British Academy Writing Workshop on International Politics in Africa
A British Academy–funded writing workshop that supports scholars working on the international politics of Africa, organised within the IPIA network.
Workshop Overview
The BA Writing Workshop on International Politics in Africa brings together a select group of academics to work intensively on draft papers, receive feedback from peers and journal editors, and take part in sessions designed to strengthen academic writing and research methods.
Participants prepare a paper for submission to a peer-reviewed journal and use the workshop process to refine their arguments, framing, and evidence. Thematically, the workshop focuses on international politics in Africa in a broad sense: how African societies, citizens, governments, regional and international organisations, and non-governmental actors experience and shape international politics.
The workshop is generously funded by the British Academy and culminates in a three-day in-person meeting at the British Institute in Eastern Africa (BIEA) in Nairobi in April 2026.
Objectives
The workshop pursues three main objectives:
- To explore how Africa’s political, social, and economic history can contribute to developing an African International Relations school.
- To review and discuss methodologies for empirically investigating international politics in Africa.
- To consider strategies for publishing research on Africa’s international relations in reputable outlets and address methodological training needs to help close publishing gaps.
Timeline and Tentative Schedule
- 18 August 2025 – First virtual introductory meeting of organisers and participants
- 29 September 2025 – Second virtual meeting, discussion of methodological needs and state of draft papers
- November 2025 – Third virtual meeting, mentor assignment and paper status updates
- January 2026 – Individual meetings with mentors
- February 2026 – Submission of paper drafts
- 1 March 2026 – Circulation of paper drafts among participants
- April 2026 – In-person workshop at the British Institute in Eastern Africa (BIEA), Nairobi
Workshop Organisers
Dr Mwita Chacha (PI)
Dr Mwita Chacha is Associate Professor in International Relations at the Department of Political Science and International Studies, University of Birmingham. His research focuses on regionalism/regional integration and its intersection with domestic political and security outcomes.
Dr Florian G. Kern (Co-PI)
Dr Florian G. Kern is Associate Professor in the Department of Government, University of Essex. His research focuses on governance in Africa. His work related to IPIA focuses particularly on how foreign policy reflects constituent views.
Eniye C. Dubakeme
Eniye C. Dubakeme is an Assistant Lecturer in the department of International Relations and Diplomacy, at Baze University. Her research focuses on Foreign affairs and governance for security in Afric
Dr Consolata Raphael Sulley
Dr Consolata Raphael Sulley is Lecturer in political science at the University of Dar es Salaam Tanzania. She holds a PhD in Political Science from Leipzig University, Germany. She has researched, consulted and published on democracy and the democratisation process in Africa (Kenya and Tanzania in particular), elections, party politics, gender and women’s political empowerment, public policy, local governance, project evaluation, human rights and humanitarianism.
Dr Israel Nyaburi Nyadera
Israel Nyaburi Nyadera is a lecturer at the National Defense College, National Defense University, Nairobi, Kenya. He is a Swiss Government Excellence Postdoctoral Fellow at the Centre for Conflict, Development and Peacebuilding, Geneva Graduate Institute, Switzerland. Dr Nyadera has a PhD in Political Science from the University of Macau, a Masters in Conflict Analysis and Resolution from George Mason University, Washington DC, a Masters in International Relations from the Middle East Technical University, Ankara and a degree in Political Science from the University of Nairobi. He is a fellow under the Irregular Warfare Initiative, a joint production of Princeton University and Westpoint and previously a fellow under the India-Africa Security Programme at the MP-IDSA, New Delhi.
Dr Alecia Ndlovu
Dr. Alecia Ndlovu is a Political Scientist and Lecturer at the University of Cape Town, specialising in Comparative and International Political Economy as well as Quantitative Research Methods. Her research focuses on political institutions and development in Africa's resource-rich economies. She is currently co-editing the Encyclopedia of African Politics(Edward Elgar Publishing) and leads a Worldwide Universities Network-funded project on Mining Accountability and Development in Africa.
Participants
The workshop brings together early-career and established scholars working on a wide range of topics in international politics in Africa. Below are the participants and their research projects.
Andre Ben-Moses Akuche
Early-career scholar of international relations with interests in diplomacy, energy politics, foreign policy, international organisations, and conflict resolution.
Research topic: The global energy transition and Nigeria’s natural gas diplomacy.
Caroline Shisubili Maingi
Lecturer in International Studies and Philosophy and doctoral candidate in International Relations, working on regional integration, foreign policy, and political philosophy.
Research topic: Enhancing popular participation for effective integration in the East African Community (EAC).
Dr Kingsley Ogunne
Post-doctoral researcher focusing on the political economy of health, global health politics, and climate justice, with work on African agency in global health governance.
Research topic: African states’ diplomatic strategies in global health governance.
Fatou Bintou Niang
PhD candidate in Political Science whose work covers universal health coverage, gender, feminism, international relations, and cultural heritage.
Research topic: Regional diplomacy and peace in ECOWAS, with a focus on how multilateral action shapes policy.
Dr Mary Baremirwe Bekoreire
Lecturer and higher-degrees coordinator with long experience in research and strategic leadership, focusing on governance, public policy, gender, and community development.
Research topic: Sino–Western geopolitical influence and conflict dynamics in East African Community states.
Dr Caroline Kathure Gatobu
Lecturer and research fellow whose work examines security, peace, conflict, and development in the Horn of Africa, with emphasis on sovereignty and human security.
Research topic: Kenya’s role in regional stability and development in the Horn of Africa.
Alfred Makotsi
Adjunct lecturer and PhD candidate in Diplomacy and International Relations, with interests in diplomacy, democracy, and election observation.
Research topic: International election observation and democratic consolidation in Kenya.
Dr Muhidin Shangwe
Lecturer in International Relations whose work focuses on African international relations, especially Africa–China relations and great-power competition on the continent.
Research topic: South Africa’s response to the wars in Ukraine and Gaza as a case of African agency.
Dr Chikodiri Nwangwu
Postdoctoral research fellow and senior lecturer with interests in African political economy, peace and conflict, elections, and social movements.
Research topic: Democratic recession and ECOWAS responses to military coups in West Africa.
Dr Dikeledi Mokoena
Political scientist whose work engages feminist political economy, decoloniality, African feminism, and development politics in Africa.
Research topic: A decolonial feminist analysis of US economic statecraft in Africa, focusing on South Africa.
Tendai Ganduri
Doctoral candidate in Media Studies interested in digital humanities and the politics of climate change in Zimbabwe and South Africa.
Research topic: Climate diplomacy and digital debate around COP26 in Zimbabwean and South African online spaces.
Dr Oluwatosin Ruth Ifaloye
Lecturer in International Relations specialising in transitional justice, stakeholder engagement, and African international politics.
Research topic: Localising transitional justice in The Gambia through stakeholder engagement and international norms.