Book Launch: African Peacekeeping

Exploring the story of Africa's contemporary history and politics through the lens of peacekeeping, this concise and accessible book, based on over a decade of research across ten countries, focuses not on peacekeeping in Africa but, rather, peacekeeping by Africans.

Going beyond the question of why post-conflict states contribute troops to peacekeeping efforts, Jonathan Fisher and Nina Wilén demonstrate how peacekeeping is – and has been – weaved into Africa's national, regional and international politics more broadly, as well as what implications this has for how we should understand the continent, its history and its politics. In doing so, and drawing on fieldwork undertaken in every region of the continent, Fisher and Wilén explain how profoundly this involvement in peacekeeping has shaped contemporary Africa.

Speakers Bios:

• Jonathan Fisher is a Professor of Global Security at the University of Birmingham. Co-editor of Civil Wars since 2017, he is the author of East Africa after Liberation: Conflict, Security and the State since the 1980s (Cambridge University Press, 2020). His research focuses on the relationships between authoritarianism and (in)security.
• Nina Wilén is Director of the Africa Programme at the Egmont Institute and Associate Professor in Political Science at Lund University. She is the author of Justifying Interventions: (De)Stabilising Sovereignty (Routledge, 2012) and Editor-in-Chief of International Peacekeeping. Her research focuses on peacekeeping, military intervention, and gender.

The IDD Guest Seminar Series brings scholars and practitioners working on international development to the University of Birmingham to share their latest research and ideas. All seminars are open to staff, students, and the general public. For details of other upcoming seminars please visit IDD's Eventbrite page and follow us on twitter @iddbirmingham. Speakers will present for 45 minutes, followed by 45 minutes for audience Q&A.

Please register if you would like to attend. A Zoom link will be emailed to participants before the event.

This free event is open to all - staff, students, key stakeholders and members of the public.