Our research

This research group interrogates the perspectives, visions and expectations of current future types of peace amongst a critical social group in Africa, namely young people. This includes questioning the predominant vision of peace among Africa’s youth and future leaders, and exploring what they see as greatest sources of insecurity for African youth and Africa in general. The group engages the core ideas and most viable strategies for sustaining peace as proposed or envisaged by young Africans.

This research group critically interrogates extant and dominant theories on statehood (across the ideological spectrum) and their utility for the African context across time. It explores the key questions such as:

* What notions and models of statehood exist in Africa?
* Who is the state, who identifies with the state, with whom does the state identify?
* Whom are state policies and ‘development’ meant to benefit?
* And what are the implications of these models for peace, security and socio-economic outcomes?

This research group explores the historical conceptualisation and interpretation of empirical realities of statehood in Africa across a range of periods. The re-visitation of the ideas and realities of statehood in Africa is guided by an appraisal of how evolution in conceptualisation and interpretation of statehood over specific periods has shaped approaches to peace, security and development.

This also raises the question of what factors differentiate the experiences of statehood in Africa from other places? Some of the periods to be examined might include, the pre-colonial; colonial; second industrial revolution; the Second World War and post-colonial and post-independence periods.

This research group focuses on the dynamics within societal contexts with emphasis on how various entities and actors are influencing the construct of African states and notions of statehood. The group interrogates the extent to which the internal dynamics in African societal responses to security and development challenges are compelling a change in the state and manifestations of statehood.

In particular it explores the following questions:

* How are evolutions in technology and new media altering societal responses to security and development challenges?
* How are these dynamics and evolutions influencing notions of statehood in Africa?
* And what justice and peace issues (puzzles) are brought to the fore by these dynamics and evolutions.

This research group considers how regionalism and regionalisation, including the pivotal role of nodal entities (individuals, groups and states) and processes, have evolved across time and how these dynamics have impacted on African statehood. It is guided by questions such as:

* To what extent are notions of regionalism and regions changing in Africa?
* To what extent are the changes signposting the evolution of the ‘regions’ and ‘regionalism’ of the future, and what are the implications for statehood in Africa?
* How are evolutions and changes in regionalism shaping or altering notions of nodality and nodal states and regions in Africa?
* And what peace, security, socio-economic and political outcomes are emerging from these evolutions and changes?

This research group focuses on the interface between international political-economy contexts and the notions and realities of African statehood across times. It is underlined by the assumption that Africa and Africa states exist in a global context where the policies, actions or inactions, and practices of major political-economy actors shape the identities, character, functions and ideological orientations of statehood.

This group is guided by questions such as:

* How have changes in the international environment influenced notions of statehood in Africa over time?
* How are global economic, security and political events impinging on the African states and shaping development and security outcomes on the continent?