for the polls, several questions must be answered: What do these elections portend for the country in the face of domestic demands for solutions to problems of unemployment, inequality, the marginalization of minorities, and growing insecurity, and Nigeria’s role within West Africa and the rest of the continent? What implications will the elections likely have for national stability and development in Africa’s largest economy? And what do the elections portend for the country’s relations with its neighbors, the West, and emerging powers?
- [Reflections from Wilton Park Conference on "Peacebuilding in Africa"](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2015/03/16/reflections-from-wilton-park-conference-on-peacebuilding-in-africa/) - Following the Wilton Park conference on “Peacebuilding in Africa: Evolving Challenges, Responses, and New Thinking,” African Peacebuilding Network staff had a chance to sit down with professor Michael Pugh and discuss his thoughts on the conference, where he thinks the continent is headed in terms of its peacebuilding agenda, and what room there can be for future collaboration between scholars and practitioners in the field of African peacebuilding.
- [Boko Haram’s Trajectory: Origins and Future Directions](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2015/03/11/boko-harams-trajectory-origins-and-future-directions/) - "[...] Boko Haram’s trajectory and the need to address the roots of home-bred terrorism assumes greater relevance as Nigeria prepares for elections in a matter of weeks. This overview provides a deeper understanding of a potent security challenge to the holding of free and fair elections in Africa’s largest democracy."
- [The African Union Operation in Mali and Questions on the Necessity of a Standby Force](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2015/03/03/the-african-union-operation-in-mali-and-questions-on-the-necessity-of-a-standby-force/) - "It is debatable whether all the effort, time, and resources invested in the establishment of the ASF (and the ACIRC) have resulted in any real impact on Africa’s capacity to 'own' its own peacekeeping and peace support forces and processes. While an African standby force may improve the AU’s capacity to quell violent conflict, it is by no means a major determinant for the success of its peace operations."
- [Statebuilding and Peacebuilding in Contexts of Identity-Related Conflicts: A Necessary Collaboration](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2015/02/14/state-building-and-peacebuilding-in-contexts-of-identity-related-conflicts-a-necessary-collaboration/) - "It is important to ask how peacebuilding can take place when the state is perceived as biased, partisan, unfair, and favoring some groups over others. How can peacebuilding reduce violence and at the same time address injustices and improve fragile relationships when the state is directly or indirectly responsible for increasing violence, perpetuating injustices among different identity groups, and contributing to the worsening of their relationships?"
- [Amending the Uganda Constitution: Isn't It Time to Rethink the Process and the Key Issues?](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2015/01/09/amending-the-uganda-constitution-isnt-it-time-to-rethink-the-process-and-the-key-issues/) - "As Ugandans we need to push for a systematic and comprehensive overhaul of the entire constitution, which in its current form is a representation of elite interests. The new constitution must rethink governance as a never-ending process of exercising power to manage public affairs and resources in a manner that allows for equitable redistribution of benefits to all."
- [The Politics of Reconciliation in Zimbabwe: Three Times Failure—Will the Fourth Time Count?](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2014/12/17/the-politics-of-reconciliation-in-zimbabwe-three-times-failure-will-the-fourth-time-count/) - "When the appropriate time would be to address past social injustices and how they should be addressed remains unclear, but ignoring the past will arguably only perpetuate the cycle of violence that remains prevalent in Zimbabwe .... Reconciliation cannot occur in Zimbabwe without legal tender and a proactive commitment to bind the voices and intentions of the government."
- [Rethinking Models of African Peacebuilding: Lessons from Nigeria](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2014/11/25/rethinking-models-of-african-peacebuilding-the-case-of-nigeria/) - "As the case of Nigeria shows the endogenous ways of managing local conflict and building peace are organically linked to the history, tradition, and culture of the African people…Indeed, a situation in which modern and endogenous methods complement, rather than displace or supplant each other, should be encouraged."
- [The Day the Burkinabé People Recovered Their Voice](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2014/11/07/the-day-the-burkinabe-people-recovered-their-voice/) - "As political leaders scramble to capture every bit of power possible, it needs to be remembered that the impetus for change was collective anger .... For the Burkinabé people, this is a unique chance to experiment with inclusive politics that makes room for meaningful civil society input and, more importantly, an opportunity to dismantle a system of rule that enabled Compaoré to keep the country under tight control for twenty-seven years."
- [Post-amnesty Niger Delta: Current and Emerging Security Threats](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2014/11/05/post-amnesty-niger-delta-current-and-emerging-security-threats/) - "[A]s both national and international observers and policymakers focus on northeast Nigeria, they must not ignore signs of the possible recurrence of conflict in the Niger Delta region. Another full-scale insurgency in the Niger Delta could drive the Nigerian state closer to the cliff. The current threats are the same as those that led to the last phase of insurgency, and they serve as signposts indicating that, if effective action is not taken, insurgency will come again—it is just a matter of time."
- [Article 46A bis: Implications for Peace, Justice, and Reconciliation in Africa](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2014/10/21/article-46a-bis-implications-for-peace-justice-and-reconciliation-in-africa/) - In this special issue, we asked several leading scholars and practitioners working in the field of international justice, human rights, and peace in Africa to respond to recent concerns about the embedding of Article 46A bis, which grants immunity to sitting heads of state and senior government officials, thereby precluding them from being tried by the African Court for serious crimes committed in violation of international law. Contributors were asked the following questions: Is Article 46A bis a blank check granting African leaders and senior government officials the right to act with impunity? Will leaders be able to get away in the future with serious war crimes and crimes against humanity? What are the prospects that Article 46A bis would be re-thought, further amended, or even dropped? And is there still space for African states and courts to engage with international justice institutions in the pursuit of justice in Africa?
- [Malawi's 2014 Elections: An Assessment](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2014/10/02/malawis-2014-elections-an-assessment/) - "The elections of 2014 demonstrated a lot of weaknesses in Malawi’s electoral system...which renders it vulnerable to errors that can conceivably undermine completely the credibility of elections conducted in Malawi’s future. A critical reassessment of the process and its reform are therefore necessary to avoid a repeat of the chaos that was the 2014 elections."
- [Ushahidi Crowdsourcing Platform: A People-Centered Approach to Conflict Transformation in Kenya](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2014/09/26/ushahidi-crowdsourcing-platform-a-people-centered-approach-to-conflict-transformation-in-kenya/) - "New media technologies have opened avenues for the African people to participate more directly, and more strategically, in public affairs. A closed door of morbid silence has suddenly been flung wide open, and different people-centered initiatives are emerging as the African general public utilizes these new technologies to address societal issues."
- [Article 46A Bis: A Step Backward in Ending Impunity in Africa](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2014/09/22/article-46a-bis-a-step-backward-in-ending-impunity-in-africa/) - "If this retrogressive provision comes into force, the survivors and victims of atrocities will have no option but to seek justice and reparation from elsewhere—in this case, the ICC, which still has jurisdiction to try perpetrators of mass atrocities, regardless of official position—thereby defeating the principle of 'African solutions to African problems.' "
- [The Central African Republic Crisis: Neighboring Countries and the Prospects for Peace](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2014/09/03/the-central-african-republic-crisis-neighboring-countries-and-the-prospects-for-peace/) - "Ultimately [...] the future of peace in the CAR lies in the hands of the leaders and people of the country. The real challenge will be to develop the political will to rise above the current divisions and address the structural roots of the conflict ravaging the country head on."
- [Kenya’s Long-Term Security Should Be a “Discursive Project”](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2014/08/22/kenyas-long-term-security-should-be-a-discursive-project/) - "Terrorism is a constructed ideology. For it to be defeated in Kenya and elsewhere, we need to construct a counter-ideology through an equally discursive process...Yet creating an effective counter-ideology, like the 'We Are One' campaign, requires a reconstruction of identity and an answer to the question, Who is really a Kenyan, and who is not?"
- [Democracy versus Stability: Political Reconciliation and the Government of National Unity in Zanzibar](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2014/08/04/democracy-versus-stability-political-reconciliation-and-the-government-of-national-unity-in-zanzibar/) - "Race, political economy, social classes, the struggle for democracy, the question of unity, and proximate factors such as leadership have all been cited by scholars as causes of political instability in Zanzibar. To understand political reconciliation in the region, however, one needs to approach the problem from the perspective of actors, interests, and strategies for peace."
- [The May 2014 Malawi Elections: A Democratic Success Story?](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2014/07/03/the-may-2014-malawi-elections-a-democratic-success-story/) - "These results have been widely embraced by democracy enthusiasts and seen as a significant milestone in Malawi’s democratization project .... However, a critical review of the overall conduct and handling of the polls in May raises a crucial question as to whether or not these elections should be celebrated as the significant achievement they have been made out to be."
- [Post-M23 Euphoria and the Recurrent Peace Dividends in Eastern DRC](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2014/06/05/post-m23-euphoria-and-the-recurrent-peace-dividends-in-eastern-drc/) - “The examples of M23 and ADF showcase the positive potential of decisive peace enforcement, but neither the unsatisfactory ‘peace agreement’ following the FARDC-FIB success against M23, nor the atomization of ADF into much less powerful but persistent micro-units, are long-term solutions .... [T]he quest for peace needs to be understood as a molecular process involving at least as much of a bottom-up as a top-down logic.”
- [Insurgents and Terror in Jos, Nigeria: Where Next?](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2014/05/21/insurgents-and-terror-in-jos-nigeria-where-next/) - "As national and international attention is mainly focused on Sambisa forest in the search for the girls that were abducted by Boko Haram from Chibok in Borno State, it is important not to overlook the dire fact that other parts of Nigeria are vulnerable to coordinated attacks by Boko Haram. It happened in Kano and Plateau State—but there is no telling where it will happen next."
- [A Beleaguered Political Marriage: The Tanganyika-Zanzibar Union and the Constitution Process in Tanzania](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2014/05/20/a-beleaguered-political-marriage-the-tanganyika-zanzibar-union-and-the-constitution-process-in-tanzania/) - "The proposed three-tiered government structure will ease the historical tensions between Tanzania Mainland and Zanzibar, and strengthen this iconic political union. The contentious issues between these two entities raised...can best be addressed by this government format which gives Zanzibar an identity, as well as Tanganyika, through a revised Union government. Having a constitution that captures and espouses the aspirations of a majority of Tanzanians is key for continued statebuilding."
- [Youth and Revolution in Tunisia, by Alcinda Honwana](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2014/05/19/youth-and-revolution-in-tunisia-by-alcinda-honwana/) - In her book "Youth and Revolution in Tunisia," author Alcinda Honwana rightly reminds us that the phenomenon of the “Arab Spring”—or as she refers to it, the “African Awakening”—was intimately connected to a globalized trend. From Senegal to Spain to Santiago to Seattle, the voice of a disaffected generation went viral across social media platforms on every continent. She expertly handles the task of deconstructing the roots of the revolution [...]
- [Kenya 2013 Elections: A Reflection](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2014/05/15/kenya-2013-elections-a-reflection/) - "The 2013 Kenyan elections should be assessed as a process and not as an event. Although it is not clear what direct impact they had on democracy and peacebuilding in the short term, three factors are identified which seem to have influenced the elections significantly by providing opportunities for democracy and peacebuilding to thrive in the long-term. These three factors are: the legacy of Agenda Four; vigilance by Kenyan civil society, the media, and social media; and the role of the International Criminal Court (ICC)."
- [South Africa: 2014 Elections](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2014/05/05/south-africa-2014-elections/) - The African Peacebuilding Network asked several scholars and practitioners to explore what they consider to be the most significant issue(s) in the coming elections and the likely implications for post-2014 South Africa. What do these elections portend for the country in the face of domestic demands for solutions to problems of rising levels of poverty, violent crime, unemployment, inequality, corruption, and unequal access to basic services? How might these elections affect South Africa's role within southern Africa? What implications will they have for the country's relations with the rest of Africa, the West, and the emerging powers?
- [Mapping Reconciliation Processes in Africa: A Project Set to Fail or A Possible Gateway to Further Research?](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2013/11/12/mapping-reconciliation-processes-in-africa-a-project-set-to-fail-or-a-possible-gateway-to-further-research-2/) - Reconciliation has become an important term in the national discourse, particularly within Africa. Yet what reconciliation actually refers to, how it should be implemented, and how to assess its level of effectiveness remains a challenge for many States. This piece explores the creation of a database to map reconciliation processes across the African continent, questioning whether such a project would be destined to fail, or a gateway to further research.
- [Mediating in Madagascar: Bypassing the AU Ban on Coup Legitimization](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/2013/11/05/mediating-in-madagascar-bypassing-the-au-ban-on-coup-legitimization/) - A great political problem on the African continent is the scourge of coups have taken place over the past half century, one being in Madagascar in 2009. To combat these coups, the African Union has put in place a firm policy commitment to reject coups and other unconstitutional changes of government. While at first glance, the AU's ban on coup legitimization is a decisive rejection of the military overthrow of governments and, thus, a compelling deterrent to future coups, it becomes clear upon further investigation that the ban itself is incompatible with mediation, which the AU invariably undertakes to restore constitutional order.

## Pages

- [Peer-Reviewed Journals by Focus and Area](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/resources/) - Conflict and Peace African Conflict and Peacebuilding Review (ACPR) Indiana University Press Print ISSN: 2156695X Online ISSN: 2156-7263 African Journal on Conflict Resolution The African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD) ISSN 1562-6997 Cooperation and Conflict Journal of the Nordic International Studies Association Print ISSN: 0010-8367 Online ISSN: 1460-3691 Ethics and Global Politics
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- [About](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/about/) - Welcome to Kujenga Amani (Swahili for “building peace”), the digital forum of the African Peacebuilding and Developmental Dynamics Program (APDD) of the Social Science Research Council (SSRC). The APDD promotes the visibility and dissemination of high-quality African research-based knowledge and informed commentary by African experts among critical constituencies in global centers of scholarly analysis, policy, and practical action. This includes, but
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## Categories

- [Uncategorized](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/uncategorized/)
- [2016](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/2016/)
- [Africa](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/africa/)
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- [Book Reviews](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/book-reviews/) - Kujenga Amani book reviews look at recent publications related to African peacebuilding.
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- [Essays](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/essays/) - Essays present critical analysis and debate on a pressing issue in African peacebuilding.
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- [Featured](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/featured/)
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- [interview](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/interview/)
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- [Mediation & Reconciliation](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/essays/mediation-essays/) - These Kujenga Amani essays provide insight into the various methods of reconciliation and mediation techniques that are applied to conflict and post-conflict situations across Africa, while addressing the challenges and visions for peace and the prospect for peacebuilding.
- [Nigeria](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/africa/nigeria/)
- [On the Spot](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/on-the-spot/) - On the Spot focuses on providing quick, concise expert insights by scholars and practitioners into significant issues related to African peacebuilding. Poignant and spontaneous, it draws upon locally grounded knowledge, distilling diverse responses to questions and challenges facing peace, security, and development on the continent.
- [Peacebuilding in Congo](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/essays/peacebuilding-in-congo/) - These Kujenga Amani essays provide insight on the conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the challenges for peace, and prospects for peacebuilding in the country.
- [Protest](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/protest/)
- [Radar](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/radar/) - Radar pinpoints the fundamentals behind current developments in conflict-affected countries and neighboring sub-regions.
- [Research and Practice](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/essays/research-and-practice/) - These Kujenga Amani essays explore the future of African peacebuilding research and practice.
- [Resources](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/resources-page/) - Resources is a digital collection of research-based professional, political, and contemporary news materials and information on peacebuilding in Africa. It is designed to be a one-stop, free online source of knowledge on conflict, peace, security, and development in Africa for individuals, organizations, and policymakers across the world. It is hoped that this page—and the resources therein—will serve as a base for networking across disciplinary boundaries, and an opportunity to sustain research and practice by senior scholars and experts, while simultaneously providing younger colleagues with accessible and relevant information that can lead to the production of high-quality research proposals and evidence-based knowledge in line with the goals of the African Peacebuilding Network. African Peacebuilding Network AU/UN Reports Peacebuilding Literature Organizations
- [Senegal](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/africa/senegal/)
- [Sierra Leone](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/africa/sierra-leone/)
- [Somalia](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/africa/somalia/)
- [South Africa](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/africa/south-africa/)
- [South Sudan](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/africa/south-sudan/)
- [Statebuilding & Security](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/essays/statebuilding-and-security/) - These Kujenga Amani essays highlight the various strategies of, and challenges facing statebuilding and peace in conflict-affected parts of Africa. They also represent a range of perspectives exploring the current efforts being made by African regional institutions, countries, and civil society to address these challenges at the local, national, and regional levels.
- [Sudan](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/africa/sudan/)
- [Viewpoint](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/viewpoint/) - Viewpoint provides readers with unique perspectives of African peacebuilding from both leading and emerging scholars and practitioners working in the field. Inspired by attendance at various workshops, conferences, and events involving APDD staff, these candid conversations offer alternative views and opinions to some of the most pressing issues facing Africa today. Meant to encourage further dialogue, these entries also seek to stimulate future research and necessary collaboration between all actors who continue to shape the continent’s ever-evolving peacebuilding agenda.
- [Zimbabwe](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/africa/zimbabwe/)
- [African Peacebuilding Network](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/resources-page/apn/) - Grants & Fellowships Publications Podcasts APN on Facebook @KujengaAmani APN on Flickr
- [APN Grants and Fellowships](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/resources-page/apn/grants-and-fellowships/) - Individual Research Grants Collaborative Working Group Research Grants Book Manuscript Completion Grants Residential Postdoctoral Fellowships If help is needed on how to write a successful proposal, see the SSRC's On the Art of Writing Proposals. APN Grantee & Fellow Publications 2016 APN grantee cohort 2015 APN grantee cohort 2014 APN grantee cohort 2013 APN grantee cohort
- [AU-UN Cooperation](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/essays/au-un-cooperation/) - These Kujenga Amani essays represent a range of critical perspectives on how to advance cooperation between the African Union and the United Nations in ways that effectively address the peace, security, and development challenges faced by Africa.
- [Elections & Governance](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/essays/elections-and-governance/) - Representing a range of engaging perspectives on elections and governance in Africa, these Kujenga Amani essays highlight various democratic reforms, institutional analyses, and various strategies for achieving good governance in Africa.
- [Interviews](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/viewpoint/interviews/)
- [Podcasts](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/resources-page/apn/podcasts/) - African Peacebuilding Network (APN) Podcasts
- [Books](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/resources-page/peacebuilding-literature-review/peacebuilding-in-africa/) - Peacebuilding in Africa Ali, Taisier M. and Robert O. Matthews. Durable peace: challenges for peacebuilding in Africa. University of Toronto Press, 2004. “The African continent has been racked with war in the years since decolonization. In the aftermath of violent conflict, peace is often fragile…” Carayannis, Tatiana. Making Sense of the Central African Republic. Zed Books, 2015. “Lying at the centre of a tumultuous region, the Central African Republic and its turbulent history have often been overlooked. Democracy, in any kind of a meaningful sense, has eluded the country…” Carbone, Giovanni, ed. Africa: Still Rising? ISPI, 2015. “After decades of unsatisfying performances, economic growth took off in many sub-Saharan states at the beginning of the 21st century. More recently, however, the end of the commodity cycle – particularly with the oil price drop – and the rise of jihadist violence…” Cramer, Christopher. Researching Violence in Africa Ethical and Methodological Challenges. Leiden: Brill, 2011. “Researching violence and conflict can be challenging for a variety of reasons, including security risks to researchers and informants, restricted or lack of access to informants and field sites, and poor reliability of official data…” Dembinski, Matthias, Jörg Krempel, Berenike Schott. Towards Effective Security Governance in Africa: African and European actors in peacekeeping and peacebuilding–partners or competitors? Peace Research Institute Frankfurt (PRIF), 2012. “Although prospects for peacekeeping and peacebuilding in Africa have significantly improved since the end of the East-West conflict, creating the conditions for lasting peace nevertheless remains a challenge…” Ewusi, Samuel Kale. Peacebuilding: In Sub-saharan Africa : African Perspectives. University for Peace, Africa programme, 2014. Eze, Kevin. The Peacekeeper’s Wife. Amalion Publishing, 2015. “The Peacekeeper’s Wife explores lives torn by war. A war both far and near, strange and foreign, yet deep in the lives left behind.” Goetschel, Laurent. The Politics of Peace: From Ideology to Pragmatism? (See Chapters 4 and 6).LIT Verlag, 2011. “The politics of peace has undergone tremendous changes since the end of the Cold War: It moved from an ideological debate into a well-established policy field. How does this affect its content?…” Jeng, Abou. Peacebuilding in the African Union :law, philosophy and practice. Cambridge University Press, 2012. “Particularly in the context of internal conflicts, international law is frequently unable to create and sustain frameworks for peace in Africa. In Peacebuilding in the African Union, Abou Jeng explores the factors which have prevented such steps forward in the interaction between the international legal order and postcolonial Africa…” Kwaja, Chris. Security Sector Reform and Peacebuilding in Liberia. LAP Lambert Academic Publishing, 2016. “Liberia especially, experienced years of violent conflicts from 1989 to 2003, resulting in the devastation and the destruction of the security sector in the country, as well as the killing of more than 200,000 people, with about 1.2 million people displaced…” Security Sector Reform. Lekha Sriram, Chandra, Olga Martin-Ortega, Johanna Herman. Peacebuilding and Rule of Law in Africa : just peace? Routledge, 2011. “This book explores the expanding international efforts to promote rule of law in countries emerging from violent conflict. With a focus on Africa, the authors critically examines the impact of these activities in relation to liberal peacebuilding, rule of law institutions, and the range of non-state providers of justice and security…” Mano, Winston. Racism, Ethnicity and the Media in Africa: Mediating Conflict on the Twenty-first Century. I.B. Tauris, 2015. “In today’s Africa racism and ethnicity have been implicated in serious conflicts – from Egypt to Mali to South Africa – that have cost lives and undermined efforts to achieve national cohesion and meaningful development…” Maphosa, Sylvester B., Laura DeLuca and Alphonse Keasley .Building Peace from Within. Africa Institute of South Africa, 2014. “This book seeks to examine how successful models of building ‘peace from within’ in the African context function. It draws emerging lessons to provide critical recommendations on policy, practice and academia – our primary audience…” Murithi, Timothy. The African Union: Pan-Africanism, peacebuilding and development. Ashgate,2005. “The African Union was established in July 2002 by African leaders, evolving from the Organization of African Unity (OAU). However the idea of the African Union can be traced to the Pan-Africanist movement…” Omeje, Kenneth. The Crises of Postcoloniality in Africa. Dakar: CODESRIA, 2015. Omeje, Kenneth and Tricia Redeker Hepner. Conflict and peacebuilding in the African Great Lakes Region. Indiana University Press, 2013. “Driven by genocide, civil war, political instabilities, ethnic and pastoral hostilities, the African Great Lakes Region, primarily Uganda, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Burundi, has been overwhelmingly defined by conflict…” Otobo, Ejeviome Eloho. Consolidating Peace in Africa: The Role of the United Nations Peacebuilding. AMV Publishing Services, 2015. “The decision to create the United Nations Peacebuilding Commission (PBC) was one of the major outcomes of the Summit of World leaders held in 2005 to mark the 60th anniversary of the United Nations…” Conceptual Approaches to Peacebuilding in Africa Aall, Pamela, and Chester A. Crocker, eds. Minding the Gap: African Conflict Management in a Time of Change. Centre for International Governance Innovation, 2016. Call, Charles T. Why Peace Fails: The Causes and Prevention of Civil War Recurrence (See Chapter 1: Four Approaches to Peacebuilding).Georgetown University Press, 2011. Cooper, Robin, and Laura Finley, eds. Peace and Conflict Studies Research: A Qualitative Perspective. Information Age Publishing,2014. Franke, Volker C. and Robert H. Dorff . Conflict management and peacebuilding: pillars of a new American grand strategy. Strategic Studies Institute and U.S. Army War College Press, 2013. “The authors examine the utility of the U.S. Government’s whole-of-government (WoG) approach for responding to the challenging security demands of operations in Iraq and Afghanistan…” Goetschel, Laurent. The Politics of Peace: From Ideology to Pragmatism? (See Chapter 3). LIT Verlag, 2011. “The politics of peace has undergone tremendous changes since the end of the Cold War: It moved from an ideological debate into a well-established policy field. How does this affect its content?…” Ovadia, Jesse Salah. The Petro-Development State in Africa: Making Oil Work in Angola, Nigeria and the Gulf of Guinea. Hurst Publishers, 2016. “Focusing on local content in the oil and oil service sectors and the changing accumulation strategies of the domestic elite, this book questions what kinds of development are possible through natural resource extraction…” Paffenholz, T. and L. Reychler. Peacebuilding: A Field Guide. Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2000. “A milestone in the search for sustainable peace, this handbook highlights the invaluable contributions of people working in the field…” Sommers, Marc. The Outcast Majority: War, Development, and Youth in Africa. University of Georgia Press, 2015. “The Outcast Majority invites policymakers, practitioners, academics, students, and others to think about three commanding contemporary issues—war, development, and youth—in new ways. “
- [Peacebuilding in Africa](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/resources-page/peacebuilding-literature-review/peacebuilding-in-africa/peacebuilding-in-africa-peacebuilding-in-africa/) - Ali, Taisier M. and Robert O. Matthews. Durable peace: challenges for peacebuilding in Africa. University of Toronto Press, 2004. “The African continent has been racked with war in the years since decolonization. In the aftermath of violent conflict, peace is often fragile…” Carayannis, Tatiana. Making Sense of the Central African Republic. Zed Books, 2015. “Lying at the centre of a tumultuous region, the Central African Republic and its turbulent history have often been overlooked. Democracy, in any kind of a meaningful sense, has eluded the country…” Cramer, Christopher. Researching Violence in Africa Ethical and Methodological Challenges. Leiden: Brill, 2011. “Researching violence and conflict can be challenging for a variety of reasons, including security risks to researchers and informants, restricted or lack of access to informants and field sites, and poor reliability of official data…” Dembinski, Matthias, Jörg Krempel, Berenike Schott. Towards Effective Security Governance in Africa: African and European actors in peacekeeping and peacebuilding–partners or competitors? Peace Research Institute Frankfurt (PRIF), 2012. “Although prospects for peacekeeping and peacebuilding in Africa have significantly improved since the end of the East-West conflict, creating the conditions for lasting peace nevertheless remains a challenge…” Ewusi, Samuel Kale. Peacebuilding: In Sub-saharan Africa : African Perspectives. University for Peace, Africa programme, 2014. Goetschel, Laurent. The Politics of Peace: From Ideology to Pragmatism? (See Chapters 4 and 6).LIT Verlag, 2011. “The politics of peace has undergone tremendous changes since the end of the Cold War: It moved from an ideological debate into a well-established policy field. How does this affect its content?…” Jeng, Abou. Peacebuilding in the African Union :law, philosophy and practice. Cambridge University Press, 2012. “Particularly in the context of internal conflicts, international law is frequently unable to create and sustain frameworks for peace in Africa. In Peacebuilding in the African Union, Abou Jeng explores the factors which have prevented such steps forward in the interaction between the international legal order and postcolonial Africa…” Kwaja, Chris. Security Sector Reform and Peacebuilding in Liberia. LAP Lambert Academic Publishing, 2016. “Liberia especially, experienced years of violent conflicts from 1989 to 2003, resulting in the devastation and the destruction of the security sector in the country, as well as the killing of more than 200,000 people, with about 1.2 million people displaced…” Security Sector Reform. Lekha Sriram, Chandra, Olga Martin-Ortega, Johanna Herman. Peacebuilding and Rule of Law in Africa : just peace? Routledge, 2011. “This book explores the expanding international efforts to promote rule of law in countries emerging from violent conflict. With a focus on Africa, the authors critically examines the impact of these activities in relation to liberal peacebuilding, rule of law institutions, and the range of non-state providers of justice and security…” Mano, Winston. Racism, Ethnicity and the Media in Africa: Mediating Conflict on the Twenty-first Century. I.B. Tauris, 2015. “In today’s Africa racism and ethnicity have been implicated in serious conflicts – from Egypt to Mali to South Africa – that have cost lives and undermined efforts to achieve national cohesion and meaningful development…” Maphosa, Sylvester B., Laura DeLuca and Alphonse Keasley .Building Peace from Within. Africa Institute of South Africa, 2014. “This book seeks to examine how successful models of building ‘peace from within’ in the African context function. It draws emerging lessons to provide critical recommendations on policy, practice and academia – our primary audience…” Murithi, Timothy. The African Union: Pan-Africanism, peacebuilding and development. Ashgate,2005. “The African Union was established in July 2002 by African leaders, evolving from the Organization of African Unity (OAU). However the idea of the African Union can be traced to the Pan-Africanist movement…” Omeje, Kenneth. The Crises of Postcoloniality in Africa. Dakar: CODESRIA, 2015. Omeje, Kenneth and Tricia Redeker Hepner. Conflict and peacebuilding in the African Great Lakes Region. Indiana University Press, 2013. “Driven by genocide, civil war, political instabilities, ethnic and pastoral hostilities, the African Great Lakes Region, primarily Uganda, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Burundi, has been overwhelmingly defined by conflict…”
- [Book Reviews](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/resources-page/peacebuilding-literature-review/peacebuilding-in-africa/apn-book-review/) - Sharia or Shura: Contending Approaches to Muslim Politics in Nigeria and Senegal, by Sakah Saidu Mahmud “Mahmud’s Sharia or Shura makes an interesting read for anyone interested in learning about some of the factors that explain the differences in approaches to Muslim politics in northern Nigeria and Senegal.” Youth and Revolution in Tunisia, by Alcinda Honwana “In her book Youth and Revolution in Tunisia, author Alcinda Honwana rightly reminds us that the phenomenon of the “Arab Spring”—or as she refers to it, the “African Awakening”—was intimately connected to a globalized trend…” The Globalization Paradox: Why Global Markets, States, and Democracy Can't Coexist, by Dani Rodrik “As the world continues to experience the most severe financial crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930s, new and multiple forms of geo-economic and geo-political power, and unprecedented aftershocks in the Euro zone and complex global transformations…” Peacebuilding in the African Union: Law, Philosophy and Practice, by Abou Jeng “Despite its encounters with the international community in the past five centuries, Africa’s socioeconomic, legal, and political development remains a source of grave concern for many observers and scholars…” I Did It to Save My Life: Love and Survival in Sierra Leone, by Catherine E. Bolten “Sierra Leone’s was a complicated war. One of the first post-Cold War conflicts, and seemingly one of the more intractable and bizarre, there is still no consensus explanation for what happened in Sierra Leone and neighboring Liberia throughout the 1990s…” Achebe's Acts of Memory “The brouhaha over Chinua Achebe’s There Was A Country: A Personal History of Biafra, as throngs who hadn't read the book stood up to vociferously vilify or champion it, represented a grave disservice to a book that is extraordinarily important, a carefully calibrated document that is at once a great labor of love and yet, in one or two respects, also flawed…”
- [Peacebuilding](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/essays/peacebuilding/)
- [Conflict](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/essays/conflict/)
- [Democracy, Development and Governance](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/essays/democracy-development-governance/)
- [Gender](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/essays/gender/)
- [Policy and Practice](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/essays/policy-practice/)
- [Media](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/essays/media/)
- [Editorials](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/viewpoint/editorials/)
- [Special Issues](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/special-issues/)
- [Ghana’s 2016 Elections- Restoring Hope in Democracy?](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/special-issues/ghana-2016-election/)
- [Book Reviews](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/viewpoint/book-reviews-viewpoint/)
- [Kenya's 2017 Presidential Election](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/special-issues/kenyas-2017-presidential-election/)
- [Ghana's 2012 Elections](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/special-issues/ghanas-2012-elections/)
- [Westgate Mall Attack](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/special-issues/westgate-mall-attack/)
- [Guinea](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/guinea/)
- [African Youth—Generation Next for Peacebuiding?](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/special-issues/african-youth-generation-next-for-peacebuiding/)
- [APDD Dispatches](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/dispatches/) - APDD Dispatches showcases the work of current and former fellows of the African Peacebuilding and Developmental Dynamics (APDD) program of the SSRC. It provides a space for reflections on how the program is impacting/has impacted doctoral research experience and careers. The concept of dispatches is built around communications between our doctoral dissertation fellows, colleagues, and other members of scholarly, policy and philanthropic communities. Dispatches posts will fall under the following categories: Spotlight focuses on interviews of current and former fellows regarding their research and publications. These interviews are organized in relation to specific themes and programmatic priorities: Environment, Identity, Gender, Migration and Displacement, Peacebuilding, Security and Development. Here, fellows capture in a succinct manner the experiences and challenges doctoral students face in the course of conducting fieldwork and data collection using short essays, photo essays or videos. Sharing such experiences can be either inspirational or facilitate the sharing of deeper insights into challenges doctoral students from diverse disciplines face in the course of conducting fieldwork in different countries. It will also help promote knowledge on best practices from various contexts. Doctoral Voices tells the stories and captures the visions of fellows who have recently defended their doctoral dissertations and graduated with their PhDs. It features in their own words the narrative of their doctoral journey, the impact of Next Gen on their research and career, and the contributions they hope to make to their institutions, communities, knowledge production, and global scholarly discourses.
- [Spotlight](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/dispatches/spotlight/) - Spotlight focuses on interviews of current and former fellows regarding their research and publications. These interviews are organized in relation to specific themes and programmatic priorities: Environment, Identity, Gender, Migration and Displacement, Peacebuilding, Security and Development. Here, fellows capture in a succinct manner the experiences and challenges doctoral students face in the course of conducting fieldwork and data collection using short essays, photo essays or videos. Sharing such experiences can be either inspirational or facilitate the sharing of deeper insights into challenges doctoral students from diverse disciplines face in the course of conducting fieldwork in different countries. It will also help promote knowledge on best practices from various contexts.
- [Doctoral Voices](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/dispatches/doctoral-voices/) - Doctoral Voices tells the stories and captures the visions of fellows who have recently defended their doctoral dissertations and graduated with their PhDs. It features in their own words the narrative of their doctoral journey, the impact of APDD on their research and career, and the contributions they hope to make to their institutions, communities, knowledge production, and global scholarly discourses.
- [Uganda](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/africa/uganda/)
- [2019 APN Grantees](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/resources-page/apn/grants-and-fellowships/2019-apn-grantees/)
- [Next Generation Social Sciences in Africa](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/resources-page/next-generation-social-sciences-in-africa/)
- [Next Gen Fellowships](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/resources-page/next-generation-social-sciences-in-africa/next-gen-fellowships/)
- [2019-2020 Next Gen Fellows](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/resources-page/next-generation-social-sciences-in-africa/next-gen-fellowships/2019-2020-next-gen-fellows/)
- [Media](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/media-2/)
- [Media and peacebuilding](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/media-and-peacebuilding/)
- [Togo](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/africa/togo/)
- [Covid-19 in Africa](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/covid-19-in-africa/) - This series brings together the research and reflections of fellows of SSRC’s APDD Program, scholars, practitioners, and activists on the nature, impacts and responses to the Covid-19 pandemic in Africa, including its local-global connections.
- [Special Issue: Reflections on the SSRC-SFCG Conference and Consultations with Policy Makers and Practitioners](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/essays/special-issue-reflections-on-the-ssrc-sfcg-conference-and-consultations-with-policy-makers-and-practitioners/)
- [Reflections on the SSRC-SFCG Conference and Consultations with Policy Makers and Practitioners](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/special-issues/special-issue-reflections-on-the-ssrc-sfcg-conference-and-consultations-with-policy-makers-and-practitioners-special-issues/)
- [2020 APN Fellows](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/resources-page/apn/grants-and-fellowships/2020-apn-fellows/)
- [2020-2021 Next Gen Fellows](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/resources-page/next-generation-social-sciences-in-africa/next-gen-fellowships/2020-2021-next-gen-fellows/)
- [Egypt](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/africa/egypt/)
- [Looking Back To Look Forward: Lessons Learnt from the Trump Administration and Prospects for Peacebuilding in Africa](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/special-issues/looking-back-to-look-forward-lessons-learnt-from-the-trump-administration-and-prospects-for-peacebuilding-in-africa/)
- [Mozambique](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/africa/mozambique/)
- [Special Issue: Inclusive Peacebuilding in the African Great Lakes Region](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/special-issues/special-issue-inclusive-peacebuilding-in-the-african-great-lakes-region/) - This Special Issue of Kujenga Amani brings together articles by Congolese scholars and researchers, largely from the University of Goma, examining peacebuilding efforts in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and prospects for the future.
- [Africa Union (AU) - European Union (EU) Partnership](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/special-issues/africa-union-au-european-union-eu-partnership/)
- [APN@10](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/essays/apn10/)
- [Special Issue: 2022 Kenyan Elections](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/essays/special-issue-on-the-2022-kenyan-elections/)
- [Special Issue: “Peace, Trade, and Youth: Investing in US-Africa Cooperation.”](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/essays/special-issue-peace-trade-and-youth-investing-in-us-africa-cooperation/)
- [Special Issue: 2023 Nigerian Elections](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/essays/2023-nigerian-elections/)
- [Special Issue: "Zimbabwe’s Democracy at the Crossroads: An Analysis of the 2023 Elections"](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/special-issue-zimbabwes-democracy-at-the-crossroads-an-analysis-of-the-2023-elections/)
- [Refugees](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/refugees/)
- [Rwanda](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/rwanda/)
- [Elections](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/elections/)
- [Boko Haram](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/boko-haram/)
- [Capitalism](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/capitalism/)
- [Government and Politics](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/government-and-politics/)
- [Sahel Alliance](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/sahel-alliance/)
- [United Nations General Assembly](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/united-nations-general-assembly/)
- [Technology](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/technology/)
- [Tanzania](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/tanzania/)
- [Environmental Policies](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/environmental-policies/)
- [Global South](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/global-south/)
- [Conference](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/conference/)
- [Maritime](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/maritime/)
- [International Relations](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/international-relations/)
- [Somaliland](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/somaliland/)
- [Taiwan](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/taiwan/)
- [Migration](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/migration/)
- [Artificial Intelligence](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/artificial-intelligence/)
- [Special Issue: "Emerging Issues in Social Media and Artificial Intelligence and Peacebuilding in Africa"](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/special-issue-emerging-issues-in-social-media-and-artificial-intelligence-and-peacebuilding-in-africa/)
- [Artificial Intelligence and Peacebuilding in Africa](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/artificial-intelligence-and-peacebuilding-in-africa/)
- [Gender-Based Violence](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/gender-based-violence/)
- [Women's Rights](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/womens-rights/)
- [Military](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/military/)
- [Public Holidays](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/public-holidays/)
- [Interviews](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/interviews-2/)
- [Religion](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/religion/)
- [Wilson Center Policy Dialogue](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/wilson-center-policy-dialogue/)
- [Namibia](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/namibia/)
- [Youth](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/youth/)
- [Intergenerational Conflict](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/intergenerational-conflict/)
- [Southern Africa](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/southern-africa/)
- [Digital Peacebuilding](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/digital-peacebuilding/)
- [West Africa](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/west-africa/)
- [Social Media](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/social-media/)
- [Mining](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/mining/)
- [In Memoriam](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/in-memoriam/)
- [Farmer-Herder Relations](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/farmer-herder-relations/)
- [Botswana](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/botswana/)
- [Special Issue: Defending Democracy in Africa: Challenges and Options](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/special-issue-defending-democracy-in-africa-challenges-and-options/)
- [Military Coup](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/military-coup/)
- [National Parks](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/national-parks/)
- [Energy and Fossil Fuels](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/energy-and-fossil-fuels/)
- [AUSS Publications](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/auss-publications/)
- [Sexual Violence](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/sexual-violence/)
- [United States](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/united-states/)
- [Transitional Justice](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/transitional-justice/)
- [Displacement](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/displacement/)
- [Sudan](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/sudan-2/)
- [Crimes Against Humanity](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/crimes-against-humanity/)
- [Internally Displaced Persons](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/internally-displaced-persons/)
- [African Scholarship](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/african-scholarship/)
- [Agriculture](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/agriculture/)
- [AI](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/ai/)
- [Sub-Saharan Africa](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/sub-saharan-africa/)
- [Sustainability](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/sustainability/)
- [Niger Delta](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/niger-delta/)
- [Zambia](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/zambia/)
- [Research Policy Fellowship](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/research-policy-fellowship/)
- [Policy and Practice](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/policy-and-practice/)
- [Children's Rights](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/childrens-rights/)
- [Space Travel](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/space-travel/)
- [Global Space](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/global-space/)
- [Academia](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/academia/)
- [Research](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/research/)
- [Conservation](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/conservation/)
- [Nigeria](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/category/nigeria-2/)

## Tags

- [2007-2008 violence](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/2007-2008-violence/)
- [9/11](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/911/)
- [Abubakar Shekau](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/abubakar-shekau/)
- [Abuja](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/abuja/)
- [academic](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/academic/)
- [academy](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/academy/)
- [ACHPR](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/achpr/)
- [ACIRC](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/acirc/)
- [activism](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/activism/)
- [ADF](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/adf/)
- [Advisory Board](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/advisory-board/)
- [AFISMA](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/afisma/)
- [Africa](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/africa/)
- [African Awakening](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/african-awakening/)
- [African Charter on Human and People's Rights](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/african-charter-on-human-and-peoples-rights/)
- [African Court](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/african-court/)
- [African Court of Justice and Human Rights](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/african-court-of-justice-and-human-rights/)
- [African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/african-court-on-human-and-peoples-rights/)
- [African Great Lakes](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/african-great-lakes/)
- [African history](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/african-history/)
- [African Mission in Burundi](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/african-mission-in-burundi/)
- [African National Congress](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/african-national-congress/)
- [African Peace and Security Architecture](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/african-peace-and-security-architecture/)
- [African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA)](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/african-peace-and-security-architecture-apsa/)
- [African Peacebuilding Network](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/african-peacebuilding-network/)
- [African perspectives](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/african-perspectives/)
- [African Prevention and Protection Mission](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/african-prevention-and-protection-mission/)
- [African Response for Immediate Response Crises](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/african-response-for-immediate-response-crises/)
- [African Standby Force](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/african-standby-force/)
- [African Union](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/african-union/)
- [African-led International Support Mission in Mali](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/african-led-international-support-mission-in-mali/)
- [AFRICOM](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/africom/)
- [Agang](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/agang/)
- [Agenda Four](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/agenda-four/)
- [agriculture](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/agriculture/)
- [al shabaab](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/al-shabaab/)
- [al-Qaeda](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/al-qaeda/)
- [al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghred](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/al-qaeda-in-the-islamic-maghred/)
- [Alassane Ouattara](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/alassane-ouattara/)
- [All Progressive Grand Alliance](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/all-progressive-grand-alliance/)
- [All Progressives Congress](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/all-progressives-congress/)
- [amendment](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/amendment/)
- [AMIB](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/amib/)
- [AMISOM](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/amisom/)
- [Amnesty](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/amnesty/)
- [ANC](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/anc/)
- [anthropology](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/anthropology/)
- [Anthropology of War and Violence](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/anthropology-of-war-and-violence/)
- [anti-Balaka](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/anti-balaka/)
- [APC](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/apc/)
- [APCLS](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/apcls/)
- [APGA](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/apga/)
- [APLA](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/apla/)
- [APN](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/apn/)
- [APN Alumni](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/apn-alumni/)
- [APN grantees](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/apn-grantees/)
- [APSA](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/apsa/)
- [AQIM](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/aqim/)
- [Arab Spring](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/arab-spring/)
- [Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/armed-forces-of-the-democratic-republic-of-congo/)
- [arms](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/arms/)
- [ARRF](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/arrf/)
- [Article 46A bis](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/article-46a-bis/)
- [Arusha Accords](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/arusha-accords/)
- [ASF](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/asf/)
- [attractive revolution](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/attractive-revolution/)
- [AU](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/au/)
- [AU Summit](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/au-summit/)
- [August Meeting](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/august-meeting/)
- [Azanian People's Liberation Army](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/azanian-peoples-liberation-army/)
- [Bakassi Peninsula](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/bakassi-peninsula/)
- [Ben Ali](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/ben-ali/)
- [bi-cultural](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/bi-cultural/)
- [Biafra](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/biafra/)
- [bilingual](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/bilingual/)
- [Blaise Compaore](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/blaise-compaore/)
- [BMC](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/bmc/)
- [Boko Haram](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/boko-haram/)
- [book review](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/book-review/)
- [book reviews](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/book-reviews/)
- [born frees](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/born-frees/)
- [Borno](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/borno/)
- [Bozizé](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/bozize/)
- [Buhari](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/buhari/)
- [Burkina Faso](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/burkina-faso/)
- [Burkinabe](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/burkinabe/)
- [Burundi](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/burundi/)
- [bus attack](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/bus-attack/)
- [bus bombings](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/bus-bombings/)
- [Cameroon](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/cameroon/)
- [CAR](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/car/)
- [CCM](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/ccm/)
- [CDC](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/cdc/)
- [CDD](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/cdd/)
- [CEnters for Disease Control and Prevention](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/centers-for-disease-control-and-prevention/)
- [Central Africa](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/central-africa/)
- [Central African Republic](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/central-african-republic/)
- [Centre for Democracy and Development](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/centre-for-democracy-and-development/)
- [Chad](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/chad/)
- [Chama cha Mapinduzi](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/chama-cha-mapinduzi/)
- [Chibok girls](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/chibok-girls/)
- [Chinua Achebe](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/chinua-achebe/)
- [Christians](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/christians/)
- [citizen journalism](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/citizen-journalism/)
- [citizenship](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/citizenship/)
- [Civic United Front](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/civic-united-front/)
- [civil society](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/civil-society/)
- [civil war](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/civil-war/)
- [climate change](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/climate-change/)
- [climate-based conflict](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/climate-based-conflict/)
- [CNDD-FDD](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/cndd-fdd/)
- [CODESRIA](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/codesria/)
- [Collaborative Working Groups](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/collaborative-working-groups/)
- [community](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/community/)
- [Compaore](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/compaore/)
- [Compensation and Reparation Authority](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/compensation-and-reparation-authority/)
- [Comprehensive Peace Agreement](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/comprehensive-peace-agreement/)
- [conflict](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/conflict/)
- [Conflict Complexes](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/conflict-complexes/)
- [conflict management](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/conflict-management/)
- [conflict resolution](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/conflict-resolution/)
- [conflict resources](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/conflict-resources/)
- [conflict transformation](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/conflict-transformation/)
- [constitution](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/constitution/)
- [constitutionalism](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/constitutionalism/)
- [corruption](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/corruption/)
- [Cote d'Ivoire](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/cote-divoire/)
- [counterterrorism](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/counterterrorism/)
- [coup](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/coup/)
- [coup d’état](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/coup-detat/)
- [court martial](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/court-martial/)
- [crime](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/crime/)
- [crowdsourcing](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/crowdsourcing/)
- [CUF](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/cuf/)
- [CWG](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/cwg/)
- [DA](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/da/)
- [Darfur](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/darfur/)
- [database](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/database/)
- [DDR](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/ddr/)
- [DDRR](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/ddrr/)
- [definition](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/definition/)
- [demobilization](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/demobilization/)
- [democracy](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/democracy/)
- [Democratic Alliance](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/democratic-alliance/)
- [Democratic Republic of Congo](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/democratic-republic-of-congo/)
- [Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/democratic-republic-of-congo-drc/)
- [development](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/development/)
- [disarmament](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/disarmament/)
- [discourse](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/discourse/)
- [displacement](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/displacement/)
- [domestic violence](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/domestic-violence/)
- [DRC](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/drc/)
- [drugs](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/drugs/)
- [EAC](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/eac/)
- [East Africa](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/east-africa/)
- [East African Community](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/east-african-community/)
- [eastern africa](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/eastern-africa/)
- [eastern Congo](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/eastern-congo/)
- [Ebola](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/ebola/)
- [ebola virus disease](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/ebola-virus-disease/)
- [Economic Community of West African States](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/economic-community-of-west-african-states/)
- [economic development](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/economic-development/)
- [Economic Freedom Front](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/economic-freedom-front/)
- [ECOWAS](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/ecowas/)
- [Education](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/education/)
- [EFF](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/eff/)
- [Elections](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/elections/)
- [electoral comissions](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/electoral-comissions/)
- [electoral violence](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/electoral-violence/)
- [electorate](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/electorate/)
- [emerging powers](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/emerging-powers/)
- [Equatorial Guinea](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/equatorial-guinea/)
- [Ethiopia](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/ethiopia/)
- [ethnic conflict](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/ethnic-conflict/)
- [ethnicity](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/ethnicity/)
- [ethnography](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/ethnography/)
- [EVD](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/evd/)
- [ex-combatants](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/ex-combatants/)
- [ex-militant](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/ex-militant/)
- [explosions](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/explosions/)
- [extremism](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/extremism/)
- [failed states](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/failed-states/)
- [FARDC](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/fardc/)
- [FDLR](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/fdlr/)
- [female peacekeepers](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/female-peacekeepers/)
- [FIB](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/fib/)
- [FNL](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/fnl/)
- [food security](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/food-security/)
- [Force Intervention Brigade](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/force-intervention-brigade/)
- [Foreign Intervention Brigade](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/foreign-intervention-brigade/)
- [fragile states](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/fragile-states/)
- [Francafrique](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/francafrique/)
- [freedom](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/freedom/)
- [fundamentalism](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/fundamentalism/)
- [gender](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/gender/)
- [gender mainstreaming](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/gender-mainstreaming/)
- [Ghana](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/ghana/)
- [Ghana 2012 Elections](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/ghana-2012-elections/)
- [Ghanaian Electoral Commission (EC)](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/ghanaian-electoral-commission-ec/)
- [Global war on terror](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/global-war-on-terror/)
- [GNU](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/gnu/)
- [good governance](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/good-governance/)
- [Goodluck Jonathan](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/goodluck-jonathan/)
- [governance](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/governance/)
- [government](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/government/)
- [Great Lakes Region](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/great-lakes-region/)
- [Greentree Agreement](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/greentree-agreement/)
- [Guinea Bissau](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/guinea-bissau/)
- [Gukurahundi](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/gukurahundi/)
- [Guniea](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/guniea/)
- [GWOT](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/gwot/)
- [harmony](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/harmony/)
- [Hausa](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/hausa/)
- [Haute Autorité de la Transition (HAT)](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/haute-autorite-de-la-transition-hat/)
- [heads of state](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/heads-of-state/)
- [health](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/health/)
- [health sector](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/health-sector/)
- [healthcare](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/healthcare/)
- [higher education](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/higher-education/)
- [history](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/history/)
- [Honore Traore](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/honore-traore/)
- [horn of africa](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/horn-of-africa/)
- [human rights](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/human-rights/)
- [humanitarian](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/humanitarian/)
- [humanity](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/humanity/)
- [Hutu](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/hutu/)
- [Hybrid Court](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/hybrid-court/)
- [ICC](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/icc/)
- [ICGLR](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/icglr/)
- [identity](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/identity/)
- [ideology](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/ideology/)
- [IDP](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/idp/)
- [IGAD](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/igad/)
- [Igbo](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/igbo/)
- [immigration](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/immigration/)
- [immunity](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/immunity/)
- [impunity](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/impunity/)
- [inclusive](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/inclusive/)
- [independence](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/independence/)
- [Independent National Electoral Commission](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/independent-national-electoral-commission/)
- [INEC](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/inec/)
- [insurgency](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/insurgency/)
- [interactive mapping](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/interactive-mapping/)
- [Intergovernmental Authority on Development](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/intergovernmental-authority-on-development/)
- [internally displaced persons](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/internally-displaced-persons/)
- [International Criminal Court](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/international-criminal-court/)
- [International Criminal Court (ICC)](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/international-criminal-court-icc/)
- [international security](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/international-security/)
- [interventionist strategy](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/interventionist-strategy/)
- [interview](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/interview/)
- [interviews](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/interviews/)
- [intimate partner violence](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/intimate-partner-violence/)
- [invisible hand](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/invisible-hand/)
- [IRG](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/irg/)
- [Isaac Zida](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/isaac-zida/)
- [Islam](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/islam/)
- [islamic](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/islamic/)
- [islamic fundamentalism](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/islamic-fundamentalism/)
- [Ivorian Popular Front](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/ivorian-popular-front/)
- [Ivory Coast](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/ivory-coast/)
- [Jacob Zuma](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/jacob-zuma/)
- [Jerry John Rawlings](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/jerry-john-rawlings/)
- [John Dramani Mahama](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/john-dramani-mahama/)
- [John Evans Atta Mills](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/john-evans-atta-mills/)
- [Jos](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/jos/)
- [journalism](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/journalism/)
- [Joyce Banda](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/joyce-banda/)
- [justice](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/justice/)
- [Kenya](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/kenya/)
- [Kenya 2017](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/kenya-2017/)
- [Kenya 2017 Elections](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/kenya-2017-elections/)
- [Kismayo](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/kismayo/)
- [knowledge](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/knowledge/)
- [Kujenga Amani](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/kujenga-amani/)
- [land-](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/land/)
- [land-based conflict](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/land-based-conflict/)
- [Laurent Gbagbo](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/laurent-gbagbo/)
- [law](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/law/)
- [leader](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/leader/)
- [leadership](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/leadership/)
- [legal reform](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/legal-reform/)
- [legitimacy](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/legitimacy/)
- [legitimization](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/legitimization/)
- [Liberia](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/liberia/)
- [Libya](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/libya/)
- [Linda Nchi](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/linda-nchi/)
- [literature](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/literature/)
- [local communities](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/local-communities/)
- [local peacebuilding](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/local-peacebuilding/)
- [love](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/love/)
- [M23](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/m23/)
- [madagascar](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/madagascar/)
- [Madiba](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/madiba/)
- [Maghreb](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/maghreb/)
- [Malagasy](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/malagasy/)
- [Malawi](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/malawi/)
- [Malawi Electoral Commission](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/malawi-electoral-commission/)
- [Mali](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/mali/)
- [mapping](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/mapping/)
- [MAPROBU](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/maprobu/)
- [marginalization](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/marginalization/)
- [Maridhiano](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/maridhiano/)
- [MDC](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/mdc/)
- [media](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/media/)
- [mediation](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/mediation/)
- [memory](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/memory/)
- [MEND](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/mend/)
- [mentoring](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/mentoring/)
- [Michel Djotodia](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/michel-djotodia/)
- [MICOPAX](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/micopax/)
- [migrants](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/migrants/)
- [militants](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/militants/)
- [Military](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/military/)
- [military campaign](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/military-campaign/)
- [military court](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/military-court/)
- [military culture](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/military-culture/)
- [minerals](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/minerals/)
- [MISCA](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/misca/)
- [modernization](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/modernization/)
- [Mohammed Yusuf](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/mohammed-yusuf/)
- [MONUSCO](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/monusco/)
- [Morocco](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/morocco/)
- [Muafaka](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/muafaka/)
- [Muhammad Buhari](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/muhammad-buhari/)
- [music](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/music/)
- [Muslim](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/muslim/)
- [Muslim politics](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/muslim-politics/)
- [Muslims](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/muslims/)
- [Nairobi](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/nairobi/)
- [narrative](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/narrative/)
- [nation-building](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/nation-building/)
- [National Accord Reconciliation Agreement](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/national-accord-reconciliation-agreement/)
- [National Democratic Congress](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/national-democratic-congress/)
- [national patriotic party](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/national-patriotic-party/)
- [national reconciliation](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/national-reconciliation/)
- [national security](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/national-security/)
- [national unity](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/national-unity/)
- [natural resources](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/natural-resources/)
- [NEAZDP](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/neazdp/)
- [Nelson Mandela](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/nelson-mandela/)
- [neoliberalism](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/neoliberalism/)
- [new media](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/new-media/)
- [news](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/news/)
- [newsletter](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/newsletter/)
- [newspaper](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/newspaper/)
- [Niger Delta](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/niger-delta/)
- [Nigeria](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/nigeria/)
- [northern Nigeria](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/northern-nigeria/)
- [Nwunye di](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/nwunye-di/)
- [Ogale community](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/ogale-community/)
- [oil](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/oil/)
- [ONHRI](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/onhri/)
- [Operation Linda Nchi](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/operation-linda-nchi/)
- [pan-africanism](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/pan-africanism/)
- [Parliament](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/parliament/)
- [partnership peacekeeping](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/partnership-peacekeeping/)
- [Pascal Affi N’Guessan](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/pascal-affi-nguessan/)
- [pastoralism](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/pastoralism/)
- [patronage](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/patronage/)
- [Paul Kagame](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/paul-kagame/)
- [PDP](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/pdp/)
- [peace](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/peace/)
- [peace journalism](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/peace-journalism/)
- [peace management](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/peace-management/)
- [Peace Support Operation](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/peace-support-operation/)
- [Peace Support Operations](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/peace-support-operations/)
- [peacebuilding](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/peacebuilding/)
- [peacekeeping](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/peacekeeping/)
- [peacemaking](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/peacemaking/)
- [Peoples Democratic Party](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/peoples-democratic-party/)
- [Peter Mutharika](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/peter-mutharika/)
- [Petropolitics](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/petropolitics/)
- [Pierre Nkurunziza](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/pierre-nkurunziza/)
- [Plateau State](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/plateau-state/)
- [Police](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/police/)
- [policy](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/policy/)
- [policy dialogues](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/policy-dialogues/)
- [policymakers](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/policymakers/)
- [policymaking](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/policymaking/)
- [political Islam](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/political-islam/)
- [politics](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/politics/)
- [post-conflict](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/post-conflict/)
- [post-conflict reconstruction](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/post-conflict-reconstruction/)
- [post-election violence](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/post-election-violence/)
- [postcolonial](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/postcolonial/)
- [Postwar](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/postwar/)
- [poverty](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/poverty/)
- [President Nkurunziza](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/president-nkurunziza/)
- [presidential elections](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/presidential-elections/)
- [press freedom](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/press-freedom/)
- [protests](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/protests/)
- [Protocol on Amendments](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/protocol-on-amendments/)
- [PSO](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/pso/)
- [PSOs](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/psos/)
- [public heath governance](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/public-heath-governance/)
- [radical Islamism](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/radical-islamism/)
- [radicalism](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/radicalism/)
- [radicalization](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/radicalization/)
- [Rasta](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/rasta/)
- [Rastafari](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/rastafari/)
- [Rastafarian](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/rastafarian/)
- [Rastafarianism](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/rastafarianism/)
- [rational actor model](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/rational-actor-model/)
- [rebellion](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/rebellion/)
- [reconciliation](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/reconciliation/)
- [refugee](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/refugee/)
- [refugees](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/refugees/)
- [regime](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/regime/)
- [regional economic organizations (RECs)](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/regional-economic-organizations-recs/)
- [regional organizations](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/regional-organizations/)
- [regional security](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/regional-security/)
- [regionalism](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/regionalism/)
- [rehabilitation](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/rehabilitation/)
- [Reintegration](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/reintegration/)
- [religion](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/religion/)
- [reporting](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/reporting/)
- [reports](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/reports/)
- [Republic of South Sudan](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/republic-of-south-sudan/)
- [Republic of Tanzania](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/republic-of-tanzania/)
- [research](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/research/)
- [resource conflict](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/resource-conflict/)
- [resources](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/resources/)
- [Responsibility to Protect (R2P)](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/responsibility-to-protect-r2p/)
- [revolution](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/revolution/)
- [Riek Machar](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/riek-machar/)
- [Robert Mugabe](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/robert-mugabe/)
- [Rome Statute](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/rome-statute/)
- [root causes](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/root-causes/)
- [rule of law](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/rule-of-law/)
- [Ruto](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/ruto/)
- [Rwanda](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/rwanda/)
- [SADC](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/sadc/)
- [SADR](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/sadr/)
- [Sahel](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/sahel/)
- [Salva Kiir](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/salva-kiir/)
- [Sangaris](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/sangaris/)
- [scholarship](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/scholarship/)
- [second scramble](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/second-scramble/)
- [securitization of Africa](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/securitization-of-africa/)
- [security](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/security/)
- [Security Sector](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/security-sector/)
- [Seleka](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/seleka/)
- [Senegal](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/senegal/)
- [sexual and gender-based violence](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/sexual-and-gender-based-violence/)
- [SGBV](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/sgbv/)
- [Sharia](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/sharia/)
- [Shura](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/shura/)
- [Sierra Leone](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/sierra-leone/)
- [small arms and light weapons (SALW)](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/small-arms-and-light-weapons-salw/)
- [social anthropology](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/social-anthropology/)
- [social media](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/social-media/)
- [social science](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/social-science/)
- [socioeconomic](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/socioeconomic/)
- [soft power](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/soft-power/)
- [soldiers](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/soldiers/)
- [Somali](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/somali/)
- [Somali Womens Leadership Initiative](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/somali-womens-leadership-initiative/)
- [Somalia](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/somalia/)
- [song](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/song/)
- [South Africa](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/south-africa/)
- [South Sudan](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/south-sudan/)
- [South-South relations](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/south-south-relations/)
- [Southern African Development Community (SADC)](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/southern-african-development-community-sadc/)
- [sovereignty](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/sovereignty/)
- [spectrum](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/spectrum/)
- [state building](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/state-building/)
- [state security](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/state-security/)
- [statebuilding](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/statebuilding/)
- [students](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/students/)
- [Sudan](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/sudan/)
- [Tanganyika](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/tanganyika/)
- [Tanzania](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/tanzania/)
- [technology](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/technology/)
- [terrorism](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/terrorism/)
- [terrorist attack](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/terrorist-attack/)
- [TGoNU](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/tgonu/)
- [Thandika](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/thandika/)
- [The East African](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/the-east-african/)
- [The Financial Gazette](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/the-financial-gazette/)
- [The Sunday Mail](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/the-sunday-mail/)
- [The Zimbabwe Independent](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/the-zimbabwe-independent/)
- [transitional](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/transitional/)
- [transnational crime](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/transnational-crime/)
- [transnational threats](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/transnational-threats/)
- [trauma](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/trauma/)
- [TRC](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/trc/)
- [Truth and Reconciliation Commission(TRCs)](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/truth-and-reconciliation-commissiontrcs/)
- [Tunisia](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/tunisia/)
- [Turkana](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/turkana/)
- [Tutsi](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/tutsi/)
- [two-party system](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/two-party-system/)
- [U.S. military engagement](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/u-s-military-engagement/)
- [ubuntu](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/ubuntu/)
- [Uganda](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/uganda/)
- [Uhuru Kenyatta](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/uhuru-kenyatta/)
- [Umaru Musa Yar’adua](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/umaru-musa-yaradua/)
- [Umuada](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/umuada/)
- [UN](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/un/)
- [United Nations](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/united-nations/)
- [universities](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/universities/)
- [university](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/university/)
- [UNODC](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/unodc/)
- [UNSCR 1325](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/unscr-1325/)
- [updates](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/updates/)
- [US military](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/us-military/)
- [Ushahidi](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/ushahidi/)
- [Uwiano](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/uwiano/)
- [violence](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/violence/)
- [voting](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/voting/)
- [war](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/war/)
- [water crisis](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/water-crisis/)
- [West Africa](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/west-africa/)
- [Western African Standby Brigade](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/western-african-standby-brigade/)
- [Western Sahara](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/western-sahara/)
- [Westgate](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/westgate/)
- [westgate mall](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/westgate-mall/)
- [westgate siege](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/westgate-siege/)
- [WHO](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/who/)
- [Wilton Park](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/wilton-park/)
- [women](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/women/)
- [World Health Organization](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/world-health-organization/)
- [youth](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/youth/)
- [youth unemployment](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/youth-unemployment/)
- [Yoweri Museveni](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/yoweri-museveni/)
- [Zaman Lafiya](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/zaman-lafiya/)
- [Zaman Lafiya Dole](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/zaman-lafiya-dole/)
- [ZANU-PF](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/zanu-pf/)
- [Zanzibar](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/zanzibar/)
- [Zimbabwe](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/zimbabwe/)
- [John Mahama](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/john-mahama/)
- [2016](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/2016/)
- [Regional Economic Communities (RECs)](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/regional-economic-communities-recs/)
- [OAU](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/oau/)
- [pastoralists](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/pastoralists/)
- [environment](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/environment/)
- [This Flag](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/this-flag/)
- [AU reform](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/au-reform/)
- [AU Peace Fund](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/au-peace-fund/)
- [pollution](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/pollution/)
- [France](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/france/)
- [hydropolitics](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/hydropolitics/)
- [Mandates](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/mandates/)
- [Peace and Security](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/peace-and-security/)
- [Joseph Kabila](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/joseph-kabila/)
- [Kivu](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/kivu/)
- [Egypt](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/egypt/)
- [Grants](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/grants/)
- [Individual Research Grant (IRG)](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/individual-research-grant-irg/)
- [Book Manuscript Completion Grant (BMC)](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/book-manuscript-completion-grant-bmc/)
- [Preventing Violent Extremism](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/preventing-violent-extremism/)
- [Ondo State](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/ondo-state/)
- [farmer-herder](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/farmer-herder/)
- [Fulani](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/fulani/)
- [Ashanti](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/ashanti/)
- [Next Generation Social Sciences in Africa](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/next-generation-social-sciences-in-africa/)
- [2018](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/2018/)
- [Benue](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/benue/)
- [Nile](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/nile/)
- [international affairs](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/international-affairs/)
- [peace education](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/peace-education/)
- [national cohesion](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/national-cohesion/)
- [Mnangagwa](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/mnangagwa/)
- [political development](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/political-development/)
- [transition](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/transition/)
- [Angola](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/angola/)
- [Transitional Justice](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/transitional-justice/)
- [Mozambique](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/mozambique/)
- [Namibia](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/namibia/)
- [criminal justice](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/criminal-justice/)
- [gang violence](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/gang-violence/)
- [diaspora](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/diaspora/)
- [Togo](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/togo/)
- [Diplomacy](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/diplomacy/)
- [Kofi Annan](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/kofi-annan/)
- [Theory](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/theory/)
- [Tribute](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/tribute/)
- [Samir Amin](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/samir-amin/)
- [Special Issue](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/special-issue/)
- [Paul D. Williams](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/paul-d-williams/)
- [Lagos](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/lagos/)
- [Urban](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/urban/)
- [Search for Common Ground](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/search-for-common-ground/)
- [Brazil](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/brazil/)
- [BRICS](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/brics/)
- [podcast](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/podcast/)
- [decolonization](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/decolonization/)
- [economy](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/economy/)
- [Internet](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/internet/)
- [genocide](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/genocide/)
- [China](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/china/)
- [China in Africa](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/china-in-africa/)
- [youth violence](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/youth-violence/)
- [dissertation](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/dissertation/)
- [thesis](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/thesis/)
- [PhD](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/phd/)
- [African Universities](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/african-universities/)
- [Nex Gen fellows](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/nex-gen-fellows/)
- [African states](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/african-states/)
- [African Studies](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/african-studies/)
- [Decoloniality](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/decoloniality/)
- [corporate social responsibility](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/corporate-social-responsibility/)
- [Covid-19](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/covid-19/) - This series brings together the research and reflections of fellows of SSRC’s Africa programs, scholars, practitioners, and activists on the nature, impacts and responses to the Covid-19 pandemic in Africa, including its local-global connections.
- [policy reform](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/policy-reform/)
- [Migration](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/migration/)
- [Securitization](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/securitization/)
- [#EndSARS](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/endsars/)
- [US Elections](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/us-elections/)
- [Africa-US Relations](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/africa-us-relations/)
- [APN fellow](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/apn-fellow/)
- [Next Gen fellow](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/next-gen-fellow/)
- [Tigray](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/tigray/)
- [United States of America](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/united-states-of-america/)
- [Kenya-US Relations](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/kenya-us-relations/)
- [Biden Administration](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/biden-administration/)
- [Trump Administration](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/trump-administration/)
- [Armed conflict](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/armed-conflict/)
- [Igbo society](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/igbo-society/)
- [Motherhood](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/motherhood/)
- [mental health](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/mental-health/)
- [linguistics](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/linguistics/)
- [feminism](https://kujenga-amani.ssrc.org/tag/feminism/)