African studies research
Explore our work in African studies, one of our areas of expertise in Area Studies
Our research focuses particularly on North and West Africa. With West Africa continuing to struggle with conflict, and security across the region still a pressing concern for governments in West Africa and beyond, there's growing demand for research and knowledge on these under-represented issues, particularly in the West African Sahel.
But at present, there's limited availability of this knowledge. Our African studies research aims to rectify this, by transforming our expertise on a number of different regions and countries of Africa – across the disciplines of history, sociology and international relations – into impact.
Our research is developing new thinking and knowledge exchange on the twin pressures of development and security in the West African Sahel, and helping develop solutions to the problems of development and security in the region.
At a moment in time when Africa is diversifying its relations with the rest of the world – away from a focus on the countries of the Global North – we're also exploring decolonial approaches to the study of Africa and peace and security in West and Central Africa.
We have the largest collection of library resources on Francophone Africa in the UK and a very significant collection on EU-Africa relations.
Our research covers the following key topics
- Francophone (French-speaking) Africa
- European-African relations (including France-Africa, UK-Africa, Belgium-Africa relations)
- Decolonial approaches to African studies
- Peace and security
Partnerships and funders
Much of our multidisciplinary research work is conducted in collaboration with our academic partners around the world. Recent projects have seen us collaborate with institutions such as the University of Ibadan in Nigeria, the Legon Centre for International Affairs and Diplomacy (LECIAD) at the University of Ghana, the Université du Québec á Montréal, and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Governance Centre, Oslo.
We've also received more than £500,000 of funding for our research work from major funding organisations, including The Leverhulme Trust, the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), and the European Commission.
Publications and projects
Our work is regularly published in leading academic journals within the field, including the Journal of North African Studies, the International Journal of Francophone Studies, and the Journal of Modern African Studies.
Project highlights
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Mobilising Support for Militaro-Humanitarian Intervention: Beyond Two-Level Games
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Transforming Regionalism: Security Politics and the 'Remaking' of West Africa
Discover our areas of expertise
African studies is one area of expertise within our Area Studies research – explore the others below.
Research groups
Decolonising Spaces
We're researching the history, societies, cultures, politics and languages of different regions of the world, with a particular emphasis on decolonial perspectives.
Peace, Conflict and Security Research Group
We're researching the complex reality of the struggles over the meaning of security, citizenship and rights.
Interested in a PhD in Area Studies and International Development?
Browse our postgraduate research degrees – including PhDs and MPhils – at our Area Studies and International Development postgraduate research degrees page.